Commanders Need Rookie to Step Up vs. Buccaneers

The Washington Commanders will need their rookie class to have an impact in their Wild Card matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and that goes beyond first-round quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Second-round cornerback Mike Sainristil has slowly made himself a big part of the Commanders defense this season, and head coach Dan Quinn is counting on him to play his best against the Bucs.

“I see improvement, number one. And I thought we would see that, if you remember, I can't remember the game, maybe it was three or four games in when we moved him full time to outside corner and would we stay that, we were kind of just still learning our way about where we would feature some of the players. And he was one that I thought he would just put the work in and figure it out. And sometimes that's what problem solving is, right? You just figure it out. And he is somebody that's capable of that," Quinn said.

Sainristil and trade deadline acquisition Marshon Lattimore will be tasked with defending Mike Evans and rookie Jalen McMillan in an attempt to slow down Tampa's offense. If they can contain them, the Commanders could very well have a shot at winning on the road.

Kickoff between the Commanders and Buccaneers is set for 8 p.m. ET.