Generations went by in the NFL and one thing held true for all but a few outliers: Rookie quarterbacks struggled, they didn’t carry their teams to the playoffs and they surely didn’t go on the road in the playoffs and win.
There were some rookie QBs who started for very good teams and were parts of playoff appearances and even some wins. Few were the driving force behind those clubs. Not many rookie quarterbacks throughout NFL history have been Jayden Daniels.
He helped the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Bucs 23-20 on a Zane Gonzalez field goal that bounced off the upright and in as time expired in Sunday's wild-card playoff game.
Daniels looks nothing like a rookie and hasn’t since very early this season. He looks like a superstar already. Daniels was a key, yet again, in the Commanders’ win that sent Washington to the divisional round where they'll face top-seeded Detroit on Saturday night. Daniels completed a fourth-down pass for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for the lead, and after the Buccaneers tied the game 20-20 with 4:41 left, he calmly led a drive for the win. As was the case all season, Daniels was completely unaffected in pressure situations.
Daniels isn’t just along for the ride with the Commanders. He’s the centerpiece of a team that stunned the NFL by winning 12 games in the regular season and then went on the road to beat the NFC South champs. It’s the first time since the Seattle Seahawks in the 2012 season with Russell Wilson that a team went on the road with a rookie quarterback and won a playoff game. That win was against Washington.
The Commanders ask Daniels to carry a flawed roster, and he has answered that call all season.
Leading a game-winning drive in the final minutes is not supposed to be how first playoff games go for rookie quarterbacks. Nobody told that to Daniels.
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels showed incredible poise late in Sunday's wild-card playoff win over the Tampa Bay Bucs. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
A good game on wild-card weekend
It was clear from the start that Daniels wasn’t intimidated by the spotlight of making his first playoff start, and doing it on the road. He hasn’t been scared all season, so it wasn’t a surprise that he was in control on Sunday night.
Daniels got the Commanders off to a 10-3 lead in the first half. He hit Dyami Brown for the game’s first touchdown on a 10-yard pass. The Buccaneers did a good job keeping Daniels from making big plays when he ran the ball, even delivering a hard shot to him as he ran out of bounds during an early rushing attempt.
But Daniels was efficient as a passer. He was a totally different quarterback than the one the Buccaneers saw in Week 1 of the season.
The Buccaneers have a good offense of their own, and they finally got rolling near the end of the first half. Sparked by a physical run from Mayfield, Tampa Bay moved downfield and after a defensive pass interference penalty on Marshon Lattimore, Mike Evans beat his longtime personal rival Lattimore for a 1-yard touchdown.
That made the score 10-10 at halftime. Finally there was a compelling game on wild-card weekend.
Key mistakes haunt Buccaneers
Tampa Bay made a couple of key mistakes in the fourth quarter that helped out Washington.
The Buccaneers got a key stop on fourth down in the fourth quarter, but a crucial turnover gave the ball right back to Washington. Mayfield was either going to hand it to rookie Jalen McMillan on a jet sweep or fake it to him, but the timing was off, the ball hit McMillan in the side and it fell to the ground. The Commanders recovered at the 13-yard line. Mayfield was angry at the fumble, punching the ground after the Commanders recovered. The Commanders went for it again on fourth down and Daniels hit Terry McLaurin for a touchdown and a 20-17 lead.
The Buccaneers came right downfield and had third-and-inches, but there was an unusual mistake. Rookie center Graham Barton appeared to forget the snap count and snapped it early, and the rest of the offense wasn’t moving. The Commanders dropped Bucky Irving for a loss once the play got going, and the Buccaneers settled for a field goal and a 20-20 tie.
The fumbled exchange to McMillan and the miscommunication on the snap gave Washington 7 points and might have cost the Buccaneers 4 on the other end.
The Commanders had a chance to win the game with one clutch drive. Daniels hit a huge pass to Brown on third-and-6 to keep the drive going. He made a nearly impossible pass to a well-covered Austin Ekeler that got Washington into field-goal range. On a third-and-1 in the final minute, Daniels got past defensive lineman Calijah Kancey, who could only grab Daniels’ towel as he stiff-armed the defender as he ran by, and got the first down that allowed Washington to set up a field goal as time expired.
Daniels is having a special, historic rookie season. And even with all of the accolades from his regular season, it would have been excusable if he went on the road and struggled in his first postseason start. But watching him Sunday night, it was easy to forget he was a rookie at all.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Washington wins a playoff game for the first time in 19 years, and the Commanders are off to Detroit
Washington tries a hard count on 3rd and 1, and then takes a timeout
Marcus Mariota was under center — Washington had a successful sneak with Mariota earlier — but the Bucs didn't jump
Yahoo Sports Staff
Ekeler for one more yard
54 seconds left, and the Commanders have a 3rd and 1 from the Tampa Bay 19. The Bucs call timeout and have one timeout left, and have to have a stop on this next snap. The Commanders do have two timeouts in their pocket. If the Commanders don't gain another yard, it would be a 36-yard field goal try for Zane Gonzalez — who is 24-of-27 in his career from 30-39 yards,.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Austin Ekeler for 18 yards, inside the 30!
