3 Noteworthy Things About Monday Night's NFL 'Playoff Dud'

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are out of the playoffs
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 17, 2023 12:35 AM CST
3 Notable Things About Monday Night's NFL 'Playoff Dud'
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) leaves the field after an NFL wild-card football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. The Dallas Cowboys won 31-14.   (AP Photo/John Raoux)

The Dallas Cowboys eliminated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a wild-card NFL playoff game Monday night that was making headlines for a few reasons. Among them:

  • Scary incident: Late in the fourth quarter, Tampa Bay wide receiver Russell Gage took a hard shot to the neck after stumbling to the ground while trying to make a catch; he appeared to not be able to get up afterward, but was still conscious. "He was moving so that’s a good sign," a teammate says. He was taken off the field by stretcher with a concussion and was going to be evaluated for a neck injury. The AP notes it was a "sobering moment" two weeks after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin's terrifying collapse.

  • A historic-making moment, though not in a good way: Dallas kicker Brett Maher missed four straight extra points, becoming the first player in NFL history to miss that many in a game, the AP reports. Maher missed five consecutive extra points overall after failing on his final try in Week 18. He was 50 of 53 on points after a touchdown in the regular season. The NFL said Maher was the first kicker to miss four extra points in a game since the statistic was first tracked for individual players in 1932. In a playoff game, no kicker had missed as many as three.
  • The Tom Brady question: The AP notes that if Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady actually retires this offseason, "he’ll walk away following one of the worst playoff games of his career," a game the news outlet calls a "dud." The Buccaneers lost 31-14.
(More Tampa Bay Buccaneers stories.)

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