The Washington Commanders fell short in their Week 1 contest vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
TAMPA, Fl. -- Following a Week 1 37-14 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the Washington Commanders are 0-1 to start the 2024 NFL season. Things didn't get off to a hot start for rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Commanders offense.
His first official pass of his NFL career was actually not, because it was thrown backward and as it fell incomplete was ruled a fumble resulting in a 15-yard loss and an eventual three and out. The Washington defense started out a tad rough to start the season allowing the Buccaneers multiple opportunities to find the end zone before ultimately forcing two early field goals as the home team took a 6-0 lead after two possessions each.Of course, the Commanders had their own shot at scoring as well but a missed field goal by kicker Cade York kept his side scoreless until the team's third drive of the game ended with a seven-yard touchdown run by running back Brian Robinson Jr. The two field goals and a touchdown pass from Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield to receiver Mike Evans gave their team a 16-7 lead heading into the locker room. Coming out of halftime Washington got the ball back to begin the second half and immediately Daniels targeted star receiver Terry McLaurin with a deep ball. McLaurin had gotten behind Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean on the route, but the ball sailed just a tad too far and fell incomplete. Ultimately, the Commanders still got into deep field goal range but once again fell short. Capitalizing on the good field position after Washington kicker Cade York missed the 56-yard try, his second field goal missed of the night, the Bucs drove down the field and scored from four yards out on a pass from Mayfield to receiver Chris Godwin. The score made it 23-7 midway through the third quarter. After exchanging three-and-out possessions Washington was able to crawl back into the game with a six-play, 60-yard drive that ended in Daniels' first career rushing touchdown and an extra point. The play of the drive came on the play before it and was made by Robinson who took a short pass from his quarterback and turned it into a 32-yard gain down to the Buccaneers one-yard line.And that score lasted all of five seconds into the final quarter as Mayfield found Tampa Bay rookie receiver Jalen McMillan on the first play of the fourth for a 32-yard touchdown that pushed the lead back out to 16. The Commanders took back over offensively, having to punt after five plays with 11 minutes remaining in the contest. The Buccaneers then had the opportunity to start weeding down the play clock, running the ball. Holes started opening for Tampa Bay, and they started running the ball more efficiently than they had all game. The run game, plus a few conversions in the air, killed enough clock to essentially put the game away. Mayfield found Evans for one last touchdown, extending their lead to 37-14. For the Commanders, there was no benefit in letting the clock run down, as that'd be a waste of reps for their rookie quarterback. Instead, Daniels scored another rushing touchdown on a ten-play, 70-yard scoring drive -- trimming the deficit to 37-20.Washington now gets a chance to learn from their loss and take a new-look squad into a home battle against the New York Giants next week in a very winnable division contest. A full-blown franchise reset will take some time to come together, and the Commanders will have that in mind.David Harrison has covered the NFL since 2015 as a digital content creator in both written and audio media. He is the host of Locked On Commanders and a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. His previous career was as a Military Working Dog Handler for the United States Army. Contact David via email at david.w.harrison82@gmail.com or on Twitter @DHarrison82.
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