Jayden Daniels has ZERO fear. The Commanders are FULLY in control now.
The Commanders have it on the Tampa Bay 45 with a 2nd and 10 with two timeouts in their pocket. They can control the clock, but they're not quite in Zane Gonzalez's range yet — he's hit from 52 yards tonight, but Washington elected to pass on a 56-yard attempt as well. Think the 35-yard-line at least for a field goal attempt, and remember, the Commanders are 3-for-5 on fourth down tries tonight.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Dyami Brown is having a star turn tonight
A double-spy on Jayden Daniels on a third down, and he's already making defensive coordinators loose sleep in schemes.
Bucs drive stalls out, Chase McLaughlin ties it with a field goal
It's 20-20 with 4:41 to play in regulation. Poor timing on a 3rd and 1 snap wound up costing the Buccaneers a couple of yards and they weren't willing to risk it on a fourth down deep in Washington territory. It's the second time a bungled snap — after the Mayfield fumble — has cost the Bucs in the 4th quarter.
Washington has been here before, needing a late score to win — games against Philadelphia and Chicago come to mind — and its been up for the challenge in some huge moments. We'll see how this thriller, which is the most competitive of the wild card games to this point, shakes out.
We've got a 20-20 tie late in the fourth quarter of this wild-card weekend matchup between the Buccaneers and the Commanders. (AP/Chris O'Meara)
Yahoo Sports Staff
Commanders cash in a fourth down for a TD to Terry McLaurin
This time Jayden Daniels was able to find McLaurin for the score and the Commanders make good on the massive Bucs mistake. It's a Washington lead, 20-17, with under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Washington finally making another play in the red zone has them in front, but it's been so challenging all night, as it had to come on another fourth down attempt.
It’s Washington's third red zone trip without a touchdown tonight, and this one had a 1st and goal at the 1-yard-line. Brian Robinson going backward and three Jayden Daniels incompletions later, the Bucs have the ball — albeit on their own 3-yard-line — and the lead, early in the 4th quarter.
Zyon McCollum called for pass interference in the end zone, Commanders get it at the 1-yard-line
Gigantic penalty on the first play of the 4th quarter, and Washington is in business.
Yahoo Sports Staff
End of 3rd quarter: Buccaneers 17, Commanders 13
The Buccaneers hold a 17-13 lead after three quarters against the Commanders. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
It's been a good one in Tampa, with the Bucs and Commanders trading second half scores in a 17-13 games. Both offenses have had some bright spots after halftime, and it’ made for a see-saw battle at Raymond James Stadium.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Daniels to Ertz on 4th down
The Commanders go for it as much as anyone in the league and in no-man's-land, this 4th and 5 was a no brainer. Huge play by the rookie QB to the veteran safety blanket tight end.
Jayden finds Ertz for a huge conversion on 4th and 5 ⛓️
It took just three plays, but a holding penalty on Jamel Dean, a Jayden Daniels run, and a drop in the bucket to Terry McLaurin and the Commanders are at the Bucs' 42. The game has gotten very up-and-down the field since the start of the 3rd quarter
Yahoo Sports Staff
Lucky Bucky! Touchdown Bucs!
Baker Mayfield finds his running back for the passing TD. Assist to Jalen McMillian for the rub (or pick if you're a defensive player) to get Irving open and it's 17-13 Tampa Bay with 4:31 to play in the fourth quarter.
The Bucs have some CHUNK plays on this drive. First Mike Evans beat Marshon Lattimore to pick up 19 in the pass game, and Bucky Irving ripped off runs of 18 and 10 yards and the Bucs are inside the 10-yard-line.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Zane Gonzalez makes the 22-yarder to give Washington a 13-10 lead
It's the second time the Commanders have been in the red zone and not gotten a touchdown. With how Tampa Bay moved the ball late in the first half, certainly the Commanders will like that there are more points on the board, but they will wind up kicking themselves if this turns into a touchdown fest in the second half after they couldn't cash in a goal-to-go situation to open the third quarter.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Jamel with a HUGE PBU in the end zone
The Commanders will settle for a field goal attempt after the breakup intended for Terry McLaurin.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Commanders on the march to open the 2nd half
Dyami Brown, welcome to The Show. The rookie has been big tonight and has catches of 30 and 24 yards on this opening drive of the second half.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Halftime: Commanders 10, Buccaneers 10
The Commanders were in control for much of the first half, but a late surge from the Bucs on a good drive ended with a Mike Evans touchdown catch, and we're even at the half. Business picked up in the second quarter and the Commanders will receive the second half kickoff.
