Brady plays down his perfect record against favored Cowboys

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady isn’t fazed by being a home underdog in the NFL playoffs for the first time in his career. After all, no one has enjoyed more postseason

success than the seven-time Super Bowl champion, who begins his quest for a record eighth ring when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9) host the Dallas Cowboys (12-5) in a NFC

wild-card matchup Monday night. Brady owns a slew of playoff records, including most games played (47), wins (35), passing yards (13,049), touchdown passes (86) and Super

Bowl appearances (10). The 45-year-old quarterback, who’s in the playoffs for the 14th consecutive season, has one more thing going for him: The Cowboys — 2½-point

favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook — have never beaten the five-time Super Bowl MVP. Not that Brady believes career accomplishments or being 7-0 against America’s

Team, including a 19-3 season-opening win at Dallas four months ago, will have any bearing on the latest matchup at Raymond James Stadium. The Bucs also beat the Cowboys and

Dak Prescott 31-29 in Tampa to open the 2021 season. “For me, it’s just a blessing to have those types of memories and experiences. I’ve been very blessed to be a part of

great teams that got to this point and then had a lot of big wins,” said Brady, who joined the Bucs in 2020 after a historic two-decade run that saw him win six NFL titles with

the New England Patriots. “They’ve got a great team,” Brady said of facing the Cowboys, who’ve rebounded from not only dropping the season opener to Tampa Bay but also

losing Prescott for five weeks with a fractured right thumb suffered in that game, to earn the top wild-card spot in the NFC.