The Washington Commanders were visitors to Raymond James Stadium on Sunday night, but they left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ stadium as history-bucking victors. Despite an iffy stretch of red-zone showings, the NFC’s final wild-card team got a sterling postseason debut from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who used both his arm and legs to set up a game-winning “doink” of a walk-off field goal by Zane Gonzalez, securing the Washington franchise its first playoff win since 2005.
Daniels did it all to outlast Todd Bowles’ defense, which stepped up with several red-zone stands to keep the game tight, firing two touchdowns through the air while leading the Commanders with 13 carries for 36 yards on the ground. The rushing total doesn’t do justice to his impact in that area, either, as Daniels notably carried the ball himself to move the chains on Washington’s game-winning drive, which ended as Gonzalez’s 37-yard field goal bounced off and then through the uprights.
Both Terry McLaurin and Dyami Brown came up big as Daniels’ top targets, logging 89 yards and one touchdown apiece, and guaranteed Washington a date with the No. 1-seeded Detroit Lions in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.
Here are some key takeaways from Sunday’s big Washington win:
Play of the game
Zane Gonzalez barely hitting the game-winning kick will be the defining image of this one, but Dyami Brown put on a clinic as an overlooked but feisty pass weapon for Washington. His toughness was on full display after he broke free to haul in this dart from Jayden Daniels in Tampa Bay territory:
Daniels has transformed the Commanders
For both the short and long term, too. Think about it: The young quarterback almost never plays like a stereotypical rookie, and he consistently leads Washington as both a runner and thrower, often serving as a one-man band under center. That was again the case Sunday, when he overcame consecutive defensive stands by the Buccaneers to keep the Commanders scratching and clawing, controlled the rock despite a heavy workload, and ultimately outdid a Pro Bowl-caliber Baker Mayfield on his own turf. And we haven’t even finished Year 1 of his NFL career yet! The present and future are bright in D.C.
Washington needs a stronger run game
If Dan Quinn’s contender intends to win another postseason matchup, that is. Daniels is a threat on the move, that’s for sure, but can he actually get help from the backfield? Austin Ekeler had a play or two that flashed his vintage multipurpose ability, but he was otherwise deployed as a minimally effective short-yardage option, with Brian Robinson Jr. somehow managing just 16 yards on 10 carries in a “complementary” role. Not every team boasts the Bucs’ front, but again, Daniels can’t always be expected to carry Kliff Kingsbury’s entire attack, especially against clearly superior lineups.
The Bucs may still have a Todd Bowles problem
Look, Bowles deserves credit for getting Tampa Bay to three straight playoff appearances, but he’s now 1-3 in the postseason, with two one-and-done showings during that span. His trademark defense showed up for stretches of Sunday’s matchup, but the unit’s reliance on the blitz also hurt, as Daniels routinely moved the ball up and down the field even without steady ground support. Bowles’ clock management also left something to be desired, and this isn’t the first time his in-game decision-making has come under fire. A day after Pittsburgh Steelers fans reignited chants for change thanks to Mike Tomlin’s scrappy but unspectacular squad once again failing to make January noise, will Bucs faithful follow suit?
What’s next
The Commanders will soak up their first playoff win in almost 20 years, then gear up for a divisional-round matchup with arguably the top team in all of football, the Detroit Lions. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, will get an early start on their 2025 offseason, unable to parlay an NFC South title into playoff victory.
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