TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are indisputably Baker Mayfield's team. However, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and a solid defense are still a big part of their formula for success.
The 29-year-old quarterback threw 289 yards and four touchdowns Sunday to lead the three-time defending NFC South champions to a 37-20 rout of the new-look Washington Commanders and spoil the pro debut of No. 2 overall draft pick Jayden Daniels.
Evans caught two TD passes, and Godwin and rookie Jalen McMillan each scored once for the Bucs, whose defense stymied Daniels and the Commanders' offense despite beginning the game without two injured starters and losing three cornerbacks along the way.
“We got to spread it around a bunch. A lot of guys got the ball,” said Godwin, who had eight catches for 83 yards. “I think we have the potential to be a really dominant offense.”
Daniels was more effective running the ball than passing, scoring a pair of rushing TDs for Washington, which is aiming for a fresh start with the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, Dan Quinn as the coach and Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt Jr. running the offense and defense, respectively.
“I grade myself hard. We didn’t win. I like to win,” Daniels said. “Overall, it went pretty well. There’s some stuff as an offense that we left on the field. We’ve got to execute better. It’s a long season. We’re going to move on.”
The former LSU star was one of three rookie starting quarterbacks in Week 1, along with No. 1 pick Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears and 12th pick Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos. He joined Robert Griffin III (2012) as the only rookies to start a season opener for Washington since 1967.
“I thought he got to fully express all the things that he has — using his legs, being aggressive down the field,” Quinn said. “Like a number of players tonight, there’s going to be a lot of takeaways. What I can tell you, we got one hell of a competitor.”
Mayfield jumpstarted a fizzling career last season, signing a one-year contract with the Buccaneers and winning Tom Brady's old job before leading Tampa Bay to a third consecutive division title and a playoff victory.
The 2017 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick from the following year's draft was rewarded in the offseason with a three-year, $100 million contract that answered any lingering questions about whether the Bucs considered him the QB to lead them forward.
“Pretty efficient for the most part. We just had to be more efficient in the red zone in the first half,” Mayfield said, noting the Bucs settled for field goals of 56, 34 and 29 yards by Chase McLaughlin while building a 16-7 halftime lead.
“We’ll take points always,” Mayfield added, "but we’d love to be able to score touchdowns.”
Mayfield completed 24 of 30 passes without an interception, including TD throws of 1 and 17 yards to Evans, who had five catches for 61 yards. Goodwin scored on a 4-yard reception and McMillan had a 32-yard TD catch in the second half.
Daniels scored on a pair of 1-yard runs after halftime, the last one coming with just under two minutes left. He finished with 88 yards rushing on 16 attempts and went 17 of 24 passing for 184 yards and no interceptions. The Bucs sacked him twice.
Bucs All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was penalized for unnecessary roughness — though not ejected — for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Daniels at the end of a 12-yard scramble that helped set up Brian Robinson's 7-yard TD run in the second quarter.
The contact occurred as Daniels went to the ground on his own.
NFL senior vice president of officiating Perry Fewell told a pool reporter that Winfield was not ejected because there was “incidental contact made by the defender.”
“And it was clear that the defender was attempting to touch the quarterback down on the slide, so we didn't feel like it rose to the level of a disqualification,” Fewell said.
Daniels' helmet was knocked off, but the quarterback did not appear to be shaken up. The Bucs were penalized half the distance to the goal, giving the Commanders a first down at the Tampa Bay 11. Robinson scored two plays later.
Winfield had a walking boot on his right foot after the game. ... The Buccaneers played without starting DLs Calijah Kancey (calf) and Logan Hall (foot). ... CB Zyon McCollum (concussion) left the game in the first quarter and did not return. ... CB Bryce Hall (right ankle) was carted off the field early in the third quarter. ... Reserve CB Josh Hayes (ankle) also was ruled out in the second half. The injuries forced the Bucs to play S Christian Izien at cornerback, even though he had no prior experience at the position.
Commanders: Host the NFC East rival New York Giants next Sunday.
Buccaneers: At Detroit next Sunday. The Lions eliminated Tampa Bay in the divisional round of the playoffs last season.
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