Tampa Bay Bucs To Face Commanders In Wild Card Round Of Playoffs

TAMPA, FL — In the first weekend of the NFL playoffs, the Washington Commanders will travel to Raymond James Stadium to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here's what to know about the matchup.

The wild card game kicks off at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, Jan. 12, and will be shown on NBC.

Limited tickets are available for the game, the Bucs said Monday afternoon.

The Buccaneers secured the third-overall seed in the 2024 NFC playoff field in Week 18 when they defeated the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams lost to the Seattle Seahawks later that afternoon. That gave the Bucs a home game against the sixth seed, which was Washington after their win over Dallas on Sunday.

The Buccaneers are heading into their fifth straight postseason, having won Super Bowl LV as a wild card team in 2020 and then captured four-straight NFC South titles according to the Bucs website. They were the fourth seed in each of the previous two playoff fields, losing to Dallas in 2022 and beating Philadelphia in 2023 in the wild card round.

Tampa quarterback Baker Mayfield finished the season with 4,500 yards and 41 scoring passes, making him just the 10th quarterback in NFL history to record at least 4,500 yards and 40 touchdown passes in a single season.

This is the first time since the playoff field was expanded to seven teams in each conference that the Buccaneers have been the third seed.

The Buccaneers and Commanders started the 2024 season in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs beating Washington, 37-20, at Raymond James Stadium in week one. Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for four touchdowns, two to Mike Evans, while Washington's rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels, ran for two touchdowns.

This will be the fourth time that Tampa Bay and Washington have met in the postseason, the Bucs said.

The Buccaneers engineered a comeback 14-13 win at Raymond James Stadium in the divisional round of the 1999 playoffs to advance to the NFC Championship game. In 2005, Washington won 17-10 in Tampa in the wild card round over the division-winning Buccaneers. The 2020 Bucs began their Super Bowl LV championship run at Washington with a 31-23 victory over the NFC East champions.

Heading into the playoffs, the Washington offense is a top five unit in total yards, rushing yards and points per game. The defense, meanwhile, has become a top 10 group that is ranked third in passing yards allowed.

The Commanders have won each of their last five games.

Tampa Bay clinched the NFC South on the final day of the season. A win over New Orleans secured a fourth straight division title for Tampa, which moved up a seed after a Rams loss.

The Buccaneers are a 3-point home favorite to beat the Commanders in the opening round, according to Bet MGM.