In typical 2024 fashion, the Washington Commanders saved their best in Week 18 for the very last. A Terry McLaurin touchdown in the final three seconds of the game sealed a Commander’s victory over the Dallas Cowboys and punched Washington’s ticket as the sixth seed in the NFC playoff picture.
Instead of taking the long flight to LA to play the Rams, a Seattle Seahawks win in LA meant that Washington would start their postseason in the same fashion their regular season began—a trip to Florida’s west coast to visit Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On January 7th, 2006, the Joe Gibbs-led Washington Redskins won a 17-10 Wild Card slug fest in Tampa Bay, carried by a dominant team defensive performance from the Burgundy and Gold. On Sunday Night Football, Washington will return to Tampa in search of its first playoff victory in almost 20 years.
Unlike in 2005, the Commanders arrive in the playoffs as one of the league’s highest-scoring offenses. At 28.5 points per game, the Commanders have improved leaps and bounds since their Week 1 defeat in Tampa Bay. No player has done more than Washington’s undisputed Offensive Rookie of the Year, Jayden Daniels.
Standing in the way, however, is a Buccaneers team that ranks one spot ahead of them in the points-per-game stat column at 29.5. Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, and Jaylen McMillan are just a few of the weapons that will have Washington on their toes if they want to move on to the Divisional Round of the playoffs come next weekend.
With that, let’s dive into three Keys to Washington winning this Sunday –
Joe Whitt’s defense must stop the run
Throughout 2024, the Commanders’ defensive unit has been the team’s weakest link, and this weekend, they will need to step up their game, plain and simple.
Sure, the Commanders will have to get after Baker Mayfield if they want a chance to slow down this potent Buccaneer offense. And, of course, if Marshon Lattimore starts for Washington, not only will we get the legendary Mike Evans vs Marshon Lattimore showdown we all want to see, but his presence will make life a lot more difficult for Baker Mayfield.
However, the Buccaneers can cause a massive problem for Joe Whitt Jr.’s defense on the ground.
Looking into the numbers, against the run, Washington ranks in the bottom three in overall run defense, while Tampa ranks as a top-five rushing team in the league, and Rookie Running Back Bucky Irving is the man who makes it all happen. With almost 1,200 rushing yards on the season, this weekend’s matchup against Tampa’s run game will be a tall ask for a defensive line that has struggled mightily in stopping the run for most of the season.
Jon Allen, Daron Payne, Johhny Newton, and Washington’s speedy linebackers must be on their A-game for a Commanders victory.
Kliff Kingsbury has to find success running the ball
Only three times has a Commander running back rushed for over 100 yards in a game this season. Last week, against the Cowboys, RB1 Brian Robinson’s stat line was a measly five rushes for 10 yards. While Austin Ekeler continues his ramp-up from multiple concussions in one season, he, too, has struggled to find success on the ground all year long. The Commander’s offensive rushing attack statistically has been buoyed by Jayden Daniels’s rushing stats, and Washington can’t afford to be this one-dimensional as the level of the opponent takes a big step up.
Relying on Jayden Daniels as the Swiss army knife that makes the entire offense work on the ground and through the air is unsustainable.
Instead, a successful run game has always served as a means to open up the playbook and take the pressure off Jayden Daniels to be the man who does it all. Of course, it won’t come easy, as the Bucs have been a top-five run-defensive team in the NFL this season, allowing an average of 97.8 yards per game.
However, offensive coordinators in the National Football League are paid handsomely because they find ways to make it work.
Jayden Daniels is going to have to shine.. again.
Our third key to victory seems quite apparent but is the most important. Jayden Daniels is the reason Washington is practicing this week for a Wild Card Game and is not busy carrying boxes out of their lockers for locker room cleanout.
#5 is the generational talent Washington has been looking for for decades. His growth as a thrower, runner, and leader throughout the season remains Washington’s biggest strength, and his continued success will be the key to the team advancing to the next round of the playoffs.
In a story-like fashion, the likes of which the NFL could only write, it feels almost poetic that the Commander’s postseason will begin where the regular season did. It’s the perfect showcase to see how far Jayden Daniels has come since Week 1. Daniels must be accurate and decisive and make plays with his legs for Washington to have a chance in this game.
Because the postseason is truly a showcase where the NFL stars come out to shine, why not here? Why not now? He has the talent to do for Washington, which fans have been waiting for almost 20 years to see again-
Conor Forrest is the Editor-in-Chief and Senior Commanders Insider for SportsJourney.com. As a graduate of George Mason University, Forrest has spent the last eight years sharing his love for sports with listeners and viewers in the DC area and around the world. He hosts the “After Further Review Podcast” and has held numerous on-air and writing roles covering the DC area sports, Division 1 Basketball, and the NFL. His work has been featured on outlets like NBC Sports Washington, Fansided.com, Heavy.com and The Fourth Estate.
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