Mike Evans and the Buccaneers tied the game up with Washington 10-10 just before halftime. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Yahoo Sports Staff
Mike Evans' Hall of Fame speech is going to be so much fun
He's going to shout out a lot of quarterbacks ... will he shout out Marshon Lattimore?
Zane Gonzalez hits from 52, and Washington leads 10-3
The Commanders have been in control of this game, but they're only ahead 10-3. They've run 34 plays to the Buccaneers' 16, but there's 1:52 on the clock and the Bucs have two timeouts before halftime.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Another Bucs penalty is a brutal call
Yaya Diaby sacked Jayden Daniels on a third down, but a defensive holding call in the secondary gave the Commanders a first down, and they're on the move again and into to Bucs territory. Tampa has been flagged three times for 28 yards, and they've all been costly.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Bucs punt after penalty
Baker Mayfield has been OK in the early going, but the Bucs keep getting behind the sticks. A chop block cost the Buccaneers 15 yards, and they were also flagged for a holding penalty that was declined before punting the ball back to Washington. Midway through the 2nd quarter and the Commanders still lead 7-3.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Jayden Daniels hits Dyami Brown for the score
After stopping the bleeding, the Commanders cap a 17-play, 92-yard drive with a touchdown pass. That series took up more than nine minutes and with just under 9:30 to play in the first half, the Commanders have taken a 7-0 lead.
Commanders go for it again near the 20, and pick it up
An inside give to Austin Ekeler gets the 4th and 1 and the Commanders are still on the move, at the 22.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Commanders into Bucs territory to close the 1st quarter
This drive started at their own 8-yard-line, and a third down scramble and throw from Jayden Daniels to Zach Ertz was the catalyst for getting the ball out of the shadow of the goal post. Tampa leads 3-0, but both offenses have shown some rhythm in the early going, despite not reaching the end zone yet.
The Buccaneers hold a 3-0 lead after the first quarter on Sunday night. (AP/Chris O'Meara)
Yahoo Sports Staff
Bucs forced into a punt, but after a first down
Washington survives the 4th down miss, and the game is still 3-0. It'll need to go the length of the field though, after Jamison Crowder's fair catch at the 8-yard-line.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Washington turns it over on 4th down gamble
It was 4th and 2 on the 19-yard-line and the Commanders came up short because of an incompletion. Good defense by the Bucs on this play, but perhaps a field goal to match Tampa Bay would have been a good choice?
Bucs take over at their own 19.
Yahoo Sports Staff
The league scooped us on the caption for the first big play of the game
Jayden Daniels takes over after a record-setting rookie season, setting new NFL marks for completion percentage and rushing yards for a rookie quarterback. Daniels opened his NFL career in Week 1 with a loss, and is looking to help Washington to a measure of revenge.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Chase McLaughlin knocks through a 50-yard field goal
The Bucs' opening drive stalled in Commanders territory, and it was 3 to open the game for the Bucs. There was an offsides penalty on the play, but coach Todd Bowles elected to not take the points off the board — it would have resulted in a 4th and 2. All points might be important today, with two of the league's highest-scoring teams in the matchup. Washington was fifth in scoring (28.5 points per game) and Tampa Bay was fourth (29.5 points per game).
Yahoo Sports Staff
Bucs open with the ball and Baker Mayfield finds Mike Evans on the opening play
And it was for a first down, too. Evans became just the second player ever, joining Jerry Rice, with 11-consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons this year, and he's still among the most productive receivers in the NFL.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Rookie QBs winning playoff games used to be a thing of the past
But Jayden Daniels is actually trying to keep a streak going. Each of the last two seasons (Brock Purdy with the 49ers in 2022-23 and C.J. Stroud with the Texans in 2023-24) a rookie quarterback has won a playoff game. Can the presumptive Offensive Rookie of the Year make it three years in a row and get Washington a first playoff win in 19 years?
The rookie running back from Oregon would do well for Tampa Bay if he's the best offensive rookie in this game — his 1,122 rushing yards led the team this year, to go along with eight touchdowns on the ground. He topped the 100-yard mark in two of Tampa Bay's last four games and was a major player in the Bucs' big finish to the year, when Tampa Bay won six of seven to close the regular season.
Buccaneers-Commanders preview: These two teams could put on a show
This one could very well end up being the best game of the day. With Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite Jayden Daniels and Baker Mayfield squaring off, there could be plenty of points scored in prime time tonight.
The nightcap should be solid weather-wise. It’s about 60 degrees in Tampa tonight, where both teams will see mostly cloudy conditions and very light winds.
