Washington Commanders 23-20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jayden Daniels leads Commanders to first playoff win in 19 years

Zane Gonzalez kicked a dramatic 37-yard field goal off the post as time expired to see the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 in a thrilling NFL wild-card game.

Jayden Daniels ran for a critical first down to set up Gonzalez's 37-yard field goal attempt, that clanged off the right upright and went through, to give Washington their first playoff win in 6,945 days.

Daniels, playing with a bandage beneath his right eye after his face was bloodied, became the third rookie quarterback in three years to win a playoff game, as the Commanders (13-5) set up a meeting with the No 1 seed Detroit Lions (15-2) in the divisional round.

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Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers (10-8) missed several opportunities and the veteran quarterback committed a costly turnover in the fourth quarter. The Bucs couldn't get one yard on two tries from the Commanders 12 and settled for a field goal to tie the game before Washington's winning drive.

Daniels threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, joining C.J. Stroud and Brock Purdy as rookie QBs to win playoff games in the past three seasons, as Washington won in the post-season for the first time since 2006.

Commanders set up Lions showdown

The Buccaneers opened the season with a 37-20 victory at home against the Commanders in Daniels' first game. Daniels went on to have an outstanding season, was selected to the Pro Bowl and helped Washington improve from 4-13 to 12-5.

Now, he has them headed to Detroit to face Jared Goff and the Lions' high-octane offense.

"It means a lot, man," Daniels said. "You could just see all the fans over here, man, they're waiting for us. They've waited a long time for this moment and this feeling, so I'm just so happy for them."

After Tampa Bay's defense held inside the five in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to preserve a 17-13 lead, Mayfield gave the Commanders the ball right back when he fumbled an exchange on a handoff to Jalen McMillan.

Washington recovered at the Buccaneers 13. On fourth-and-two from the five, Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin in the back of the end zone for a 20-17 lead.

Mayfield drove the Buccaneers to a second-and-one at the Commanders 12 but they settled for a 32-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin that tied it at 20-20 with 4:41 left.

The Bucs never got the ball back, thanks to Daniels, who calmly led his team downfield. With less than a minute left, he was hit behind the line of scrimmage but scrambled for four yards on third-and-two, allowing him to take a knee to set up Gonzalez's winning kick.

What next?

Wild Card Weekend concludes Monday night when the Minnesota Vikings face the Los Angeles Rams from 1am in the early hours of Tuesday.

The Divisional Round begins next weekend, with the Commanders travelling to play the Lions on Saturday night (Sunday 1am UK time), after the Houston Texans face the Kansas City Chiefs (9.30pm UK time).

Super Bowl LIX takes place on Sunday February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, live on Sky Sports NFL. Stream NFL and more top sport with NOW.

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