Commanders vs. Bucs: Marshon Lattimore arrives wearing shirt with clear message for Mike Evans

The Washington Commanders are just hours away from kicking off their road wildcard round matchup vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

While the entire nation will be tuning in to see Washington’s electric rookie QB Jayden Daniels attempt to keep the Commanders’ magical season going, there’s a long-standing rivalry that will be on display between two of the most important players in the game. 

Tampa Bay WR Mike Evans and Washington CB Marshon Lattimore — who the Commanders traded for earlier this season and have only had him on the field two games so far this year — have a longstanding rivalry from Lattimore’s time with the Saints. 

Lattimore has had a keen ability to get under Evans’ skin in past seasons. The Bucs star WR was ejected once and has served two one-game suspensions for his actions against Lattimore, while losing more than $100,000 in fines.

Evans admits he’s got to be “disciplined.”

“I’ve just got to be at my best,” Evans said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I’ve got to give my best, because he’s a really good player. Obviously, we’ve had a lot of really good matchups. If he’s playing, I look forward to the matchup.”

Evans has averaged 2.6 catches for 43.6 yards in 13 games head-to-head against Lattimore, including two catches for 34 yards in October when the Bucs routed the Saints 51-27

Lattimore didn’t shy away from the rivalry heading into Sunday night’s game, either. 

“I want to be physical just off the simple fact of what happened, of course, but I want to be physical with anybody,” Lattimore said. “It's just an extra level of it just because of the past and all that," Lattimore says. "But I mean, it is just really just being out there. It ain't really about the mental game with me; it's just how are you going to know I'm here. You know what I'm saying? That's all."

If the Washington Commanders are going to pull off the upset, they will have to keep Evans in check. Washington hasn’t been great against dominant No.1 WRs this season. In Week 1 against the Commanders, Evans had five catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns as the Bucs cruised to a 37-20 win. 

As Lattimore entered the stadium on Sunday night, he wore a shirt with the words on the back reading “be careful what you wish for,” which felt like a clear shot to Evans ahead of the rivalry.