Buccaneers vs. Commanders: 2024 Week 1 Game Preview
Tampa will open week one of the NFL season against the Washington Commanders.
By Will.Walsh Sep 6, 2024, 8:02pm EDT 0 Comments / 0 New
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Welcome, to the 2024 NFL season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be entering 2024 attempting to defend an NFC South crown for the third consecutive year. Tampa’s first opponent on that journey— The Washington Commanders.
Washington had quite a franchise altering offseason. The team used the number two overall pick in the NFL Draft to add a, fairly popular, new face to lead the organization.
New England Patriots v Washington Commanders
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels will have to match wits with an experienced defensive mind in Todd Bowles— Tough task for a debut, however, Daniels will not be taking on the challenge alone. The drafting of their new franchise quarterback may have headlined Washington’s offseason but, they also infused their roster with talent around him. Austin Ekeler and Zach Ertz represent some noteworthy NFL names newly added to Washington’s payroll.
On the other side of the ball, Todd Bowles’ defense has some question marks surrounding it this year. The Bucs have edge-rushers on the roster, but do they have edge-rushers who can sack quarterbacks? Currently, there are zero players on Tampa Bay with a double-digit sack season as a professional.
This week will be new offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s first at-bat as a play caller in the NFL. He’ll be squaring off against a head coach with vast NFL experience on the defensive side of the ball. Alongside the Commanders’ offensive moves this offseason, the team signed Bobby Wagner, a future Hall of Fame linebacker who will heavily aid Dan Quinn in his battle against Coen.
With Sunday’s matchup featuring two head coaches whose specialty is defense, the game may truly be determined by which quarterback can find his way back to 2023’s success. For the Bucs and Baker Mayfield, that means recreating/maintaining the run he and they finished on last season. For Jaden Daniels, it would mean duplicating his success at LSU on an NFL level— Quite an impressive feat should he be able to accomplish it.
The hope for Bucs’ fans: 2023 was not a fluke. Baker Mayfield’s run at the end of last season is who he will continue to be moving forward. He will be a natural fit inside of Liam Coen’s offense and with the amount of playmakers the Bucs have put around him, Mayfield will be able to overcome any potential shortcomings of Tampa’s defense with his offensive output.
The truth for Bucs’ fans: The Buccaneers may come off as easy favorites in this game— Home opener, against a rookie quarterback leading a team that won just four games a season ago. In reality, this game is likely to be far from a simple stress-free Sunday for Bucs’ fans. If the Buccaneers bring their best, they will win— They are the better, more experienced, more talented team. If Tampa Bay suits up for this game without the proper respect being paid to their opponent, Jaden Daniels and Dan Quinn could have an upset up their sleeves.
