The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will kick off their Super Bowl defense and the 2021 NFL season on Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys. The ageless Tom Brady will be at it again, seeking an unprecedented eighth Super Bowl victory at 44 years old. Brady will have mostly the same supporting cast, from tight end Rob Gronkowski to wide receiver Mike Evans, as the team returns all 11 starters on offense (and defense).

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It’s a track record the Cowboys can only hope to achieve. America’s Team has taken their share of “Hard Knocks,” both in the HBO series this summer and through a slew of injuries that turned a promising 2020 season sour. After sitting out the preseason, franchise quarterback Dak Prescott will make his first throw in an NFL game in nearly a year, supposedly fully recovered from an ankle injury suffered last October against the New York Giants.

Prescott wasn’t the only one banged up. Tight end Blake Jarwin is back from an ACL tear that knocked him out virtually all of 2020; Pro Bowl offensive lineman Tyron Smith had season-ending neck surgery around the same time as Prescott’s injury. Another offensive lineman, La’el Collins, missed all 16 games with a hip injury. The hope for Dallas is these key contributors returning give them an edge in the league’s weakest division, the NFC East.

We’ll find out quickly where Dallas stands against one of the NFL’s top teams. If there’s hope for them in the opener, it’s that Brady understands this newly-minted 17-game season is a marathon, not a sprint. Just 4-3 in his last seven season openers, Brady’s team fell victim to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints in their debut last year.

Of course, where is Brees now? On the sidelines as an NBC analyst, retiring from football at 42. So even if Dallas somehow pulls off an upset, Brady’s earned the right not to bet against him over the long haul.

Thursday Night Football: Dallas at Tampa Bay

Kickoff: Thurs., Sept. 9 at 8:20 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Spread: Buccaneers -8 /51.5