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NFL Wild Card Round: Washington Football Team vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Prediction and Analysis

Published 01/09/2021, 6:47 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made it to the NFL Playoffs despite missing out on the NFC South championship to rivals, New Orleans Saints.

Tom Brady’s first year in Florida is off to a decent start. However, he could take things up a notch in the coming weeks as the Buccaneers gear up to play NFC East winners, Washington Football Team, on Saturday night.

Here’s a detailed look at both teams, along with injury updates and Wild Card Round Playoff predictions.

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Washington Football Team capable of upsetting Tom Brady and Co. in Playoffs

Coach Ron Rivera’s team seemed to be in deep trouble after parting ways with second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins in the build-up to Week 17. Washington opted to stick with veteran QB Alex Smith in their final league game of the regular season.

They entered the tie against the Philadelphia Eagles, knowing a win would get them the NFC East crown over rivals, New York Giants. That’s exactly what happened.

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But Smith is listed as ‘questionable’ for today’s game in Washington. Even if he does feature, he is likely to not be 100% fit going into his team’s biggest game of the season.

Taylor Heinicke is expected to play backup or maybe even start, just in case. Another player who is listed as ‘questionable’ but will most likely play on Saturday is RB Antonio Gibson.

Can Tom Brady lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the NFC Championship?

In his 20-odd years as NFL quarterback with New England, Tom Brady built himself a legacy that will last a lifetime, maybe even more. But the 43-year-old has shown that he still has a passion to play.

Brady has turned the clock back with some eye-catching displays in 2020. He is 5th in the NFL passing yards category with 4,633 passing yards, he also has 30 passing touchdowns to his name heading into the Wildcard Round.

He will look for some offensive support from TE Rob Gronkowski, RB Leonard Fournette, and WRs Antonio Brown, Scott Miller, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin.

Coach Bruce Arians will be expecting his team of superstars to make the most of this chance at their disposal against a team struggling to find stability. This should be an easy win for the Buccaneers.

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NFL Preview: Washington Football Team vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Update

Washington – Out

LB Thomas Davis Sr. – Knee

Questionable

RB Antonio Gibson – Toe

WR Terry McLaurin – Ankle

LB Kevin Pierre-Louis – Ankle

QB Alex Smith – Calf

Tampa Bay – Out

DL Jeremiah Ledbetter – Calf

Questionable

CB Carlton Davis – Groin

WR Mike Evans – Knee

RB LeSean McCoy – Not Injury Related/Illness

Washington vs Buccaneers Prediction

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Washington Football Team 22 – 38 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

USA Today via Reuters

This game should be somewhat of a ‘ride in the park’ for Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. They knew the condition of the NFC East prior to this fixture.

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Washington’s inability to nail down an undisputed quarterback this season is going to come and haunt them this weekend. Make sure you don’t miss out on this one!

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Written by:

Daniel Arambur

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Daniel Arambur is an NFL writer and content strategist for EssentiallySports.With more than 1,000 articles, he is one of the senior writers in the NFL cohort at ES. A mass media graduate from the University of Mumbai, Daniel has found the perfect blend of vocation and passion in the sports content niche.
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