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Jayden Daniels, Commanders to 'keep fighting' after ending 19-year playoff drought

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (R) threw two touchdown passes in a wild card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in Tampa, Fla. File Photo by John Sommers II/UPI
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (R) threw two touchdown passes in a wild card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in Tampa, Fla. File Photo by John Sommers II/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Jayden Daniels wore a bandage over the face gash he earned during a wild card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but plans to "keep fighting" for the Washington Commanders, who snapped a 19-year playoff win drought.

The Rookie of the Year favorite threw for 268 yards and two scores in the 23-20 triumph Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., helping the Commanders win a playoff game for the first time since Jan. 6, 2006.

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"We aren't gonna give up until the clock hits zero," Daniels, who became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw two touchdown passes in a road playoff victory, told reporters.

"Win, lose or draw, whether it's Week 1 or Week 19, we are going to keep fighting to the end."

The Commanders, who beat the Buccaneers on a 37-yard field goal from Zane Gonzalez as time expired, have now won five-consecutive games on the final play from scrimmage.

"I've been on teams that we exceptional, but maybe not in a lot of close ones," Commanders coach Dan Quinn said. "So when that becomes the norm, I think you live in that moment more often. I think that is probably what has taken place with the group. They have a lot of belief in one another.

"Jayden certainly is a big factor in that. If he had his heart rate monitor on, and [I had] mine, they would not be the same. His stays consistently good. ... He really is exceptional in that space."

Sunday's game featured three lead changes and was tied twice. The Commanders out-gained the Buccaneers 350-284 in total yards and held an edge in time of possession of nearly 11 minutes.

"This was a really good team, in Tampa," Quinn said. "We knew it would go down all the way to the wire. We talked about overtime. We talked about all the winning time moments all week. ... We really expected it to go down to all the way to the end, and it did."

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Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin made a 50-yard field goal on the game's opening drive for the only points of the first quarter. The Commanders finally reached the end zone when Daniels engineered a 17-play, 92-yard drive, which started with 3:34 remaining in the first quarter and ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dyami Brown 5:29 into the second.

Gonzalez added a 52-yard field goal less than four minutes later, but Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a 1-yard touchdown toss to wide receiver Mike Evans in the final seconds of the first half to tie the game at 10-10.

Gonzalez hit a 22-yard kick on the first drive of the second half to give the lead back to the Commanders. Mayfield responded with a 10-play, 72-yard touchdown drive, which ended with a 4-yard pass to running back Bucky Irving.

Mayfield fumbled on the Buccaneers' next possession. Linebacker Bobby Wagner recovered that loose ball. Daniels threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Terry McLaurin less than two minutes later, giving the lead back to the Commanders, who never trailed again.

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McLaughlin made a 32-yard field goal to tie the game for the final time with 4:45 remaining.

Daniels then collected himself for the final drive of the night, using nine plays to march the Commanders to the Buccaneers' 15-yard line. He knelt down to set up the final play from scrimmage, leading the Commanders to call a timeout with three seconds remaining.

Seconds later, Gonzalez smacked his right foot into the ball, hitting it into the right upright before it bounced over the cross bar for a walk-off playoff victory.

Gonzalez hit all three of his field goal attempts and two extra-point opportunities in the narrow victory. McLaurin and Brown each totaled 89 receiving yards and a score.

Mayfield completed 15 of 18 passes for 185 yards and two scores. Evans totaled 92 yards on seven catches, including his touchdown snag.

The sixth-seeded Commanders -- the lowest seed still alive in the playoffs -- will now face the top-seeded Detroit Lions in the divisional round at 8 p.m. EST Saturday in Detroit. The winner will advance to the NFC Championship game.

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