The 6-8 Cowboys were expected to be in contention for the NFC East title and a spot in the playoffs. The 8-6 Buccaneers, meanwhile, had few expectations upon them and most believed that the Atlanta Falcons would walk away with the division.
Instead, the Cowboys annual late-season collapse came in September, while the Buccaneers are in control of the NFC South and attempting to stave off the Falcons. Both teams are coming off of big wins, however the Cowboys' 30-14 win over the lowly Carolina Panthers looks a bit different than the Buccaneers' 40-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
But despite the differences in the teams, the Bucs are only favored by 3.5 points on the road, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
Chris' pick: The question tonight is whether the Cowboys' defense will be able to slow down the Buccaneers' offense enough that Cooper Rush and CeeDee Lamb can keep up.
Micah Parsons and Osa Odighizua were dominant against the Panthers last week, but the Bucs' offense is a different beast with Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans. The threat they pose helps to open things up for Bucky Irving and Rachaad White.
I'm going for the Buccaneers tonight, and I suspect this could be much more lopsided than the 3.5-point spread. After all, the Bucs hung 40 and had over 220 yards rushing against a much better defense last week.
Use this as your open thread for Sunday Night Football.