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Week 1 - Washington Commanders (0-0) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0)
Nuts & Bolts
Date: September 8, 2024
Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Venue: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
How to Watch: FOX
Matchup History: Washington leads all time series 13-12
Last Meeting: Washington def. Tampa Bay 29-19 on 11/14/21
Betting Lines: Via DraftKings
Spread: Washington +3.5
Over/Under: 43.5
Prediction: Washington 13, Tampa Bay 31
Official Game Notes: HERE
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Head Coach: Dan Quinn (1st season, 0-0 record in Washington)
Record: 0-0 (0-0, T-1st in NFC East)
Last Time Out: Lost vs. Dallas 38-10 in Week 18 of 2023 season
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Jayden Daniels
The Washington Commanders enter an entirely new era as the team embarks on the 2024 campaign.
The team is led by second-year owner Josh Harris, who, along with his managing partners, brought in a new head coach and drafted a new franchise quarterback this offseason.
Head Coach Dan Quinn comes over to Washington after spending the past three seasons as the defensive coordinator for division rival Dallas. During that three year span, his defense led the league in turnovers as he earned Assistant Coach of the Year in 2021.
Quinn’s only prior experience as a head coach came in Atlanta, where he famously led the Falcons to Super Bowl 51 and had a 28-3 lead in the second half before Tom Brady and the New England Patriots stormed back to win.
That was his second season in Atlanta. Following the Super Bowl disappointment, Quinn lasted just over three more seasons before being fired in 2020 following an 0-5 start.
Quinn was brought in to reignite a Commanders defense that has grown stagnant over the past few seasons under Ron Rivera. With him, he brought in Kliff Kingsbury to be the offensive coordinator.
Kingsbury was most recently the head coach in Arizona before spending last season as a senior offensive analyst at USC.
Over the course of the past few years, he worked with Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech, Kyler Murray in Arizona, and Caleb Williams at USC in 2023. Now, he gets to mold the #2 overall pick from the 2024 draft, Jayden Daniels.
In college, Daniels started 55 games, playing his first three years at Arizona State and his last two at LSU. This most recent season, Daniels took the country by storm, leading the Tigers to a 9-3 season. He completed 72% of his passes while amassing 3,800 yards and 40 touchdowns with just 4 interceptions to go along with 1,100 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
His unbelievable 2023 season earned him the Heisman Trophy and the #2 selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Now, he’ll have an opportunity to lead a Commanders offense that includes running backs Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler and receivers Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown with Zach Ertz and rookie Ben Sinnott at the tight end position.
Week 1 poses a challenge with a road game in Tampa Bay against a Buccaneers team that made it all the way to the Divisional Round of the playoffs last year, so don’t be surprised if the offense takes a week or two to get going.
However, with the amount of star power on the offensive side of the ball with the explosiveness that the young quarterback possess, the Commanders are well-positioned to be one of the NFL’s biggest surprises in 2024.
Head Coach: Todd Bowles (3rd season, 17-17 record in Tampa Bay)
Record: 0-0 (0-0, T-1st in NFC South)
Last Time Out: Lost @ Detroit 31-23 in 2023 Divisional Round
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Baker Mayfield
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won the NFC South three years in a row, but last year’s division title was by far the least expected of the trio.
Tampa Bay entered 2023 fresh off three seasons of Tom Brady as the starting quarterback and transitioned to former first round pick, journeyman Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield got the Bucs off to a 3-1 start and helped the team win five of its last six games to win the division and advance to the postseason.
In the playoffs, Tampa Bay took out the free-falling Eagles 32-9 in the Wildcard round before the season came to an end the following week in Detroit in a 31-23 loss to the Lions that came down to the closing moments.
Despite the tough postseason loss, the Buccaneers clearly outperformed and shattered expectations. Mayfield was 9th in the league in passing while running back Rachaad White finished in the top 15 in the NFL in rushing. Meanwhile, receiver Mike Evans finished 9th in the league in receiving, amassing his 10th consecutive season with at least 1,000 receiving yards to start his career; only Jerry Rice has more 1,000 yard receiving seasons (14).
Entering 2024, the narrative around Tampa Bay once again is that they will be usurped by their NFC South stranglehold. The trendy pick is the Atlanta Falcons, under the direction of a new coach and quarterback, will take over the division and unseat the Bucs.
However, with all of the key pieces returning to Tampa Bay for another ride, including third-year Head Coach Todd Bowles, the Buccaneers are positioned to once again surprise the league and win the division for a fourth consecutive year.
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