The Washington Commanders are making their first postseason road trip since 2007 to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here are three keys to them advancing to the divisional round.

1. Put pressure on Baker Mayfield.

Technically, the Commanders did bring plenty of pressure in an attempt to sack Mayfield. As Washington fans know, though, that plan didn't work out, as Mayfield avoided almost all of their attempts to bring him down.

That can't happen again if the Commanders want to have a chance at stopping the NFL's third-ranked offense.

"I think he is just doing a good job of making people miss," defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said Thursday. "I mean, he's been hard to tackle in the pocket across every team that goes in there."

Just getting to Mayfield has been a difficult task all season. He's experienced pressure on just 16.7% of his drop backs, according to Pro Football Reference, which ranks as the seventh lowest among quarterbacks. That protection has allowed him to deliver on-target throws on 78.6% of his passes and rank eighth in completed air yards.

When defenses do get past Tampa's Bay's offensive line, he's done a good job of getting away from pressure. He's tied for sixth in the NFL with 44 scrambles and averages 8.7 yards per scramble.

The Commanders know what can happen when teams fail to put pressure on Mayfield. He completed 80% of his passes -- tied for the eighth best single-game completion percentage of his career -- in that 37-20 loss and threw four touchdowns for the fourth time in his career. The Commanders also know what can happen if their blitzes get to the quarterback; he leads the league in interceptions and has fumbled the ball nine times.

2. Avoid pressure from Tampa's defense.

It was a tough challenge for Jayden Daniels' first game to be against a defense run by one of the most influential minds in league history, and while Daniels performed fine in Week 1, it was clear that the Buccaneers' plan was to confuse and speed up his process. It worked, too, as Daniels often elected to use his legs rather than test the Buccaneers' secondary.

Daniels has become a much more polished player since that Week 1 matchup, but based on how the Buccaneers have played since their bye week, it's reasonable to assume they will try to put pressure on Daniels in the rematch. Over the last seven weeks, they have blitzed on 48% of opposing pass attempts.

Daniels probably won't be as frazzled in the rematch if the Buccaneers do decide to bring more pressure. Per Pro Football Focus, his eight touchdowns under pressure are tied for the fourth most in the NFL. That hasn't stopped teams from trying to get to him, though; he's been blitzed 153 times, which ranks eighth among quarterbacks.

When he's not under pressure, Daniels has been one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. His 91.7 passing grade from PFF is the sixth best for his position, and his 75.8 completion percentage when a clean pocket is third among quarterbacks with at least 350 drop backs.

The Buccaneers have likely felt as if they need to blitz more to protect their secondary, which has given up the fourth most passing yards per game this season. If the offensive line can protect Daniels, there will be opportunities to make plays with his arm.

3. Get the run game going.

The Commanders finished the regular season ranked third in rushing yards per game, but that overshadows how much of a struggle it has been to get the running game going since the bye week. Granted, they still rushed for over 100 yards in each of their last four games, but much of that came from the quarterback position. Daniels and Marcus Mariota accounted for 357 of the 579 rushing yards gained over the last month.

It doesn't bode well for this weekend's game against the Buccaneers, who will be the Commanders' toughest opponent in terms of establishing a strong ground presence. The Buccaneers are fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game and haven't allowed a team to rush for 100 yards against them since Week 9.

While it's not ideal for the Commanders to have Daniels carrying the run game, that approach could be what leads to them establishing enough of a presence on their ground to effectively run their offense. Over the last four weeks, Daniels has a run grade of 89.4 from PFF, which ranks sixth among quarterbacks and running backs in that span. He also has 139 yards after contact, which is the best for a quarterback in the last four weeks (it's also two yards more than Saquon Barkley).

If Daniels can have that same success against the Buccaneers, it may open up more opportunities for Brian Robinson, Austin Ekeler and the rest of Washington's running backs. There will still be obstacles -- the biggest being defensive tackle Vita Vea -- but the Buccaneers will at least have to dedicate more personnel to containing Daniels.

And having to deal with Vea is much easier than finding running lanes against Vea and the rest of the Buccaneers' front.