3 Buccaneers who deserve blame (and 3 who don't) for upset Wild Card loss to Commanders

The Commanders heading to Tampa Bay to take on the Bucs on Wild Card Weekend was expected to be one of the stiffer competitions to start the playoffs. Both teams were coming into the game with chips on their shoulder, hoping to prove the naysayers wrong that they did belong in the post season and quickly affirmed that early in the game.

The Bucs came out swinging with the momentum early, scoring the first points of the game and the defense keeping Washington out of the end zone. Eventually, they folded and allowed ten unanswered points before tying the game by halftime with an impressive effort from MIke Evans.

That energy continued when they hit the field again in the third quarter, with Bucky Irving taking over and scoring a receiving touchdown to put Tampa on top.

Things were working in their favor, and there is a lot of credit to be given all around for their performance against an excellent Commanders team. But there's also quite a bit of blame to share across the roster that can't be ignored for what should have been an avoidable loss.

3 winners from the Buccaneers loss to the Commanders

Winner: Mike Evans, WR

Is this really surprising to anyone? Probably not, but the continuation of pure dominance by Mike Evans is never not great to see, especially when one of his most heated rivals is having an absolute struggle of a time to shut him down.

The wide receiver was Mayfield's primary target all night, making the Commanders' defense look silly on more than one occasion. That was even more entertaining given his long history with cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who Evans shut down all game long.

Perhaps the best part of the night was the defensive pass interference call on Lattimore with just seconds left in the second quarter, ultimately leading to an Evans touchdown to put the Bucs on top heading into halftime. It's a sight that never gets old, and hopefully, we'll continue to see more of it in the future.

Winner: Baker Mayfield, QB

There was inevitably a lot on Baker Mayfield's plate heading into this game, as the effort of the offense was going to rest on his shoulders. He put together an almost perfect first half, putting the team on his back in a two-minute drill to tie the game heading into halftime.

That kind of energy and tenacity from the quarterback has made his teammates and the fans fall in love with what he's brought to the team since he was signed in 2023.

He ended the game recording 15/18 attempts for 185 yards and two touchdowns, which was exactly the kind of performance they needed from the quarterback in a crucial game. He did lose a fumble, which was costly, but a falling part defensive effort late in the game is more to blame for the loss.

Regardless, Mayfield proved he can be the Bucs' quarterback now, and in the future with his performance on Sunday night and with a full offseason to improve the roster, along with retaining some of their best players, there's no reason to rule them out of contention against next year.

Winner: Bucky Irving, RB

Based on how the Bucs' offense has operated this season, it seemed fair to assume that most of the effort would go through Mike Evans and Bucky Irving. As some of the most reliable pieces of the roster, no matter the position, it was crucial they were at their best on Sunday night, and they were able to be just that when the lights were the brightest.

Irving put the team on his back on the ground and through the air, recording 17 carries for 77 yards from the backfield and two receptions for six yards and a touchdown as an added weapon to the receiving corps.

His versatility is invaluable to the offense and their efforts to move on in the playoffs, much of which is responsible for why they got to the post season to begin with.

Irving has been exciting to watch and even more impressive since he's a rookie, even breaking a franchise record with his performance in this game. The running back broke Warrick Dunn's record for the most scrimmage yards in his rookie post season debut, solidifying his importance to the team, even in the first year of his NFL career.

Loser: Buccaneers Defense

For much of the game, the defense was pretty impressive in limiting most of what Daniels and the Commanders offense tried to do, other than the difficult task of shutting down McLaurin. They helped keep the game within reach all night but lightened up at the wrong time.

After a very physical game that involved a lot of back-and-forth, the defense couldn't stop the Daniels-led offense in the last four minutes of the game, allowing the Commanders to take their time, waste the clock, and move the chains.

They got first downs with ease, allowing them to take advantage of what looked like a mismatch and get within field goal range to avoid overtime. That meant they could wind the clock down to just three seconds remaining and kick a 37-yard field goal to steal the win and advance to the divisional round next week.

It was the worst time for the group to lose all steam, and they now have to pay for it with an early exit to the 2025 offseason.

Loser: Zyon McCollum, CB

Unfortunately, Jamel Dean went down with an injury early in the third quarter, a massive blow to a stout defensive performance through much of the game. Zyon McCollum quickly replaced him, and he made his presence known immediately but not in the way anyone hoped.

On a 3rd and 10 play by the Commanders from their own 23-yard line, they were mere seconds away from resorting to a field goal, only for McCollum to be hit with a defensive pass interference call to put them firmly on the one-yard line. It was a devastating call that could have sealed the Bucs fate, making it an unforgivable mistake by the cornerback.

They were lucky that despite the newly awarded downs, the Commanders could not get a score and chose to go for it on fourth down. Because it failed, the Bucs took over and avoided the worst possible scenario from McCollum's gaffe.

Loser: Baker Mayfield, QB

After completing a nearly flawless first half and leading the charge to start the third quarter, Baker Mayfield made an egregious error by fumbling on a handoff and losing posesssion to the Commanders on their own 13 yard line.

They had forced the Commanders to go for it on fourth down unsuccessfully, saving themselves from falling behind in the score again, only to hand them back the football in the red zone just seconds later.

The fumble gave Daniels another shot to get into the end zone, which he did with an impressive throw to McLaurin and put the Commanders back in the lead with just under ten minutes remaining in the game. It was not the turn of events anyone wanted to see after the defense successfully shut down their last effort to score.

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