TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield sat on the bench, head bowed, baseball cap on, unable to do anything to stop the Washington Commanders from ending the season in Tampa Bay.

The quarterback’s fumble in the fourth quarter resulted in a touchdown, giving the Commanders a short-lived lead. The Buccaneers’ potent offense’s inability to score more than a game-winning field goal on the next possession set the stage for a quick exit from the NFL playoffs.

Zane Gonzalez’s third field goal, a 37-yarder that deflected off the right upright as time expired, gave Washington a 23-20 win in the wild-card round on Sunday night, leaving the Bucs to think about what would have happened if Jayden Daniels and the Washington offense hadn’t held onto the ball in the final 4:41.

The Bucs (10-8) won six of their final seven games during the regular season, rebounding from a four-game losing streak to win the NFC South for a franchise-best fourth straight season.

They also finished strong a year ago before winning a playoff game at home and losing on the road to Detroit in the divisional round.

“It’s disappointing because I believe in this team,” Mayfield said. “There is a lot to be proud of. But it’s hard to see in this moment.”

Mayfield completed 15 of 18 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns, but a failed handoff attempt to receiver Jalen McMillan gave the Commanders life after the Bucs’ defense stopped Washington on downs and maintained a 17-13 lead.

“We should do a jet sweep. I don’t know if it was the handover or if they got confused after the handover. “You can’t give up field position like that and give them that type of position,” coach Todd Bowles said.

Linebacker Bobby Wagner recovered the fumble at the Tampa Bay 13 and set up Daniels’ second touchdown pass, giving the Commanders a 20-17 lead.

Mayfield drove the Bucs to the Commanders 12. The drive failed when the quarterback was stopped for no gain on a run up the middle on second-and-1 and Bucky Irving was dropped on third down for a 2-yard loss.

Chase McLaughlin’s 32-yard field goal tied the score, but Tampa Bay never got the ball back.

“The defense just did a great job of getting us the ball,” Mayfield said. “It’s unfortunate, but this falls on me.”

The loss came four months after the Bucs ruined Daniels’ NFL debut with a 37-20 win in the season opener.

“Of course it’s disappointing. You don’t want the season to end like this. But we’re not pointing fingers,” Bowles said. “We had our chances to win but obviously it wasn’t good enough.

“We believe we have a very good football team when everyone is firing on all cylinders,” the Tampa Bay coach added. “The effort was excellent. We hung out together all year long. We’ve been through a lot. We have to eat it, take it on the chin and get better in the future.”

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