Buccaneers-Cowboys TNF Recap + NFL Quarter(ish) Pole Awards with Brandon Perna

Dan Hanzus (0:08)

Hey, welcome to Heed the Call. It's an NFL podcast. Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Justin Graver on the ones and twos. Our last show of the week before the flagship program starts to wheel anew.

It's the program that begins the recap of week five and we're going to get into it. Just a stunning outcome there in Big D between the Bucs and Cowboys. We're also going to at this point in the season, hand out some hardware, the Quarterish Hole Awards with very special guest, Brandon Perna coming up a little bit later. So I feel like, Ceci, a real feast for the eyes and ears for the Heediness.

Marc Sessler (0:53)

It is and we begin the week with what I would call, looking back on the season to date, a top three disaster for a team that I had high hopes for in the Cowboys. This was a feast for those who enjoy complete destruction.

Dan Hanzus (1:09)

Yeah, maybe we forgo the traditional music, Justin, and go with the Sessler curse music for the Dallas Cowboys. His pick for the Super Bowl 61 champions who had their hands filled. Then some, the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers of all teams. To Jarrow World we go.

Brandon Perna (1:35)

Press guy under pressure, fires over the middle.

Dan Hanzus (1:38)

It's deflected and picked off. Alex Angeloini.

Jake Ferguson could not hold on.

Brandon Perna (1:50)

And Angeloini gets the interception.

Dan Hanzus (1:54)

Oh, it was so close, Sessie. Oh, it was so close. This was very nearly Todd Bowles' masterpiece. His Sistine Chapel. His Statue of David. The Bucs up 14 points.

Late in the fourth quarter at the opponent's goal line, fourth down. Kick a field goal, you're up three scores. Everybody goes home. He goes for it, gives it to his third string running back, gets stuffed at the goal line.

Cowboys, of course, go straight down the field. They do the stupid, I'm going for two, twice thing, miss it, 24-16.

Jalen Daniels nearly throws a pick six. Doron Blen just drops it, because that's the type of night it was for Dallas. And then after a punt and the Cowboys heading back to the red zone, yes, the ball is fired off Jake Ferguson's hands, intercepted by the former Lion Anzaloni. And the Bucs escape with their first win of the season, 24-16 over the Cowboys. So yes, they got lucky and they almost got bulls into maybe one of the worst losses you could ever imagine. But in the end, Tampa Bay gets their first win and you're left just scratching your head about the Cowboys.

Marc Sessler (3:17)

Like if I had to pick a coach that probably would have gone for the field goal, down at the goal.

Dan Hanzus (3:22)

It's got to be Todd.

Marc Sessler (3:23)

I mean, what do we do?

Dan Hanzus (3:24)

And they're showing him.

Marc Sessler (3:25)

Some little nerd, I mean, I know we're not to say, oh no, we love it, we love analytics, you're all wonderful. But like someone got in his ear and got to him and like suddenly he went against the Todd Bulls instinct and went for it with what, you know.

Dan Hanzus (3:36)

They did a nice job, the Amazon Telecast. They had the camera right on Todd and Todd had that. And you can never tell, he's always kind of got that grin. He's like, you don't know.

Marc Sessler (3:45)

It looks like he's sucking on a lemon half the time.

Dan Hanzus (3:48)

Is he smiling? Is he in pain? And you know he's thinking about it. He's like, they can't stop us today. I just need one yard and we could just begin the party. Or I just send the kicker out for an 18 yarder and we win the game. And he decided to try to put the game away. And it almost came back to bite him. And, you know, I don't want that, even though it's important that we discuss how this game ended to overshadow what was really for a Bucs team that we talked about it. At the top of the Thursday Preview Show, Marc, like no team since the 1992 San Diego Chargers has started 0-4 and made the postseason.

I'm not saying I see the Bucs as being that team that's gonna get hot and go. But you know what? It's gotta start somewhere for these teams that are down bad. And that is a great win for Tampa, which held Dallas' explosive offense to 16 points. And if you throw out that one, not garbage time, because they got back in the game, they got that one 99-yard drive that of course came immediately after the goal line stand. It was even more effective. Jalen Daniels played wonderfully. Bucky Irving was the guy that the Bucs have kind of been waiting for him to be.