Commanders vs. Buccaneers: Who Will Dominate the Wild Card Showdown?
With the regular season now over, NFL fans are now gearing up for the most exciting time of the season, the NFL Playoffs. Every year, new and exciting teams make the playoffs which gives new fanbases hopes of making the Super Bowl. The Buccaneers have made it to the playoffs the past few years coming out of the weak NFC South Division. Meanwhile, the Washington Commanders are one of the more shocking teams to make the playoffs as they were one of the worst teams last year and suddenly have burst onto the scene this year behind rookie sensation Jayden Daniels. So, who will prevail in this Wild Card clash and what are the keys for each team to move on in the playoffs?
Commanders: Stop the Buccaneers’ Run Game
When the Commanders played the Buccaneers in the first week of the season, the Buccaneers’ offense put up 37 points and nearly 400 yards on this defense. Now, this Commanders’ defense has improved throughout the season in their pass defense, but their rush defense has remained one of the worst in the league. With the emergence of rookie superstar Bucky Irving, the Buccaneers will look to him to carry the load against the Commanders and enable the offense to create tremendous offensive balance. If Bucky Irving can have his way in this game, then the Buccaneers will likely put up over 30 points in this matchup, putting a lot of pressure on Jayden Daniels and the Commanders’ offense to keep up.
Buccaneers: Let Baker Bake!
Baker Mayfield’s career revival in Tampa Bay has been amazing for both himself and the Buccaneers. Now, it is time for Baker Mayfield to continue to prove he is the Buccaneers’ franchise quarterback of the future. He has put up amazing passing statistics and has led this offense to be a top-five scoring offense in the league. However, none of that matters if he can’t win this Wild Card matchup against an emerging Commanders team. He must take control of this game and pick apart this defense. If he can have some assistance from Bucky Irving and the running game, that would be a plus, but this game will come down to the performances of the two quarterbacks. Mayfield has a lot of experience in these big playoff spots and he must use it to command this star-studded offensive cast to make this game a shootout against an inexperienced Commanders squad.
