Now that the 2024 NFL Draft is over, the NFL schedule release is the last major event on the league calendar before an uneventful summer. News is finally starting to come out from various league sources about certain matchups, including primetime and international games. One insider has revealed Washington's opponent in the first week of the season. Jayden Daniels and company will be in for a challenge.
According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Washington Commanders will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season.
Washington gets one of its eight road games out of the way in Week 1. It will be a major test to go on the road and face a stingy defense with a rookie quarterback.
We will learn the exact time of this game later today, but it is safe to assume that it will be a 1PM ET game. Multiple reports have announced which games will take place on Thursday, Friday, and Monday night. Therefore, the only primetime game left in Week 1 would be Sunday Night Football. Since both Washington and Tampa Bay are located in the eastern time zone, it stands to reason that the game will be played at 1PM ET.
The Commanders will play all four teams from the NFC South and the AFC North in 2024. They will also face the fourth-place teams from the NFC North (Chicago Bears), NFC West (Arizona Cardinals), and AFC South (Tennessee Titans) from a year ago.
The entire NFL schedule will be released later today. It will be interesting to see how many primetime games the NFL decides to award the Commanders. The league may want to feature the new-look Commanders on national television at some point early in the season.
Previewing Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season: Commanders at Buccaneers
The Commanders will receive a litmus test in Week 1 against a strong Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad.
Tampa Bay finished the 2023 NFL season with a record of 9-8, which was good enough to win the NFC South via tiebreakers. They defeated a sliding Philadelphia Eagles team in a decisive 32-9 beatdown. Tampa advanced to play the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round and were defeated 31-23.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers should be a formidable challenge for the Commanders and rookie QB Jayden Daniels. Tampa Bay has an aggressive defense that loves to send multiple blitzers. In fact, the Buccaneers blitzed on 50.8% of plays in 2023 according to PFF. This was the third-highest blitz rate in the NFL. Offensive line is currently a weakness for the Commanders, which may cause Washington to adapt a gameplan designed to protect Jayden Daniels from too much damage in his first ever start.
The Commanders defense will have its hands full as well against Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans. Mayfield signed a 3-year, $100 million extension this offseason and should be more dangerous in 2024. He now has a greater understanding of Tampa's scheme and a relationship with his teammates on offense. Mike Evans could be a problem in this matchup as the Commanders do not have a cornerback who boasts the combination of size and coverage skills needed to blanket the veteran wide receiver.
The fall cannot get here soon enough.
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