The Buccaneers' close battle with the Commanders in the first round of playoffs ended in a walk-off 37-yard field goal by Washington's Zane Gonzalez, ending their 2024 season. The kick hit the right upright and bounced in, providing the Commanders with a 23-20 win at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday night.
"I'm proud of the way they fought," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "Obviously it's disappointing. We don't want the season to end like this, but we don't point fingers. We had chances. We had chances to win this ballgame. Obviously, it wasn't good enough."
Offensive Overview
The Buccaneers headed into halftime with the game tied at 10 following a Mike Evans one-yard touchdown. On the scoring play, Evans faked an outside release like he was going to catch a fade, then once Marshon Lattimore took the bait, Evans worked inside for the grab. Commanders' Quan Martin dropped in coverage and Mayfield threaded the needle over his helmet to hit Evans. The play before, Evans used his physicality versus Lattimore in bump-and-run coverage and drew a DPI penalty to set up first-and-goal. On that drive, the Bucs had four-straight first downs, beginning with Mayfield's 18-yard scramble on third-and-nine.
Tampa Bay held a 17-13 lead heading into the fourth frame after a four-yard touchdown catch by rookie Bucky Irving. To conclude the drive, Evans was doubled on the left side of the formation, creating single coverage on Jalen McMillan and the back on the other side. McMillan drew coverage away as the decoy, freeing up Irving with an open shot to the end zone. Following a goal-line stand, the Bucs had the ball early in the fourth. However, a botched handoff between Mayfield and McMillan on a jet sweep led to a fumble that Washington recovered at the Bucs' 13-yard line. The Commanders cashed in with a Terry McLaurin touchdown, putting the visiting team up by three.
Several miscues for the Bucs sealed their fate inside Raymond James Stadium. On Tampa Bay's final offensive possession, a quarterback sneak for no yards and an early snap by center Graham Barton on third-and-one that led to a loss of two for Irving, punctuated the Bucs' defeat in the Wild Card.
Overall, Baker Mayfield completed 15-of-18 passes (83.3%) for 185 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions, earning a 146.5 passer rating. The 146.5 passer rating is the highest in a postseason contest in franchise history, and the ninth-highest mark by any quarterback in a postseason contest dating back to 2000. Mayfield has recorded a passer rating of 100.0-plus in three of his five career postseason contests, and his career postseason passer rating of 105.9 leads all active quarterbacks (min. two games).
Evans brought in a team-leading seven receptions for 92 yards and one receiving touchdown. With his score, Evans tied Leonard Fournette (6) for the second-most touchdowns from scrimmage in franchise playoff history, and surpassed Fournette (32) for the second-most playoff points scored by a non-kicker in franchise history. Irving contributed 83 scrimmage yards and one score on the day. He logged 17 carries for 77 yards (4.5 average), establishing a new single-game high for rushing yards by a rookie in franchise playoff history and surpassing the previous mark of 72 set by Warrick Dunn on 12/28/97 vs. Detroit.
Defensive Rundown
Commanders' quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 24 of 35 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns, while running 13 times for 36 yards. The Bucs held Washington to 2.5 yards per carry in the NFC clash, but the Commanders converted eight of 15 third down attempts and three of five fourth-down attempts, with the latter leading to favorable time of possession for Washington. Daniels was effective on read options and was able to evade pressure using his legs.
Linebacker Lavonte David finished with a team-high-tying eight tackles (joining Antoine Winfield Jr.) and 1.0 sack. His sack increased his career postseason total to 3.0 – the fifth-most in franchise history. Additionally, defensive lineman Calijah Kancey finished with one tackle (that went for a loss). He recorded at least one TFL in each of his three career playoff games, tied with Derrick Brooks and Greg Spires for the third-longest streak by a Buccaneer in franchise history, trailing only Devin White (four) and Shelton Quarles (four). Outside linebacker Yaya Diaby snagged a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit on Daniels, harnessing his power. Cornerback Jamel Dean exited the game with a knee injury but made an impact on the field. In the third quarter, he blanketed McLaurin with an arm-over swipe to deflect the pass, preventing a touchdown. That play forced a Gonzalez field goal and 13-10 score.
