TAMPA, Fla. — On its surface, Mike Evans’ sound bite came off as a slight. The Texas native, however, wasn’t so much tossing shade at the Cowboys’ scheme as he was lofting praise at their overall talent.
“They’re a team that’s simple,” the four-time Pro Bowler and Texas native said Wednesday. “They’re a good team, but they’re simple.”
Statistics seem to corroborate Evans’ assertion that the team the Bucs see for the third time since the start of the 2021 season will arrive Monday at Raymond James Stadium more talented than complicated.
While third in the NFL with 54 sacks, the Cowboys blitz only 25.6% of the time, which ranks 13th. That pressure with a basic front has benefited the back end; Dallas’ 16 interceptions are tied for seventh-most in the league.
“They don’t run anything really exotic defensively,” Evans added. “And offensively, they’re just a really talented team, and they’re just going to play straight-up and see if you can beat them. So we’ve got to come with our best.”
Evans said he expects to be matched up at least part of the time against All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs, who has no interceptions and only one pass defended in the last seven games. Similarly, All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons has only 1 1/2 sacks in his last six contests.
No matter, Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich indicated.
“(Parsons) is a hell of a football player. The motor that he has, he’s really one of the great football players in this league,” Leftwich said.
“So we’ll have that challenge, but it’s not just him. They have a lot of guys with their hand in the ground that know what they’re doing and are very capable and really good at what they do.”
