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Washington Commanders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Baker Mayfield and Buccaneers rout Commanders 37-20 to spoil Jayden Daniels' debut

The 29-year-old quarterback threw 289 yards and four touchdowns Sunday to lead the three-time defending NFC South champions to a 37-20 rout of the new-look Washington Commanders and spoil the pro debut of No. 2 overall draft pick Jayden Daniels.

Evans caught two TD passes, and Godwin and rookie Jalen McMillan each scored once for the Bucs, whose defense stymied Daniels and the Commanders' offense despite beginning the game without two injured starters and losing three cornerbacks along the way.

“We got to spread it around a bunch. A lot of guys got the ball,” said Godwin, who had eight catches for 83 yards. “I think we have the potential to be a really dominant offense.”

Daniels was more effective running the ball than passing, scoring a pair of rushing TDs for Washington, which is aiming for a fresh start with the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, Dan Quinn as the coach and Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt Jr. running the offense and defense, respectively.

“I grade myself hard. We didn’t win. I like to win,” Daniels said. “Overall, it went pretty well. There’s some stuff as an offense that we left on the field. We’ve got to execute better. It’s a long season. We’re going to move on.”

The former LSU star was one of three rookie starting quarterbacks in Week 1, along with No. 1 pick Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears and 12th pick Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos. He joined Robert Griffin III (2012) as the only rookies to start a season opener for Washington since 1967.

“I thought he got to fully express all the things that he has — using his legs, being aggressive down the field,” Quinn said. “Like a number of players tonight, there’s going to be a lot of takeaways. What I can tell you, we got one hell of a competitor.”

Mayfield jumpstarted a fizzling career last season, signing a one-year contract with the Buccaneers and winning Tom Brady's old job before leading Tampa Bay to a third consecutive division title and a playoff victory.

The 2017 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick from the following year's draft was rewarded in the offseason with a three-year, $100 million contract that answered any lingering questions about whether the Bucs considered him the QB to lead them forward.

“Pretty efficient for the most part. We just had to be more efficient in the red zone in the first half,” Mayfield said, noting the Bucs settled for field goals of 56, 34 and 29 yards by Chase McLaughlin while building a 16-7 halftime lead.

“We’ll take points always,” Mayfield added, "but we’d love to be able to score touchdowns.”

Mayfield completed 24 of 30 passes without an interception, including TD throws of 1 and 17 yards to Evans, who had five catches for 61 yards. Goodwin scored on a 4-yard reception and McMillan had a 32-yard TD catch in the second half.

Daniels scored on a pair of 1-yard runs after halftime, the last one coming with just under two minutes left. He finished with 88 yards rushing on 16 attempts and went 17 of 24 passing for 184 yards and no interceptions. The Bucs sacked him twice.

Unnecessary roughness Bucs All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was penalized for unnecessary roughness — though not ejected — for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Daniels at the end of a 12-yard scramble that helped set up Brian Robinson's 7-yard TD run in the second quarter.

The contact occurred as Daniels went to the ground on his own.

NFL senior vice president of officiating Perry Fewell told a pool reporter that Winfield was not ejected because there was “incidental contact made by the defender.”

“And it was clear that the defender was attempting to touch the quarterback down on the slide, so we didn't feel like it rose to the level of a disqualification,” Fewell said.

Daniels' helmet was knocked off, but the quarterback did not appear to be shaken up. The Bucs were penalized half the distance to the goal, giving the Commanders a first down at the Tampa Bay 11. Robinson scored two plays later.

Injuries Winfield had a walking boot on his right foot after the game. ... The Buccaneers played without starting DLs Calijah Kancey (calf) and Logan Hall (foot). ... CB Zyon McCollum (concussion) left the game in the first quarter and did not return. ... CB Bryce Hall (right ankle) was carted off the field early in the third quarter. ... Reserve CB Josh Hayes (ankle) also was ruled out in the second half. The injuries forced the Bucs to play S Christian Izien at cornerback, even though he had no prior experience at the position.

Up next Commanders: Host the NFC East rival New York Giants next Sunday.

Buccaneers: At Detroit next Sunday. The Lions eliminated Tampa Bay in the divisional round of the playoffs last season.

How can I watch Commanders vs. Buccaneers?

  • TV Channel: Commanders at Buccaneers 2021-22 NFL, week 1 is broadcasted nationally on FOX and NFL Sunday Ticket.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
    In Canada, viewers can watch Commanders vs. Buccaneers on DAZN.

Scoring Summary

TB FG 1st Period 11:34 Chase McLaughlin 56 Yd Field Goal
TB FG 1st Period 5:08 Chase McLaughlin 34 Yd Field Goal
TB TD 2nd Period 10:53 Mike Evans 17 Yd pass from Baker Mayfield (Chase McLaughlin Kick)
WSH TD 2nd Period 7:17 Brian Robinson Jr. 7 Yd Run (Cade York Kick)
TB FG 2nd Period 0:16 Chase McLaughlin 29 Yd Field Goal
TB TD 3rd Period 7:11 Chris Godwin 4 Yd pass from Baker Mayfield (Chase McLaughlin Kick)
WSH TD 3rd Period 1:52 Jayden Daniels 1 Yd Run (Cade York Kick)
TB TD 4th Period 14:55 Jalen McMillan 32 Yd pass from Baker Mayfield (Chase McLaughlin Kick)
TB TD 4th Period 3:29 Mike Evans 1 Yd pass from Baker Mayfield (Chase McLaughlin Kick)
WSH TD 4th Period 1:12 Jayden Daniels 1 Yd Run (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/wsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWSH https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/tb.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTB
22 1st Downs 22
7 Passing 1st downs 15
12 Rushing 1st downs 4
3 1st downs from penalties 3
2-8 3rd down efficiency 9-13
1-1 4th down efficiency 0-0
56 Total Plays 61
299 Total Yards 392
5.3 Yards per Play 6.4
9 Total Drives 9
161 Passing 280
17/24 Comp/Att 24/30
6.2 Yards per pass 9.0
0 Interceptions thrown 0
2-23 Sacks-Yards Lost 1-9
138 Rushing 112
30 Rushing Attempts 30
4.6 Yards per rush 3.7
3-3 Red Zone (Made-Att) 3-5
7-51 Penalties 7-46
0 Turnovers 0
0 Fumbles lost 0
0 Interceptions thrown 0
0 Defensive / Special Teams TDs 0
26:19 Possession 33:41
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Sua Opeta, G Questionable Apr 16
Chris Godwin, WR Questionable Mar 10
Markees Watts, LB Questionable Feb 12
Christian Izien, S Questionable Feb 12
Silas Dzansi, OT Questionable Feb 12
Washington Commanders Washington Commanders Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Norell Pollard, DT Questionable Feb 12
Tyler Owens, S Questionable Feb 12
Jordan Magee, LB Questionable Feb 12
Daron Payne, DT Questionable Feb 1
Sam Cosmi, G Questionable Jan 27

Game Information

Raymond James Stadium

Location: Tampa, FL
Attendance: 63,020 · Capacity:

2024 NFC East Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Philadelphia 14 3 .824 0 463 303
Washington 12 5 .706 0 485 391
Dallas 7 10 .412 0 350 468
New York 3 14 .176 0 273 415

2024 NFC South Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Tampa Bay 10 7 .588 0 502 385
Atlanta 8 9 .471 0 389 423
Carolina 5 12 .294 0 341 534
New Orleans 5 12 .294 0 338 398
Full Standings

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