Last Sunday the Washington Commanders defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23 – 20, to move on to the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs for the first time since defeating the Buccaneers in 2005.
Before the game started, it was announced that the commanders were underdogs and the Buccaneers were the 3 point favorite according to the Sportsline Consensus. When asked about how this may affect the team, Washington’s head coach, Dan Quinn, addressed the situation stating “this team has earned the right to be here” and “ these guys have earned the right to battle”.
Washington’s rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels, made his playoff debut where he completed 24/35 of his passes for 268 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. He also led the team in rushing yards where he ran for 36 yards in 13 carries (2.8 AVG), these stats gave him a total quarterback rating (QBR) of 80.4, which out performed the bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield who accumulated a QBR of 62.7.
The Commanders pulled off a game winning drive led by their star quarterback, who gained a game sealing first down which put their kicker, Zane Gonzalez, in prime position to kick the 37 yard game winning field goal to send the Washington Commanders to the Divisional round. Commanders fans all around DeMatha like Dylan Kivett are celebrating the stressful experience, “I thought [the kick] was going to go wide right but I was relieved when it went in” Kivett said when asked about the game winning kick.
The Commanders play the number 1 seeded Detroit Lions this Sunday at 8:00. The Lions are 9.5 favorites to win according to the Sportsline Consensus, but can Washington defy the odds once again and keep their Super Bowl hopes alive?
