Todd Bowles Shares How Bucs Slowed Down Terry McLaurin

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin didn't put together a big game during Week 1.

Dec 17, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) carries the ball against the Los Angeles Rams in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

To truly maximize Jayden Daniels during his rookie season, the Washington Commanders are going to have to scheme Terry McLaurin open plenty. The problem with this? Opposing teams are going to be honing in on McLaurin, not letting the star wide receiver be a game-changer.

During the Commanders' season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Daniels only targeted McLaurin four times, with the star wideout pulling down two catches for 17 yards. For Washington's offense to go, McLaurin needs more touches.

The Buccaneers game-planned to take McLaurin out of the game, though. Defensively, they didn't take their eyes off the wide receiver, as Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles explained.

READ MORE: Jayden Daniels Breaks Down Bucs' Defense From Season Opener

“Paid attention to him, number one. He’s a hell of a receiver," Bowles explained. "Jayden [Daniels] can beat you with his legs, but that takes time. McLaurin can beat you in about two seconds and that doesn’t take any time. So, we had to make sure that we paid good attention to him.”

Essentially, the Buccaneers were fine with Daniels getting out of the pocket and into space rather than him getting the ball to McLaurin. To truthfully break down the gameplan, the Commanders needed both Daniels to carve the Buccaneers on the ground and other receivers to step up and take some focus off McLaurin.

The Buccaneers were able to continue limiting the impact of McLaurin in the second half while also neutralizing Daniels' legs, which Bowles explained happened with a change up front.

“We changed up some things. And maybe five-man pressure to take up some of the gaps with (Calijah) Kancey and Logan (Hall) down, we weren’t as fast in there – as quick in there – so to speak," Bowles explained. "So, some of the balls got out and we understood that. Again, better him running than McLaurin catching the football. So we tried to clean that up in the second half some.”

Again, the Buccaneers were more okay with Daniels rushing than McLaurin touching the ball, and Kingsbury is going to have to find ways to deter teams from that game plan moving forward. Involving other receivers and allowing them to change the game seems to be a good start, and letting that and Daniels' rushing attack carve a defense will begin to open the field up.

Daniels finished his NFL debut with 184 passing yards while completing 17 of his 24 passes, adding 88 yards on the ground and two touchdowns with 16 carries.

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READ MORE: Commanders’ Rookie Daniels Shows Promise in Loss

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