The playoffs are here and the Dallas Cowboys have been rewarded for their improbable 12-win season with a trip to face Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs have had a shaky season but they managed to win the barren NFC South, so they get to host the wild card round. Brady is looking to preserve his perfect career record against the Cowboys with an eighth straight victory, while Dak Prescott tries to bunk the national narrative about his penchant for turnovers this season. Ahead of Dallas and Tampa Bay meeting on Monday, here our three Cowboys bold predictions for the super wild card round.

*Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*

3. If Vita Yea plays, Dallas' offense comes down to Dak Prescott and Tony Pollard

Like a lot of Buccaneers players, Vita Vea's status for the first round of the NFL playoffs is still up in the air. Vea was limited in practice as of Thursday afternoon and is still questionable to play in Monday's game as he continues rehabbing a calf injury that has nagged him since Week 14.

If he plays, he can wreck the game for the Cowboys. That has been the trend in the last few matchups between these two teams. The Cowboys attempted three runs up the middle for 18 yards in Week 1 of this season against Vea and the Buccaneers. In the 2021-22 season opener in Tampa Bay it was the same story, as the Cowboys ran up the middle four times for 15 yards. There is just no daylight when Vea is on the field.

So how do Kellen Moore and the Cowboys offense run the ball? The answer might seem obvious: They go away from Vea. Pitches, screens, outside zones, counters and reverses are all tools the Cowboys will have to utilize to run the football with Tampa Bay's Pro Bowl stuffer clogging up the middle of the field. That won't take Ezekiel Elliott out of the game completely, but will add pressure to Tony Pollard to use his speed and beat the Tampa Bay defense to the edge.

Vea impacts the passing game as well. Interior pressure is more dangerous than edge pressure in the NFL, and Vea is one of the best in football at generating it. Tyler Biadasz' track record against Vea is not good and he'll be coming back from an injured ankle on Monday night if he plays at all.

Prescott's ability to navigate the pocket and make plays with his feet after he is flushed out will come in handy against the Buccaneers.

2. Micah Parsons has his most impactful game yet

The sack numbers have not been there for Micah Parsons over the last month. Opposing offenses are running from him, getting the ball out quicker and just doing anything and everything they can to keep Parsons from getting to the quarterback. That doesn't mean parsons hasn't been making a difference, though. While only tallying a single sack in his last four games, Parsons has 15 quarterback pressures over that same span.

The circumstances of Monday night's game create a golden opportunity for Parsons to put on a show in his second ever postseason game. The Buccaneers offensive line is severely depleted and Brady is less mobile than he has ever been in his advanced age. The stage is set for Parsons to take over the game on Monday. Only time will tell if he can make it happen.

1. No Cowboys-Buccaneers shootout

There are a couple of ways this game could devolve into a track meet. If either the Cowboys or the Buccaneers get up big early and force the other team to throw the ball all over the yard, the score could get run up. The Cowboys are going to score, but if they commit a bunch of penalties on defense and give up free yards and free plays, the Buccaneers will keep stride with them.

Those are the exceptions to the rule for these two teams this season.

The Buccaneers thrive in low scoring games. Tampa Bay has scored 21 or fewer points in seven of their eight wins this season. The Cowboys are much more capable than that offensively when their scheme is firing on all cylinders, but that has only happened a handful of times this year. The Cowboys are going to look to control the ball with the run on offense and limit the Buccaneers on defense, and Tampa Bay just doesn't have that much firepower.

Whoever wins on Monday will have to do so in a low-scoring affair.