Wild Card Round: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys (Texas Stadium), the bracket opens here. Kickoff: Sun January 9, 1983 at 4:00pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.[1][2]
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Texas Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers versus Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Dallas Cowboys cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7-2 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-3 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4-5 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 1-8 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 7-2 | W3 |
| New York Jets | 6-3 | L1 |
| New England Patriots | 5-4 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4-5 | L3 |
| Baltimore Colts | 0-8-1 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Raiders | 8-1 | W5 |
| San Diego Chargers | 6-3 | L1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4-5 | W1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 3-6 | W1 |
| Denver Broncos | 2-7 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 5-4 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4-5 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 3-6 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 2-7 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 5-3-1 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5-4 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-4 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 4-5 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 3-6 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Washington Redskins | 8-1 | W4 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6-3 | L2 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5-4 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 4-5 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3-6 | L1 |
1983-01-09 NFC Wild Card Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Dallas Cowboys
He Lost a Playoff Game. He Did Not Take it Well ||| Buccaneers @ Cowboys (1982 NFL Playoffs)
How a Dentist SAVED the 1982 Dallas Cowboys | Buccaneers @ Cowboys (1982 Playoffs)
Pro Strategy Football 2025 - First look 1982 Buccaneers vs Cowboys Wild Card Game
1982 PLAYOFFS TAMPA AT COWBOYS PART 1| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | Rafael Septien 33 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Cowboys | Rafael Septien 33 yard field goal | 0-6 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | Hugh Green 60 yard defensive fumble return (Bill Capece kick) | 7-6 |
| Buccaneers | Bill Capece 32 yard field goal | 10-6 |
| Cowboys | Ron Springs 6 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) | 10-13 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | Rafael Septien 19 yard field goal | 10-16 |
| Buccaneers | Gordon Jones 49 yard pass from Doug Williams (Bill Capece kick) | 17-16 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | Monty Hunter 19 yard interception return (Rafael Septien kick) | 17-23 |
| Cowboys | Timmy Newsome 10 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) | 17-30 |
Dallas Cowboys defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-17 at Texas Stadium in the Wild Card Round. The final scoring play was Cowboys: Timmy Newsome 10 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick). Top line of the day: Danny White: 312 pass yards on 27-of-45, 2 TD, 2 INT. Dallas Cowboys advance to the divisional round.[1][2]
Dallas Cowboys walked out of Texas Stadium as the team that survived a Wild Card Round Tampa Bay Buccaneers will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 30-17. The final scoring play came from Cowboys: Timmy Newsome 10 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Dallas Cowboys advance to the divisional round.
Dallas Cowboys 30, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17.
Round: Wild Card Round.
Q1: 2 scoring plays.
Q2: 3 scoring plays.
Q3: 2 scoring plays.
Q4: 2 scoring plays.
Top performers:
- Danny White: 312 pass yards on 27-of-45, 2 TD, 2 INT
- Tony Dorsett: 110 rush yards on 26 carries
- Drew Pearson: 7 catches for 95 yards
Wild Card Round, played at Texas Stadium. Final: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17, Dallas Cowboys 30, with Dallas Cowboys taking the result by 13.
First quarter
- Cowboys: Rafael Septien 33 yard field goal
- Cowboys: Rafael Septien 33 yard field goal
Second quarter
- Buccaneers: Hugh Green 60 yard defensive fumble return (Bill Capece kick)
- Buccaneers: Bill Capece 32 yard field goal
- Cowboys: Ron Springs 6 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick)
Third quarter
- Cowboys: Rafael Septien 19 yard field goal
- Buccaneers: Gordon Jones 49 yard pass from Doug Williams (Bill Capece kick)
Fourth quarter
- Cowboys: Monty Hunter 19 yard interception return (Rafael Septien kick)
- Cowboys: Timmy Newsome 10 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick)
Top performers
- Danny White: 312 pass yards on 27-of-45, 2 TD, 2 INT
- Tony Dorsett: 110 rush yards on 26 carries
- Drew Pearson: 7 catches for 95 yards
| Buccaneers | Cowboys | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 8 | 29 |
| Total Yards | 218 | 456 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 8/28 | 27/45 |
| Pass yards | 113 | 312 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 2 |
| Interceptions | 3 | 2 |
| Sacks taken | 0 | 5 |
| Sack yards lost | 0 | 35 |
| Net pass yards | 113 | 277 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 21 | 42 |
| Rush yards | 105 | 179 |
| Rush TD | 0 | 0 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 0 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties | 4 | 6 |
| Penalty yards | 41 | 45 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAM | |||||
| Doug Williams | 8/28 | 113 | 1 | 3 | 16.2 |
| DAL | |||||
| Danny White | 27/45 | 312 | 2 | 2 | 77.3 |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAM | ||||
| James Wilder | 14 | 93 | 0 | 25 |
| Mel Carver | 7 | 12 | 0 | 5 |
| DAL | ||||
| Tony Dorsett | 26 | 110 | 0 | 9 |
| Doug Donley | 1 | 25 | 0 | 25 |
| Ron Springs | 7 | 24 | 0 | 6 |
| Robert Newhouse | 5 | 15 | 0 | 5 |
| Drew Pearson | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Billy Joe DuPree | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAM | ||||
| Kevin House | 4 | 52 | 0 | 20 |
| Gordon Jones | 1 | 49 | 1 | 49 |
| Jimmie Giles | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| James Wilder | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| DAL | ||||
| Drew Pearson | 7 | 95 | 0 | 35 |
| Butch Johnson | 4 | 76 | 0 | 26 |
| Tony Hill | 4 | 45 | 0 | 14 |
| Doug Cosbie | 3 | 32 | 0 | 13 |
| Ron Springs | 3 | 16 | 1 | 7 |
| Tony Dorsett | 2 | 14 | 0 | 11 |
| Timmy Newsome | 2 | 14 | 1 | 10 |
| Robert Newhouse | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Billy Joe DuPree | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
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