We have officially reached Wild Card Weekend in the NFL. There is an entire weekend of fun games, and we are in store for a great weekend of football.
Today we are focusing on the Washington Commanders vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and I will give you my 3 best bets for the game.
The Washington Commanders will be traveling to Tampa Bay to take on Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers. Rookie Jayden Daniels has been stellar so far this season and it will be exciting to see how he fairs in his first playoff game.
These two teams faced off in the first week of the season with Jayden Daniels making his NFL debut. The Bucs dominated in a 37-20 win at home. Things have certainly changed since then, so this should be a really fun matchup for Sunday night.
The Commanders have established themselves as a future contender in the NFC. Rookie QB Jayden Daniels has shown glimpses of superstardom and HC Dan Quinn has proven in the past the ability to get a team to the Super Bowl.
Things are looking bright for the Commanders after what seems like an eternity of pain for the fan base. A 12-5 season and a winnable Wild Card game is all the fans can ask for and it is an amazing sign for the future of this organization.
Jayden Daniels is the odds-on favorite to win Rookie of the Year and rightfully so. He has thrown for 3,568 yards 25 TDs and 9 INTs. Add that to his 891 rushing yards, which broke Robert Griffin III’s record, and you have a stellar year.
The biggest issue with the Commanders has been their defense. They rank 18th in opponents' points/game and 13th in yards/game. The Bucs have a high-powered offense, so they will need to either lock down on the defensive side of the ball or hope they can keep up in a shootout.
The Bucs have yet again won the NFC South marking 4 straight years winning the division. This run is no fluke, despite the weakness of the other teams.
The Bucs have been a solid team since Todd Bowles took the reigns. Now, with Baker Mayfield playing at his best, this team seems to have an identity. They have talent on the defensive side of the ball, but it has been their offense carrying the load.
Much like the Commanders, this Tampa Bay offense is for real. Baker has seemingly found his stride down in Florida, ranking 3rd in yards and 2nd in TDs among all QBs. Mike Evans has been a staple of this team for the past decade. He just had his 11th straight season with 1,000 yards receiving, tying Jerry Rice’s record.
The emergence of rookie RB Bucky Irving has also been crucial to the Bucs' establishment of a solid rushing attack. This Bucs team is no joke, but much like the Commanders, will need some help from their defense.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -3 -115 - I’m going to just start with this pick. I think the Bucs are the far more experienced team and having a home field will certainly help. The Commanders are no joke, but they have struggled against good teams this season and they are very young. We have already seen Baker win a playoff game with this team, and I expect this veteran Bucs team to get it done.
Mike Evans Over 5.5 Receptions -115 - Evans has been Baker's top target since he arrived in Tampa Bay. And now, with Marshon Lattimore potentially coming to town, Evans will be ready to go. For those of you who don’t know, go look up some old Lattimore vs Evans fight clips when Lattimore was on the Saints. This should be fun.
Jayden Daniels Over 48.5 Rush Yards -115 - Daniels went over this total in 3 of his last 4 games. I expect Tampa to bring some pressure on the rookie, so look for him to be trying to escape the pocket and use his legs. He rushed for 88 yards in these teams' week 1 matchup.