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The Washington Commanders took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round of the 2024 NFL playoffs. These two teams met Week 1 of the regular season, where Tampa Bay won the game 34-20.
The last time the Commanders made the playoffs was in 2020, where they won the NFC East with a 7-9 record. Coincidentally, they faced Tampa Bay in the Wild Card. Tampa Bay won the game 31-23 and would go on to win the Super Bowl that year.
Washington was looking to win their first playoff since 2005, while Tampa Bay looked to advance to the divisional round for the second straight year. Both teams looked different from when they faced each other at the beginning of the season, so the world was in for a good game.
The Buccaneers got the ball first and Baker Mayfield wasted no time finding his guy Mike Evans. He caught a pass for 11 yards, then another for 23 yards which put them in Washington territory. The defense was able to force the field goal, and the kick was good to get Tampa on the board.
The Commanders got the ball and Jayden Daniels found Terry McClaurin for a 35-yard gain on third down. They quickly got into their opponent’s territory but did not come away with any points after turning it over on downs. Fortunately, their defense forced a three and out on Tampa’s next drive.
The second drive for the Commanders was much better as they were able to get in the red zone after converting on fourth down. Daniels found Dyami Brown in the end zone for the touchdown to get them on the board and take the lead. The Buccaneers tried to answer, but offensive penalties killed the drive and they had to punt once again.
Washington got back into their opponent’s territory, but settled for the field goal after a few incomplete passes. The Buccaneers got the ball back with under two minutes left. They knew they needed to come away with points since the Commanders got the ball to start the second half.
On 3rd and 9, Mayfield ran 18 yards for the first down. He trucked Bobby Wagner in the process, which is a hard thing to do. He would then complete three consecutive passes for 10+ yards which led to three first downs. Despite a lot of time running off the clock, Mayfield found Evans in the endzone for the touchdown. The extra point was made and the game was tied going into the half.
The Commanders got the ball to start the second half and wasted no time moving down the field. Daniels found Brown for a 30-yard gain to set them up 1st and goal. They would end up settling for the field goal after not being able to run the ball or find an open receiver. The defense did a good job pressuring Daniels which led to two incomplete passes.
Tampa Bay got the ball and quickly got into the Commanders territory. Bucky Irving ran for 19 yards to get them in the red zone. He then ran 10 yards to get them even further in the end zone. A couple plays later, Mayfield passed it to Irving for the touchdown to retake the lead. The momentum was starting to shift in favor of Tampa Bay.
Washington knew they had to answer with a touchdown. They faced a 4th and 5 on the drive, which they converted after Daniels found Zach Ertz for a 14-yard gain. They got all the way to the one-yard line after a defensive pass interference was called. But they would turn it over on downs after being stopped from running the ball and three incompletions.
It felt like Tampa Bay had all the momentum and they were prepared to take control of the game. But the Commanders caught a huge break after Mayfield fumbled and Wagner recovered it. They took over at the Bucs’ 13-yard line. They faced another fourth down, and to no one’s surprise they decided to go for it. Daniels found McLaurin in the end zone for the touchdown to retake the lead.
With the momentum back on the Commanders side, the Buccaneers needed to answer quickly. They were able to get into their opponent’s territory after a few big plays. They got in the red zone, but settled for the field goal after a loss of yardage on third down. The kick was good and the game was tied at 20-20.
The Commanders got the ball back with under five minutes left with a chance to win. Close games were nothing new for them as they found themselves in several of them throughout the season. They were also good at using up the clock, which forced the other team to use their timeouts.
Dyami Brown continued to be heavily involved as he caught a 21-yard pass to get them in Buccaneers’ territory. Daniels would then find Austin Ekeler for another huge gain to get them in field goal range. To get the kicker even closer, Daniels ran four yards for the first down on 3rd and 2. He evaded Lavonte David for the potential sack and kept the drive alive.
They ran the clock all the way to three seconds before calling a timeout to set up the field goal. It was a 37-yard attempt for Zane Gonzalez. The kick hit the side bar but it went in for the win. It was a doink for the win. The Commanders won the game 23-20 and will take on the Detroit Lions in the divisional round.
Jayden Daniels finished with 24 completions out of 35 attempts for 268 and two touchdowns. He became the fourth rookie quarterback to win a road playoff game. He is also the second quarterback to Terry McClaurin finished with seven receptions for 89 yards and one touchdown. Dyami Brown finished with five receptions for 89 yards and one touchdown.
Photo Courtesy: @NFL/X