Bucs host the Commanders in a wild-card weekend rematch of their Week 1 game at Tampa Bay

By Canadian Press on January 9, 2025.

Washington (12-5) at Tampa Bay (10-7)

Sunday, 8 p.m. EST, NBC

BetMGM odds: Buccaneers by 3

Series record: Tied 13-13. Washington has won 12 of 23 regular-season meetings, while the Buccaneers are 2-1 in the playoffs.

Against the spread: Commanders 10-6-1, Buccaneers 10-7

Last meeting: Buccaneers beat Commanders 37-20 on Sept. 8.

Last week: Commanders beat Cowboys 23-19; Buccaneers beat Saints 27-19.

Commanders offense: overall (7), rush (3), pass (17), scoring (5)

Commanders defense: overall (13), rush (30), pass (3), scoring (18)

Buccaneers offense: overall (3), rush (4), pass (3), scoring (4)

Buccaneers defense: overall (18), rush (4), pass (29), scoring (16)

Turnover differential: Commanders, plus-1; Buccaneers, minus-5

Commanders player to watch

QB Jayden Daniels goes up against Todd Bowles’ Tampa Bay defense that has not been as reliable as usual, and the rookie has the chance to make a big difference. Daniels faces a unit that has not gotten a lot of production out of its edge rushers and a secondary that had just seven interceptions during the regular season. If Daniels can take over the game with his legs, as well as his arms, that spells trouble for the Buccaneers.

Buccaneers player to watch

QB Baker Mayfield resurrected a stalled career as Tom Brady’s successor in 2023, signed a $100 million contract in the offseason and returned to have an even better season in leading Tampa Bay to a fourth consecutive NFC South title. In addition to completing 71.4% of his passes, he threw for career highs of 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns and had 16 interceptions. The Bucs won a playoff game last year before being eliminated in the divisional round. If Mayfield’s on his game, they could be an even tougher out this time.

Key matchup

Buccaneers WR Mike Evans vs. Commanders CB Marshon Lattimore. Old rivals reunite in the playoffs, where they faced off four years ago when Lattimore played for New Orleans. Lattimore held Evans to one catch for 3 yards in that game, but it was a touchdown and Tampa Bay won. Evans is coming off his 11th 1,000-yard season to tie Jerry Rice’s record, and Lattimore is expected to return from aggravating his hamstring injury. Get your popcorn ready.

Key injuries

Commanders: In addition to Lattimore returning, C Tyler Biadasz should be back after missing the season finale with an ankle injury. … Coach Dan Quinn insists he’s “not concerned” about the leg soreness that caused him to pull Daniels at Dallas.

Buccaneers: Barring a setback, S Antoine Winfield Jr appears to be on track to return to the lineup after missing the past four games with a knee injury. … The uncertain status of TE Cade Otton and CB Jamel Dean, who also have knee injuries, could linger until game day. Otton has missed the past three games. Dean was inactive for the regular-season finale.

Series notes

This is just Washington’s ninth playoff game since the turn of the century. It’s the fourth against Tampa Bay, including the most recent Jan. 9, 2021, when Tom Brady and the Buccaneers won on the road wild-card weekend on their way to a Super Bowl championship. … Washington’s most recent playoff victory was also against the Bucs in the 2005 season. … Bowles played seven of his eight NFL seasons with Washington and was on the 1987 team that won the Super Bowl.

Stats and stuff

Daniels completed 69% of his passes and rushed for 891 yards, each the highest mark for a rookie QB in league history. He ran for two touchdowns and had a combined 272 yards in the air and on the ground in his first game at Tampa Bay. Daniels finished as the Commanders’ leading rusher. … RBs Brian Robinson, Chris Rodriguez, Jeremy McNichols and Austin Ekeler over the final four games of the regular season combined for 146 yards on 66 carries, an average of 2.21 yards an attempt. … WR Terry McLaurin set a single-season franchise record with 13 TD catches. With 82 catches for 1,096 yards, he and Davante Adams are the only players with 75 and 1,000 in each of the past five seasons. … TE Zach Ertz made 66 catches for 654 yards and seven TDs, his seventh season with 60-plus receptions. … LB Bobby Wagner led the Commanders with 132 tackles after signing a one-year deal in free agency. … Among other new additions, Dante Fowler had a team-high 10 1/2 sacks and fellow LB Frankie Luvu joined James Harrison in 2010 as the only players with 95-plus tackles, 10-plus tackles for loss, eight-plus sacks and five-plus passes defensed. … This will be the third playoff game in a Washington uniform for P Tress Way, the organization’s longest-tenured player who is the only one left from the January 2016 loss to Green Bay. … The Bucs are 11-3 in December or January games since the start of last season, counting the playoffs. That includes a wild-card round victory over the Eagles, as well as a divisional round loss at Detroit last January. … Tampa Bay is the only NFC team that has made the playoffs each of the past five seasons. … The Bucs are the only team to rank in the top 10 in total offense, rushing, passing and scoring. … Evans has 31 receptions — six for touchdowns — and averaged 21.5 yards a catch and 111 yards receiving in six games against Washington. … Rookie RB Bucky Irving, who ran for 1,122 yards and eight TDs, is Tampa Bay’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2015. … Another rookie, WR Jalen McMillan, has caught a TD pass in five consecutive games. He has seven total over that span. … The Bucs went 6-1 after their Week 11 bye, outscoring opponents by 104 points and outgaining them by an average of 180 yards a game. Defensively, they allowed the second-fewest yards and second-fewest points in the league over that stretch.

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