Commanders Win Nail Biter Against The Buccaneers

It was the first postseason game for Jayden Daniels. The wunderkind had performed very well all season long. But Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers had won games in all kinds of way this season. So it was expected to be a huge battle between the two teams and that’s exactly what it was. However, the Washington Commanders would go on to win a nail biter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay got the ball first and went down the field but were stopped at the 32 yard line as Mayfield couldn’t connect with Jalen McMillan. Chase McLaughlin kicked the 50-yard field goal. On the Commanders third play of their first drive Daniels found Terry McLaurin for a 35-yard reception. Daniels was under pressure throughout the drive and they couldn’t convert the 4th & 2 at TB 20. Tampa Bay went three and out and punted on their second possession. Daniels had to scramble with the ball multiple times on their next possession. But eventually he found Dyami Brown for the 10-yard touchdown.

Tampa Bay incurred a chop block 15 yard penalty and couldn’t overcome it so they had to punt again. Once again Daniels had to scramble to make plays and was sacked. A five yard defensive holding penalty gave them a chance to kick a 52-yard field goal. Apparently Mayfield was angry judging by the way he ripped off an 18-yard run and then hit Mike Evans for 11 and 20 yard gains. After a defensive pass interference penalty for 11 yards, Mayfield hit Evans again for the 1-yard touchdown. That tied the score at 10-10 and ended the half.

The Commanders got the ball to start the third quarter and put together an 11 play drive. Daniels hit Dyami Brown for 30 and 24 yard receptions. But a negative run and two incompletions forced them to kick  a 22-yard field goal.

Commanders Win Nail Biter Against The Buccaneers

Tampa Bay put together a 15 play drive that was a good mix of the pass and run. They ate up about six minutes of the clock on the way to a Bucky Irving 4-yard touchdown run and the lead. The Commanders went on a 17 play drive and used 5:30 but they turned the ball over on downs. They couldn’t convert on 4th & 3 at TB 3. However, a botched handoff by Mayfield resulted in a fumble recovered by Washington giving them 1st & 10 at TB 13. Daniels threw the 5-yard touchdown to McLaurin but their lead didn’t last long. Tampa Bay used five minutes of the clock to go 61 yards and kick a 32-yard field goal.

With the game tied at 20-20, the Commanders needed to drain the last 4:41 from the clock and score. And they did that by getting the ball to 2nd & 14 at TB 19. Kicker Zane Gonzalez kicked the ball which hit the inside of the right upright but it bounced through the goal posts for the 37-yard field goal. The clock expired and the Commanders won 23-20.

Is Jayden Daniels The Rookie Of The Year?

Washington had won a lot of last minute games this season and the Wild Card game was no different. Often it was Jayden Daniels who would come through in the clutch to win those games. He was at his best in the fourth quarter of games with a 72% completion rate. So should he win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award? My answer is yes, absolutely!

However, tonight’s win means they will face the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions next week. It doesn’t seem likely that the Commanders’ defense will be able to keep up with the Lion’s offense. But we’ll have to wait and see. But congrats to the Washington Commanders for getting their first playoff win since 2005!

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