High-Flying Circus

A real razor-thin type of game here. The margins are tight and the room for error is near zero. This game could be an absolute shootout between two high powered offense with playmakers at QB. Two prolific offenses matching up will lead to this kind of game, or a war of attrition. At the very least, this game is going to be highly entertaining.

Tampa Bay, while shaky at times, as shown its stature numerous times this season. Baker Mayfield is incredible at football. So is Mike Evans, and we can’t leave out rookie sensation Bucky Irving. If you watched tape this week, you would’ve seen that Washington is much weaker in the run game on the defensive side. Good thing you got Bucky Irving. First step for the Bucs, attack with the run game. Make a team that struggles to stop the run feel the heat. Then don’t let up. And when they are sensing run, that’s when you pull out the QB read or some play action. Washington is quite good in the pass game, so if you can open them up where they’re weak in the run game, you can then move to step two and start to attack where they are stronger. Mike Evans will come in handy here, as well as Mayfield’s accuracy with the rock. If they are able to stop Jayden Daniels in the pass game, I think they got this win. So to recap, work the ground game early, then blow past them with the pass game. Contain Daniels on top of that, and I got the Bucs winning 34-28.

This is the Commanders first playoff game since 2020, but they got a new cast of players this time. This young team, led by Jayden Daniels, has done things this year no one thought was possible. It was not really a matter of accomplishing a certain statistic, but rather how well Daniels has transitioned to the NFL. He is cool in the pocket, accurate and quick with his passing, and is a hell of an athlete who can extend plays and drives with ease. There have only been seven rookie QBs to start and win their first playoff game, and Daniels has a chance to add his name to that list, (side note, there has never been two rookie QBs to start and win their first playoff games in the same year. Bo Nix and Daniels have a chance to make some history.) Washington needs to keep this game simple. It’s easy to get caught in the emotions of a playoff game, especially rookies, but it’s the ones that stay calm that usually come out on top. By keeping it simple, I mean don’t change anything that brought success this year. Obviously, I think the Commanders, like many teams, will go as far as their QB takes them. But let Daniels make the plays he’s been making all year. He finished the season with 3,568 passing yards, 25 TDs, as well as 891 rushing yards and 6 TDs. He led his team in rushing yards as a QB. And as a rookie. That’s not teachable, that’s just inherent. So, where is Tampa’s weakness? In the pass game. They rank 29th in pass defense, and with Daniels’ ability to throw the ball, they could carve up against this team. If they are successful in this, they then can attack the stronger run defense Tampa Bay has. Inverted plan to the Bucs, but the idea is generally the same. To be honest, I think the Bucs will be too much for the rookie Darkhorse, but there is no time like the present for Washington. They’ll be back and more ready if they can’t get it done this year.

POSTGAME:

Jayden Daniels. That is all. He is going to take this team far. He may beat the Lions next week. It is unbelievable what a young, talented QB can do for your team. Took a perennial losing team to the playoffs and won as a rookie, which Daniels is only the 8throokie QB to win in their first playoff start. He finished the game with 268 passing yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, and only took 1 sack. Brilliant. While the run game faltered against a run heavy Tampa Bay defense, they had zero problem throwing the ball against this weaker pass defense. I said last week, run, then pass. But I guess they know what to do, because they basically bypassed the run game for the pass game and never looked back. I think the Bucs could’ve won this game; they left too much time on the board in the final drive and needed a TD to put pressure on Washington. But they were unable to put 7 points up, and settled for a FG. This led Daniels and the Commanders to put together a 10 play, 51-yard drive, that ate up the last seconds of time in the game. Jayden Daniels, as a rookie, led his team, in an away playoff game, on a game winning drive as a rookie. Let that sentence sink in. This team is dangerous for anyone. The Lions better make sure their boots are buckled, because if they think they’re just going to roll over this team, they got another thing coming. I am equally as excited for this game, as I am for the Bills and Ravens.