Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has won as an underdog in the playoffs and he’s lost as a favorite, so he knows as well as anyone that what happened in the weeks and months leading up to a game is less significant than what happens on the day itself.
After an 8-9 season, the Bucs have every reason to buy into that as they head into Monday’s Wild Card game against the Cowboys. One thing that would help them put their best foot forward would be a healthy roster on gameday.
The Bucs are waiting to see how centers Robert Hainsey and Ryan Jensen are, but they were able to rest a number of players in Week 18 and Brady said on his Let’s Go podcast that he expects health to be an advantage for the team come Monday.
“We have seven days to prepare, we’ve got kind of the whole week,” Brady said, via PewterReport.com. “I’m sure everyone’s a little bit day-to-day right now. I’m hoping we’re pretty healthy. I believe we’re going to be as healthy as we’ve been all year, which is kind of exciting to get some guys back that haven’t been in there and then see if we can go play our best football. I even said after the game, it sucks being 8-9. You’re playing against teams that have way better records, 12-5, whatever it is. But you know what? The only thing that matters is who wins that day.”
While the Bucs are focused on winning Monday, they did beat the Cowboys on the road in the opening game of the season and that probably won’t do anything to limit their confidence in getting a win against them again.