The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter the 2024 season with designs on a fourth straight NFC South crown, and the Washington Commanders will be the first team to try to knock them off that path. The Commanders visit Raymond James Stadium on Sunday to renew a series that has seen Washington win three in a row in the regular season, dating back to 2015. The Buccaneers did counter with a Wild Card round victory in 2020 on their way to the Super Bowl LV championship.
The Buccaneers have chosen to pursue their goals by keeping the gang together after surprising pundits by winning the division last year following the retirement of Tom Brady. Baker Mayfield stepped in with a career year, earning a long-term contract to stay in Tampa, and the Buccaneers spent the offseason re-signing a long list of potential free agent defections. The Bucs also had to replace first-year Offensive Coordinator Dave Canales after he left to become the Carolina Panthers’ head coach, but they are excited about the potential of a new scheme with Rams influences under new coordinator Liam Coen. Coen intends to employ pre-snap movement on a much larger scale than the Bucs did last year, and he also will be giving Mayfield the ability to switch plays in the huddle or at the line for better matchups against what the defense is presenting.
One year after gaining new ownership, the Commanders are starting over following a 4-13 season with new Head Coach Dan Quinn, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and a defense that was largely overhauled after finishing last in both yards allowed (388.9 per game) and points allowed (30.5 per game) in 2023. They also imported some steadying veteran influence with the likes of Bobby Wagner, Austin Ekeler, Zach Ertz and Tyler Biadasz. More on the Commanders additions and organizational changes can be found below.
The Buccaneers started fast last season, winning three of their last four, and with upcoming dates against Detroit and Philadelphia in the campaign’s first quarter, they would be well-served to start 2024 with a win. In fact, Tampa Bay’s schedule includes all four teams that were in the Conference Championship contests last January, so there is very little margin for error for the Bucs as they try to take an early lead in the division.
“Not to steal Coach Bowles’ line, but it is exciting, because of all the prep work” he said. “The long months waiting for it, you finally get into game week, dialed in on what you want to…
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