TAMPA, Fla. – Jayden Daniels ran in the decisive first down to set up Zane Gonzalez's 37-yard field goal that hit the right upright and went as time expired, and the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 in the NFC Wild-Card Game on Sunday night for their first win. In the franchise's playoff run 6,945 days ago.
Daniels, who played with a bandage under his right eye after his face was covered in blood, became the third rookie quarterback in three years to win a playoff game.
The Leaders (13-5) will face the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions (15-2) in the divisional round.
Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers (10-8) missed several opportunities and the veteran quarterback committed a costly turnover in the fourth quarter. The Bucs couldn't gain a single yard on two attempts from their own 12 and settled for a field goal to tie the game before Washington won.
Daniels threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, joining CJ Stroud and Brock Purdy as rookie QBs to win playoff games the past three seasons.
Washington has not won in the postseason since beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-10 in a Wild Card game on January 7, 2006.
The Buccaneers opened the season with a 37-20 home victory against the Leaders in Daniels' first game. Daniels went on to have a great season, was selected to the Pro Bowl and helped Washington improve from 4-13 to 12-5.
Now, he has them heading to Detroit to face Jared Goff and the Lions' high-octane offense.
After Tampa Bay's defense held inside the 5 in the first minute of the fourth quarter to preserve a 17-13 lead, Mayfield gave the Commanders the ball to the right winger when he fumbled a pass exchange to Jalen McMillan. Washington recovered at the Buccaneers 13. On fourth-and-2 from the 5, Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin in the back of the end zone for a 20-17 lead.
Mayfield led the Buccaneers to second-and-1 at the leaders 12 but settled for a 32-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin that tied it at 20-20 with 4:41 remaining.
The Bucs never got the ball back, thanks to Daniels, who calmly led his team down the field. With less than a minute left in the game, he was injured behind the line of scrimmage but rushed for 4 yards on third-and-2, allowing him to take a knee to set up Gonzalez's winning punt.
Leaders coach Dan Quinn had previously passed short field goals on fourth down twice and the offense failed to convert before McLaurin's TD catch.
On fourth down from the Buccaneers 4 less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Daniels threw an incomplete. He was pressured and threw incomplete on fourth-and-2 from Tampa Bay's 20 on Washington's first possession of the game.
Mayfield threw a 4-yard TD pass to Bucky Irving to give the Buccaneers a 17-13 lead in the third quarter. On the previous play, 350-pound defensive tackle Vita Vea was Mayfield's intended receiver, but the QB was sacked for a 2-yard loss.
Mayfield fired a 1-yard TD pass to Mike Evans to tie it at 10 late in the first half.
Gonzalez kicked a 22-yard field goal to give Washington a 13-10 lead on the opening drive of the second half. The Leaders had their first down at the 3 but Tampa Bay's defense held firm.
After Austin Ekeler ran for two yards on fourth-and-1 from the Buccaneers 23 late in the first quarter, the Commanders pulled ahead a few plays later to complete a 92-yard drive. Daniels, his face bloodied, threw a 10-yard TD pass to Deami Brown for a 7-3 lead.
A holding call on cornerback Zion McCollum negated a third sack by Yaya Diaby and allowed Washington to extend its ensuing drive that ended with Gonzalez's 50-yard scoring run for a 10-3 lead.
McLaughlin kicked a 50-yard field goal on the opening drive. The Buccaneers were 9-1 when they scored their first goal of the regular season.
