A quick out to McLaurin with seven minutes left in the half got seven but Ekeler got nothing on a second-down run. The Bucs got quick pressure on Daniels on third down but he got off a short pass to Ekeler just past the sticks. Daniels ran on the next two snaps for a total of 10 yards, then escaped pressure to scramble up the middle for five more to the Bucs’ 43. Two plays later, on third-and-four, Diaby sacked Daniels but the drive was prolonged by a defensive holding call on CB Zyon McCollum. The Bucs got the stop at that point, with McCollum breaking up a third-down end zone shot to McLaurin, but Washington still got three points on a 52-yard field goal by Zane Gonzales right after the two-minute warning.
The Bucs had a shot a two-minute drill after Rachaad White’s 24-yard kickoff return to the 26. A White run and an incompletion quickly led to a third-and-nine, but Mayfield took off up the middle and fought his way to the 45-yard line. Mayfield then rifled a hard low pass to Evans for 11 yards and another first down across midfield. A strike over the middle to TE Cade Otton got another 12 before Mayfield hit Evans again on an inbreaker to Evans took it down to the Washington 12. The Bucs used their second timeout with 17 seconds left in the half. Mayfield looked to Evans in one-on-one coverage and drew a pass-interference call on CB Marshon Lattimore to make it first-and-goal at the one. On the next snap, Mayfield took a shotgun snap and once again turned to Evans, who gave a quick jab step out and then ran a slant for a one-yard score.
Washington got the ball first in the second half, starting at their own 30 after a touchback. A quick pass to Zaccheaus and a Robinson run made it third-and-one and backup QB Marcus Mariota came on to sneak it across for a first down. Two plays later, Daniels scrambled right and found Brown wide open for a 30-yard catch-and-run. Those two hooked up again on the very next play for another gain of 24 down to the Bucs’ three. Three plays later, on third-and-goal, CB Jamel Dean broke up a pass intended for McLaurin and the Commanders settled for another Gonzalez three-pointer from 22 yards out.
After White’s kickoff return took the kickoff out to the Bucs’ 28, then drew a facemask penalty on a first-down catch to get the ball to the 44. A five-yard Irving run was countered by a false start by Otton, after which Irving ran again for six. Evans saved the day again with a deep slant for 18 yards to the Washington 32. A toss sweep left finally sprung Irving into the open field for 19 more to the 13. A 12-men-in-the-huddle cost the Bucs five yards but Irving blasted up the middle for 10. A toss sweep left to Irving got just enough to make it first-and-goal at the two. The Bucs went no-huddle but it backfired as Irving was trapped for a loss of three. A defensive holding call on the next snap made it first-and-goal at the two. A sack on first down lost two yards but a play-action rollout pass to Irving worked to perfection for a four-point lead with 4:31 left in the third quarter.
After another touchback, the Commanders got five yards on a defensive holding call on Dean, and then a designed run up the middle got six for Daniels. On the next snap, Daniels had plenty of time to throw and found McLaurin on a crosser for a gain of 17 to the Bucs’ 42. Robinson got five on a first-down catch but the Commanders gave it back on an ineligible-man-downfield penalty. Two plays later, on third-and-six, Daniels threw low in Ertz’s direction but the Commanders chose to go for it on fourth down from the Bucs’ 37. Daniels went to Ertz again on a crossing route and this time it was good for a first down at the 23. The third quarter came to an end with the Commanders facing a third-and-nine at the 22. After the teams switched sides, McCollum was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, making it first-and-goal at the one. Daniels was chased into an incompletion by Yaya Diaby and Kancey dropped Robinson for a loss of two. LB Deion Jones nearly intercepted Daniels’ next pass, and the Commanders went for it on fourth down only to have the next pass hit the ground in the end zone.
The Bucs thus had the ball back on their own four with 14 minutes remaining. Irving took a quick-hitter over left guard for four but he was immediately engulfed by DE Jalyn Holmes for a loss of one on the next play. Evans then made an incredible play, catching an out pass short of the sticks but extending the ball past the line as he fell backwards. Unfortunately, Mayfield lost the ball on the next snap on an attempted fake handoff to McMillan and Washington recovered at the Bucs’ 13.
A Daniels keeper got nothing and a pass to the left flat to Brown gained four. Ekeler’s four-yard catch made it fourth-and-two and the Commanders went for it again, this time successfully with Daniels finding McLaurin in the middle of the end zone.
After a White kickoff return to the 25, Mayfield found McMillan wide open in a hole in the zone in the middle of the field for a gain of 26. Irving broke several tackles to get six on the next play, and a Mayfield keeper made it third-and-two at the Washington 41. The Bucs rushed to the line and Mayfield threw an outlet pass to Otton for 20 yards to the 21. A nine-yard sweep left by Irving took it to the 12 but Mayfield got nothing on an read-option keeper. A busted play on third down left the Bucs settling for a McLaughlin’s game-tying field goal with 4:41 left.
After a touchback, Hayes closed quickly on a quick out to McLaurin to limit the play to five yards, and the Bucs’ defense swarmed Robinson on second down for a loss of one. On third down, Daniels had time to find Brown crossing left to right for a gain o f21 to the Bucs’ 45. A run by Ekeler for no gain brought on the two-minute warning. After the break, Daniels lobbed a pass to Ekeler, who evaded tacklers to get to the 27. Three plays later, Daniels broke several tacklers in the backfield and was able to get past the sticks for a first down, allowing Washington to run the clock down to three seconds before the winning kick.