The 10-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the 12-5 Washington Commanders on Sunday, January 12 at Raymond James Stadium for a Wild Card clash. This game will mark the fourth all-time playoff meeting between the two franchises, with the Bucs holding a 2-1 series advantage. Rookie phenom Jayden Daniels and company will head to the Bay for a playoff showdown via Sunday Night Football. The two teams met in Week One and Todd Bowles was relentless with pressure, whether five-man pressures, six-man pressures, safeties blitzing, twists/stunts or players dropping and overloading. The Buccaneers have blitzed on 48.6% of pass rushes after their Week 11 bye - the highest rate in the NFL. However, in their Week One matchup against Washington, the Buccaneers blitzed Jayden Daniels on 47.1% of his dropbacks, their 2nd-highest in any game prior to their bye. When blitzed in Week One, Daniels completed just 5 of 9 passes for 45 yards while taking two sacks. Following kickoff, here are five Buccaneers to keep an eye on:

Mike Evans

Legendary receiver Mike Evans recorded 492 receiving yards against off coverage after the Bucs' Week 11 bye, the most in the NFL over that span. However, three of Evans' four touchdown receptions came against press coverage from Weeks 12-18, tied for the most in the NFL. Evans has hauled in 43 touchdowns against press coverage since 2016, four more than the next closest player (Davante Adams, 39). Despite missing Weeks 8-10 with a hamstring injury, Evans still hauled in six touchdowns against man coverage, tied for the 5th-most in the league. Since 2018, Davante Adams (42) is the only player in the NFL with more TD receptions against man than Evans (41). Marshon Lattimore has aligned across from Evans on at least 50% of his routes in 12 of 13 career games (including playoffs), with the only game under 50% coming this season. Overall, Lattimore has aligned across from Evans on 271 of 398 routes across those games (68.1%). Lattimore will face off against Evans on Sunday in the Wild Card as the pair battle it out once again. Evans made history against the Saints in Week 18, eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards for the 11th consecutive season, tying Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Evans, the jump-ball specialist and physical deep threat, will look to elevate the Bucs' offense to victory in the playoffs.

Jamel Dean

Jamel Dean lined up against Terry McLaurin on 18 of his 23 routes (78.3%) in Week One. McLaurin was only targeted once during those matchups with zero catches. McLaurin had two receptions for 17 yards on the day. Overall, McLaurin led the NFL in receptions (19), receiving yards (244), and touchdowns (7) on tight window targets (less than 1 yard of separation) this season. McLaurin's seven tight window touchdowns are tied for the most by any player in a season in the Next Gen Stats era (Jimmy Graham, 2017). Since McLaurin entered the NFL in 2019, he has recorded a league-leading 17 touchdowns in tight windows, one more than both Mike Evans and A.J. Brown. McLaurin has a good feel for how to win the leverage game against defensive backs and is physical at the top of routes, with quickness in-and-out of breaks. Dean put the clamps on 'Scary Terry' in Week One and will look to do the same in the playoffs. The Bucs' outside corner has 4.30-recovery speed and Dean utilizes his length to disrupt the catch space. With outstanding change-of-direction and acceleration, Dean solidifies the back end for Tampa Bay.

Bucky Irving

Rookie Bucky Irving has produced an unprecedented first-year campaign, galvanizing the Buccaneers' ground attack. He forced a missed tackle on 35.8% of his touches this season, the highest rate in the NFL (min. 100 touches). Irving gained an additional 609 yards after forcing missed tackles, 2nd-most in the league behind only Derrick Henry (753). Irving averaged 5.5 yards per carry on rushes outside the tackles (5th-most among RBs, min. 50 such carries) and 5.3 yards per carry on rushes inside the tackles (2nd-most among RBs) this season. Irving, Saquon Barkley, and Jahmyr Gibbs were the only running backs in the NFL to average over 5.0 yards per carry on rushes to each direction this season (min. 50 rushes each direction). He consistently evades contact by the first defender with effective jump-cuts, elite contact balance and lateral movements that cannot be taught. Irving's short-area quickness allows him to find creases and hit holes that the vast majority cannot. His unpredictability in 2024 spurred the run game in Tampa Bay and on Sunday, Irving will look to expose the Commanders' 30th ranked rush defense. Washington has allowed the most yards before contact (2.0) in the NFL to rushers and the second-most yards gained off explosive runs in 2024.

Yaya Diaby

Outside linebacker Yaya Diaby generated 57 pressures and 13 run stuffs (loss or no gain) this season and is just one of eight edge rushers to record 50-plus pressures and 10-plus run stuffs (Myles Garrett, Jared Verse, Jonathan Greenard, Brian Burns, Greg Rousseau, Will Anderson, Maxx Crosby). He recorded just 26 pressures and nine run stuffs in his rookie season last year and has harnessed his power into a variety of pass rush maneuvers. Diaby has utilized his strength to generate separation at the point of attack and has been a force along the line for the Buccaneers, elevating Todd Bowles' twists/stunts with superb short-area burst. Diaby has forced opposing quarterbacks to speed through their progressions with explosion out of his stance. He is effective in setting up blockers and has become a disruptive force against the run.

Lavonte David

Lavonte David, the linchpin of the Buccaneers' defense, is playing at peak form in 2024. The Bucs generated the most unblocked pressures (64) and the 4th-quickest average time to pressure (2.59 seconds) in the NFL this season and David became a focal point on blitz packages. David recorded 12 of those unblocked pressures, second-most in the league and just one behind Andrew Van Ginkel's league-leading 13. At age 34, David is the lone player this season with 100-plus tackles, 5.0-plus sacks and three-or-more forced fumbles. Per the Associated Press, David is just the eighth player to record 40-plus sacks and 30-plus takeaways including playoffs. David sets the standard of excellence in the Bay and is touted as one of the best off-ball linebackers in the NFL. With rare instincts, play speed, hip fluidity and tackle production, the coverage aficionado fortifies the Bucs' defense. The ageless David will play a critical role in Bowles' plan for the visiting Commanders.