Let’s preview this game by chatting with the opponent
The Buccaneers are set to host a wild card game on Sunday night against Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders. These two teams met in week one of the NFL season to kick things off and Tampa Bay beat Washington 37-20.
A lot has changed between now and then so we sat down with Andrew York of Hogs Haven to give us a little bit more insight into Washington and what might go down in this one.
1. These two teams are a lot different since the last time they met way back in September. What’s the biggest difference from that game to right now?
“The Commanders are night and day a different team, but I’d have to say the biggest difference is that the players are familiar with each other and with the offensive/defensive scheme. In addition to having a new coaching staff, this roster had the highest turnover in the NFL in the offseason. When these teams played in week 1, the Commanders looked like a JV team with no chemistry on either side of the ball. In week 2, the offense looked a bit more functional, though still problematic. In week 3 (our Monday night game against the Bengals), the offense finally took flight, though the defense was still a sieve. Finally in week 4 against the Cardinals, the defense started to come together. It took a few weeks of playing together, but now the players seem to have chemistry and feel comfortable in their scheme.”
2. Jayden Daniels is poised to win offensive rookie of the year. What did you think of his rookie season overall and how much has he progressed throughout the year?
“Jayden Daniels has had a great rookie season and absolutely deserves to win OROY. His most visible progression was in weeks 1-3, when he went from very simple reads and a tendency to tuck and run if his first read wasn’t open to making full field reads and showing patience in the pocket. At the same time, he’s still a dangerous runner and has a superpower at scrambling for first downs when his receivers aren’t open. What has surprised me is how quickly he transitioned to the NFL and looked like a pro. As a Commanders fan, I’ve had to watch a litany of young QBs learn what it’s like to start in the NFL in recent years, from RG3 to Kirk Cousins to Dwayne Haskins to Taylor Heinicke to Sam Howell. Almost all of them took a while to get acclimated and made a lot of the same mistakes game to game, only really showing improvement (if at all) between the beginning and end of the season. Jayden Daniels seemed to acclimate much faster, showing dramatic improvement in the first few weeks, and basically looked like a pro by week 3. His improvement since then has been more gradual, but I think still noticeable as better pocket awareness, ability to read defenses, and ability to throw with anticipation over time.”
3. Who has stepped up on the offensive side of the ball for Washington this year outside of Terry McLaurin? Should Tampa Bay be concerned?
“Outside of Terry McLaurin, the only skill-position player who really creates a lot on his own is RB Austin Ekeler, who recently returned from concussion protocol. However, Ekeler is the kind of player best used in a rotation for explosive plays. Other than that, the offense is carried more by Jayden Daniels ability to elevate the players around him and OC Kliff Kingsbury’s ability to scheme guys open. As a result, it could be a different secondary player going off for a big game each week, whether WR Olamide Zaccheaus, WR Dyami Brown, or TE Zach Ertz. None of those are scary players in their own right, but can move the chains and make big plays in this offense.”
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
4. When looking at this matchup, what is one positional group battle you are going to be keeping an eye on?
“The obvious answer to this would be the Bucs WRs vs our CBs, since we should have Marshon Lattimore back this game and his matchups with Mike Evans are always fun. However, I’ll go with Bucs RB Bucky Irving vs our run defense. Our run defense is generally stout up the middle, but tends to be vulnerable to runs to the edge. Bucky Irving is having a breakout year and seems to specialize in explosive runs to the edge, which is the weakness of our run defense. I’ll be looking to see if we have any answers to stop him.”
5. Playoffs are finally here so who do you got in this one and how does it shake out?
“I think these are two good teams and this should be a close game either way. I’d have been a lot more worried about the Commanders chances if Marshon Lattimore couldn’t play, because then I don’t think we’d have an answer to Mike Evans. Outside of Lattimore, our only good CB is rookie Mike Sainristil, but he’s listed as 5’9” and 182 lbs and wouldn’t be the best physical matchup for Evans. As it is, I think this should be a back and forth, high scoring, and exciting game, as both these teams can move the ball and both of these QBs can take over a game. The Bucs have homefield advantage and honestly have a more talented roster at most of the position groups, so I’d say they deserve being favored 3 points by Vegas and objectively are more likely to win, but it could absolutely go either way.”
Thanks so much to Andrew for doing this!