Buccaneers Set to Play Washington Commanders in Wild Card Round

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face off against their first opponent of the 2025 season in the Wild Card Round — the Washington Commanders.

Sep 8, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving (7) runs with the ball as Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin (20) defends during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially have their opponent for the first round of the 2025 playoffs.

In a bit of a poetic twist, the Bucs are set to face off against the Washington Commanders in the Wild Card Round to kick off their playoff run — the first team they played this year. The Commanders were locked in as Tampa Bay's opponent when the Seattle Seahawks emerged victorious over the Los Angeles Rams in the late afternoon window — Tampa Bay will be the No. 3 seed in the NFC while the Commanders will be the No. 6 seed.

The Bucs and Commanders squared off in Week 1 of the NFL season and won in a dominant 37-20 showing. Baker Mayfield threw four touchdown passes and completed 80% of his passes in that game, and the Buccaneers defense limited quarterback Jayden Daniels to less than 200 yards through the air (though he did run for 88 yards).

Washington is a different team since then, though. They got trounced in their game vs. Tampa Bay, but the Commanders finished the year 11-5. They boast a top-five offense in the NFL in multiple metrics and quarterback Jayden Daniels is a likely Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate — he's thrown for 25 touchdowns and run for six more.

Tampa Bay will host the Commanders at Raymond James Stadium — the date and time of the game is to be determined.

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