TAMPA, Fla. – The Washington Commanders, behind rookie QB Jayden Daniels, throwing two touchdown passes and playing mistake-free football with no turnovers, beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 to advance in the playoffs. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles had high praise for Daniels.
“You’ve got to give them credit, they made plays,” Bowles said. “He’s (Daniels) been making them all year. You’ve got to give him credit. We had our chances to make some plays that we didn’t make. They made plays and we didn’t make plays when we had the chances.”
It all came down to a field goal. The Commanders’ Zane Gonzalez kicked a 37-yard field goal that hit off the upright to send the Washington Commanders to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs and end the Buccaneers season. Bucs QB Baker Mayfield threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns but lost a fumble on a botched exchange meant for Jalen McMillan deep in Bucs territory. It led to a go-ahead touchdown by the Commanders.
“Doing all the little things right will always come back to beat ya in playoff mode,” Mayfield said. “You’re always playing a good team in the playoffs. They’re going to capitalize on that.”
READ: Buccaneers Host Commanders In Wild Card Rematch: Everything You Need To Know
Daniels was 24 of 35 through the air for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Daniels also rushed for 36 yards on 13 carries. The rookie QB was good at hitting some of his targets off of scrambles, and Bowles admitted he was a problem.
“Some of them were scrambles, and we were losing our guys, and we had position, ” Bowles said. “Either we didn’t rush the passer the right way and he broke the pocket.”
It was Washington’s first playoff win in 19 years. The Commanders were the only team to win on the road in this Wild Card Weekend.
The Commanders 13-5 will play at Detroit (15-2) Saturday night at 8 pm.
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