The 2021 NFL season already promised to be unprecedented. After last-year's bizarro campaign of empty stadiums and football on Wednesdays, a measure of return to normalcy is a shock in and of itself.
But if Thursday's season-opener in front a packed house at Raymond James Stadium was any indication, then the 2021 season is going to be even wilder than we thought. The defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers held off a hard-charging Dallas team to serve notice that they aren't giving up their throne without a fight. The Cowboys showed that they will likely be a force in the NFC East this year.