TAMPA, Fla. – Jayden Daniels ran for a crucial first down to set up Zane Gonzalez’s 37-yard field goal, which bounced off the right upright and went through as time expired, and the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by 23 :20 an NFC Wild Card game on Sunday night for the franchise’s first playoff win in 6,945 days.

Daniels, who played with a bandage under his right eye after his face was bloodied, became the third rookie quarterback in three years to win a playoff game.

The Commanders (13-5) will face the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions (15-2) in the divisional round.

Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers (10-8) missed several opportunities and the veteran quarterback committed a costly turnover in the fourth quarter. The Bucs failed to gain a yard on two attempts from the Commanders’ 12 and settled for a field goal to tie the score before Washington scored the game-winner.

Daniels threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, joining CJ Stroud and Brock Purdy as rookie QBs to win playoff games in the last three seasons.

“It means a lot,” Daniel said during his on-field postgame interview on NBC. “Our fans are waiting for us over there. They’ve waited a long time for this feeling, so I’m just so happy for them.”

Washington had not won in the postseason since beating the Buccaneers 17-10 in a wild-card game at Tampa Bay on Jan. 7, 2006.

“He came in humble, he gets the job done and he has a lot of fun,” Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner said of Daniels during his interview on NBC. “It’s fun to be here… definitely because I’m playing with him.”

The Buccaneers opened the season with a 37-20 home win over the Commanders in Daniels’ first game. Daniels continued to have an outstanding season, being selected to the Pro Bowl and helping Washington improve from 4-13 to 12-5.

Now he’s sending them to Detroit to face Jared Goff and the Lions’ high-powered offense.

After Tampa Bay’s defense held inside the 5 to preserve a 17-13 lead in the first minute of the fourth quarter, Mayfield gave the ball back to the Commanders when he botched a turnover on a handoff to Jalen McMillan. Washington recovered at the Buccaneers’ 13 line. On fourth-and-2 from the 5, Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin in the back of the end zone for a 20-17 lead.

Mayfield drove the Buccaneers to a second-and-1 at the Commanders’ 12, but they settled for a 32-yard field goal from Chase McLaughlin with 4:41 left to make it 20-20.

The Buccaneers never got the ball back, thanks to Daniels calmly leading his team down the field. With less than a minute left, he was hit behind the line of scrimmage but managed to get 4 yards on third-and-2, allowing him to kneel down to set up Gonzalez’s game-winning score.

Commanders coach Dan Quinn previously allowed short field goals twice in the fourth, and the offense failed to convert before McLaurin scored.

On fourth down from the Buccaneers’ 4, less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Daniels threw incomplete. He came under pressure and threw incomplete on fourth-and-2 from Tampa Bay’s 20 points on Washington’s first possession of the game.

Mayfield threw a 4-yard TD pass to Bucky Irving to give the Buccaneers a 17-13 lead in the third quarter. On the previous play, 350-pound defensive tackle Vita Vea was Mayfield’s designated receiver, but the QB was sacked for a 2-yard loss.

Mayfield fired a 1-yard TD pass to Mike Evans late in the first half, tying the score at 10 yards.

Gonzalez hit a 22-yard field goal to give Washington a 13-10 lead on the first drive of the second half. The Commanders had a first down at the 3, but Tampa Bay’s defense held firm.

After Austin Ekeler ran for 2 yards on fourth-and-1 from the Buccaneers’ 23 late in the first quarter, the Commanders took the lead a few plays later, completing a 92-yard drive. Daniels, his face bloody, threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dyami Brown for a 7-3 lead.

A call by cornerback Zyon McCollum prevented a third-down sack by Yaya Diaby and allowed Washington to extend its next drive, which ended with Gonzalez nailing a 50-yarder for a 10-3 lead.

McLaughlin kicked a 50-yard field goal on the first drive. The Buccaneers were 9-1 when they scored their first goal in the regular season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.