(6) Washington Commanders @ (3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday, January 12, 8:00 PM ET (NBC/Peacock)
We’ve seen a couple of Jekyll and Hyde performances from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in recent weeks and this team felt like it was going to potentially blow it against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon.
Obviously, that didn’t happen, and the Bucs were not only able to win but help wide receiver Mike Evans extend his 1,000-yard streak to 11-straight seasons, an absolutely ridiculous accomplishment for the future Hall of Famer.
But can the Bucs parlay the win in Week 18 into another playoff win with Baker Mayfield at the helm? Mayfield has been such a great fit for this Bucs team and he’s been able to thrive this season thanks to the addition of the dynamic presence at running back in rookie Bucky Irving. Irving has been sensational for Tampa Bay, adding a much-needed presence out of the backfield and preventing this Bucs team from being overly one-dimensional.
The Washington Commanders are coming to Tampa Bay with the likely NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels, who has been clutch for his team down the stretch. We saw it in a shootout against the Philadelphia Eagles and we saw it in a shootout against the Atlanta Falcons.
Daniels has come through in big situations to make plays for his team. But there’s also some concern here for Washington because this is a Dan Quinn-coached team in the postseason, and he’s been notorious for blowing it big-time in the playoffs.
Can he get the monkey off his back?
Vegas is expecting this to be a high-scoring game with an over-under of 50.5. I don’t know if the Bucs have the pass rush to deal with Daniels but they are the more battle-tested of the two teams.
Prediction: Buccaneers win 34-29