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.
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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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) -
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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.
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