The wait is finally over.
Of all the Wild Card games, the Washington Commanders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers was hands down the best.
A balanced contest that went right to the wire, ending in a field goal which barely scraped through, bouncing off the upright and through the posts.
Had the kick been taken from just one yard further out it would have missed. Like many NFL games it came down to one turnover, the last possession, and one yard.
I do not know how professional athletes and coaches deal with the pressure and the stress. As a fan it was unbearable!
My nerves were shot before the game even kicked off! Every possession was a nail biter as the two teams traded possessions, scores, and the lead.
Rollercoaster ride
Washington got off to a great start, taking a 10-3 lead, but Tampa evened it up just before half-time with a very strong drive – mostly through star wide receiver Mike Evans.
In the second half Tampa held Washington to a field goal before another strong drive ended in a touchdown and a Tampa lead of 17-13.
On the next drive, Washington drove the length of the field to Tampa’s three-yard line. When Dan Quinn elected to go for it on fourth down and it failed, my heart sank. All the momentum seemed to be with Tampa.
The Bucs took over, but a botched handoff between Baker Mayfield and Jalen McMillan resulted in a fumble, scooped up by the Commanders captain Bobby Wagner.
It was the only turnover of the game, and what ultimately would decide the game.
Washington quickly scored a touchdown, and when Tampa could only manage a field goal to tie the game 20-20 the scene was set.
The final drive
With 4:41 left on the clock, the fate of Washington was in their own hands. My heart was in my mouth.
With 55 seconds left Washington was on Tampa’s 19-yard line, facing a ‘3rd & 2’. A first down would probably seal the game.
Jayden Daniels lined up in shotgun formation and the play looked like a bust when Tampa’s excellent Calijah Kancey burst into the backfield. It looked for all the world that he would tackle Daniels for a five-yard loss.
However, as he has done so often in the season, Daniels used his speed to escape. He turned a five-yard loss into a four-yard gain, for what would effectively be the game-winning play.
Tampa could not stop the clock from here, allowing Washington to perfectly line up the kicker and run down the clock to three seconds left. All that was required was a field goal, probably the easiest of Zane Gonzalez’s short season with Washington.
Fans watched aghast as the ball drifted from the left hash mark across the field before pinging off the upright of the goalpost.
Cheers turned to groans, before the ball bounced through the posts and rippled the net, resulting in scenes of jubilation and tears of joy.
A game which took three hours to play took years off my life, with probably another couple of years gone thanks to the final kick!
Ford Field awaits
Can we bask in the glory, as the only underdog team to beat the rankings?
Not when we are up against the Detroit Lions next, a team I regretfully picked to win the Super Bowl.
Of course, despite that, a look at the playoff picture tells you one fact, which as a Washington fan is hard to say aloud. We are two wins away from appearing in the Super Bowl!
It remains almost as unlikely as it was before the Tampa game, but yet here it is, we are still in it. It is still a case of one game at a time, with most of the money on our opponents.
Washington may not be the favourites, but it does not seem to bother any of them, least of all Jayden Daniels. Considering he is a rookie, he delivered an MVP performance against Tampa.
HTTR!
