On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played their home opener at Raymond James Stadium against the Washington Commanders. The Bucs have won their past three season-opening games. During the offseason, the Bucs have been revamping their run game. Last season, the Commanders were 27th in the league in stopping the run.
The Commanders start their season with a rookie quarterback, Heisman winner Jayden Daniels. Would Daniels have similar success as he did in college against the Buccaneers? The Bucs also had some rookies starting for them. Would the preparation for the game pay off for the team, or did the rookies make mistakes in big moments?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offense
Baker Mayfield, quarterback for the Buccaneers, displayed excellent execution of the offense; at times, the defense couldn’t seem to get their hands on him when the pocket collapsed during the game. Mayfield would scramble for better offensive options. He would end up with 21 rushing yards for the day, but his arm and decision-making stole the show. Mayfield would connect early with veteran wide receiving star Mike Evans and his counterpart Chris Godwin. Mayfield would connect with seven different receivers during the game. By the end, Mayfield would only have six incompletions and would go 24-30, gaining 289 yards passing with four touchdowns and a QBR of 146.
Evans would finish the day with 61 yards on five receptions and two touchdowns. Godwin would lead the game in receptions with 8 for 83 yards with one touchdown. Rookie Jalen McMillan would get his first NFL career touchdown in Sunday’s game on a 32-yard reception. As for what Tampa Bay had been prepping for all offseason, they would not score a rushing touchdown all game. Buccaneers running backs Rachaad White and rookie Bucky Irving would combine for 98 yards in rushing, with White leading with 15 carries. Irving would average 6.9 yards on just nine carries.
Bucs D
Tampa Bay allowed Washington 20 points by the game’s end. Quarterback Jayden Daniels for the Commanders would go 17-24 completions and rack up 88 yards in rushing with two touchdowns, with one late in the 4th quarter. The Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr would carry the ball 12 times, gaining 40 yards with one touchdown.
The Bucs were without defensive lineman Logan Hall for the game. And around the start of the third quarter, cornerback Bryce Hall suffered a severe ankle injury with undetermined severity. Tampa Bay only sacked Daniels twice and had two tackles for loss by Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and SirVocea Dennis. The Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead led in tackles with eight, four solo.
Final Thought
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their season opener 37-20 against the Commanders. With this being the season’s first game, there will be some things to correct. Next week, the Bucs will face the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. This is a matchup from last season’s NFC divisional playoff game, in which the Bucs lost 31-23. Going forward, the Buccaneers must figure out how to apply more pressure to the quarterback.
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