It’s been a little more than four months since the Washington Commanders lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37-20 in the kickoff of the regular NFL season.
They meet again on Sunday for a high stakes playoff game with the Commanders looking to flip that result and continue on in the postseason.
WTOP Sports Director and Commanders Beat Reporter George Wallace joined WTOP’s Ian Crawford on Sunday morning to preview Sunday night’s game.
“It’s a full circle moment as Dan Quinn has mentioned all week as far as getting to start your second season the same place you started your regular season,” Wallace said.
“And it is different. It’s kind of the first time I think this has happened as far as a rookie quarterback is concerned, starting with their first playoff game against the team they played their first regular season game against. And Daniels has come a long way,” he said.
Jayden Daniels has been a star from the beginning and it just keeps on coming with the NFL recently selecting him and wide receiver Terry McLaurin for the 2025 Pro Bowl.
Daniels is the 15th quarterback in the franchise’s history to be named to the Pro Bowl and the first rookie to be selected since 2020. Daniels was selected as a primary quarterback.
“I mean, these guys have, even the offensive coaches this week, have talked about how they didn’t really know what they had in Week One,” Wallace said.
“They were still kind of getting to know everybody and then kind of figuring out what they had. But Daniels obviously has come a long way, 11 Rookie of the Weeks and just the magic he has been able to provide at the end of football games this year for this team,” he said.
Daniels is the favorite to win the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.
He said the competition on the other side comes from Tampa Bay’s quarterback Baker Mayfield. Wallace said he’s been improving and will put some pressure on the Commanders.
“Tampa Baker Mayfield has gotten a lot better. He threw 41 touchdowns this year,” he said.
Running back Bucky Irving also will be a challenge when it comes to the Commanders getting through Sunday’s game.
“That’s the biggest concern today for me, would be stopping Bucky Irving in that Tampa offense that really puts the defenses on the spot today in a crucial game,” Wallace said.
Good news for Washington is that cornerback Marshon Lattimore is back on the field and ready to take on his rivalry with Tampa’s Mike Evans. Lattimore missed the last two games for the Commanders due to hamstring issues.
Wallace said when it comes to injuries, things for the Commanders are looking up.
“Everybody’s good to go, which is good news,” Wallace said. “Jamison Crowder is the only one questionable, but I don’t know how serious that is, But they seem to be in pretty good health, which is what they’ll need tonight. And it’s playoff football, you want to be there.”
Kickoff is at 8 p.m. Sunday night. It will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.