For its wild-card game against the Buccaneers, the Washington Commanders may have an X-factor. And if you want to see bold predictions for Tampa Bay, look here. With a Washington Commanders wild-card game scheduled against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it’s time for postseason madness. Ahead of the Commanders-Buccaneers playoff game, we’ll be making our Commanders wild-card predictions.
The Buccaneers (10-7) enter as the NFC South division champions and will be at home as the No. 3 seed. The Commanders finished with a better record (12-5), but managed only the No. 6 seed. These teams met in the first game of the season with Tampa Bay earning a 37-20 victory.
Every NFL team has its share of injuries throughout the course of the season, but the Commanders are fairly solid going in, according to Dan Quinn’s comments to commanders.com.
“I’m feeling good going into the weekend,” Quinn said. “I’m actually feeling good on the team’s health, so that’s a good thing when you get to this time of year, heading into the guys. And hopefully having some guy back too.”
Commanders will play a closer game this time around
Several reasons contributed to the Commanders’ poor performance in Week 1. It turned out to be the only game Washington lost by more than a touchdown.
Jayden Daniels struggled in his first NFL start, and Baker Mayfield wore out the Commanders with four touchdown passes and 289 yards. But the Commanders have improved leaps and bounds since that day, Quinn said.
“I would say we’re a scheme and we knew we would grow into that,” Quinn said. “All three phases, guys coming together. What we didn’t know was really who they are and what we’ve learned over these 17 weeks, this is a resilient group, man. These guys love to fight. They have a real connection. That’s a really powerful thing. You can see how close they are. You see it on the field, off the field, I love what we stand for. The guys have really put the work in and in the situation side of things.”
However, to have a chance to win, the Commanders must do better against Mayfield. That’s a tall order because the Commanders leaky run defense will allow opportunities for big plays in the passing game.
“(Mayfield) just had a fantastic year,” Quinn said. “Now that we’re going into the full breakdowns now and going into it, when you place somebody so early you don’t necessarily see it all. Then you look up and you see, 41 touchdowns and you see a lot of progress of moments and people. Yeah, a lot of respect for what they’re doing offensively, for sure.”
Perhaps moment will help the Commanders get where they want to be. They’ve won five games in a row.
“I think over the last month our games have come down to the end,” Quinn said. “And what I told them last night, just because we can does not mean we have to do this. But I do love that there is a confidence with the group, because they have been in a lot of fights and on that sideline when you’re there, there’s not a panic about it.”
QB Jayden Daniels will rush for 60-plus yards
For the Commanders to have any shot, Daniels will have to make plays with his legs. Look for a few designed runs, but the bulk of Daniels’ yardage should come on pass-play scrambles.
However, Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles warned his team that Daniels isn’t the only guy to worry about, according to Sports Illustrated.
“I think if you find yourself just facing a rookie quarterback, the other 10 guys are going to kill you,” Bowles said. “We’re facing the (Commanders), we’re not facing Jayden Daniels. They’ve got 10 other guys that we’ve got to worry about, as well. We don’t look at it as facing a rookie quarterback – we’re trying to beat the (Commanders).”
On the season, Daniels has thrown for 3,568 yards with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Also, he has rushed for 891 yards and six more scores.
Commanders TE Zach Ertz will catch a TD pass
Look for the Buccaneers to load up on stopping Terry McLaurin when the Commanders get into the red zone. This will open the middle of the field for Ertz, who likely needs to have a big game for the Commanders to pull off the win.
For the season, Ertz has 66 catches for 654 yards and seven touchdowns. Furthermore, he has come up with multiple big catches.
Ertz found a new home with the Commanders and has made the most of it, according to wusa9.com.
“When this opportunity popped up, I told my agent, I said, it doesn’t really matter what the contract or the financials look like,” Ertz said. “It’s really about just going to a place that believes in me and allows me to have fun again. Whether it’s one year, two years, or five years more of playing football, I just really wanted to get back to having fun and enjoying it. And this place has exceeded all my expectations.”
