Buccaneers Week 1 matchup against Washington just got a whole lot more interesting

We're only two Sundays away from getting regular season football back in our lives, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers first matchup got even more interesting than it already was.

The Bucs are opening the season at home against the Washington Commanders, which was notable in that it's the return of Dan Quinn to Tampa Bay as a head coach. It's a role he hasn't held since his days in Atlanta, and we're going to learn just how well he remembers his old division rival.

Washington added some extra texture on Monday by naming rookie Jayden Daniels the team's starting quarterback.

That means he'll be making his official debut as a pro in Tampa Bay, something that has fans a little nervous about what that might mean for the Bucs' chances of getting the season off on the right foot.

Buccaneers history against rookie quarterbacks isn't as bad as it seems

Playing against a rookie quarterback should be something a team looks forward to, but historically it's been rough sledding for the Bucs. Over a seven year period at the start of the 2010s, Tampa Bay was a miserable 1-11 against rookie quarterbacks.

However, NFC South insider Greg Auman was quick to note that things have gotten much better in recent years when it comes to Tampa Bay facing rookie quarterbacks.

"Bucs have been much better against rookie QBs since Todd Bowles' arrival in 2019. In those five years, Tampa Bay is 10-5 against rookie QBs, and that includes the loss in the 2022 finale where they rested starters against the Falcons and Desmond Ridder," Auman pointed out.

Of course, this is caveated with knowing that C.J. Stroud essentially started his final push toward winning Rookie of the Year with his performance against the Bucs last season, but that feels like an outlier based on his talent. Stroud is the real deal, and the gamble in saying the Bucs are in trouble against Daniels is to suggest he'll be like Stroud.

Then again, we're talking about a Heisman winner and a guy the Bucs have no pro game tape on. Week 1 is always weird with upsets and strange games having become a staple since nobody knows anything about anyone out of the gate.

That's where the potential chaos with facing Daniels could lie, not the curse of facing rookie quarterbacks that used to plague the Buccaneers.

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