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Detroit Lions vs Washington Commanders stats and rankings: Who has the edge?
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- Detroit Lions vs Washington Commanders stats and rankings: Who has the edge?
Numbers never lie.
But do they tell us the whole story, especially when it comes to the Detroit Lions ' divisional round matchup against the Washington Commanders on Saturday (8 p.m., Fox)?
We won't know that until the teams hit the turf at Ford Field, but we can get an idea of the matchup from some key stats. Among them:
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∎ Expect some efficient offenses:No one scored on a higher percentage of their offensive drives than these two teams, with the Lions picking up points on 51.2% of their drives, and the Commanders getting points on 50%.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) talks to teammates before a snap against Chicago Bears during the first half at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill. on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024.
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∎ Four-down territory?While Lions coach Dan Campbell has gained acclaim for leaving his offense on the field on fourth down, Commanders coach Dan Quinn has arguably reaped the benefits more often, with the Commanders converting on 87% of their fourth-down tries, tops in the league, while the Lions convert on 66.7% (good for seventh).
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∎ Under pressure:Both Lions QB Jared Goff ( JA-RED GOFF! JA-RED GOFF! ) and Commanders QB Jayden Daniels could be busy behind the line, as their opposing defensive coordinators (Aaron Glenn in Detroit and Joe Whitt Jr. in Washington) were among the league's most blitz-happy coaches — the Lions had the second-highest blitz percentage (34.6%) while the Commanders were fifth (31.5%).
But don't take our words (and numbers) for it:
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Lions vs Commanders stats and rankings
Here's the statistical breakdown of the two teams during the 2024 regular season (with NFL rank in parentheses):
| LIONS |
COMMANDERS |
|
| ∎ Home record |
7-2 |
7-2 |
| ∎ Away record |
8-0 |
5-3 |
| ∎ Yards per game |
409.5 (2) |
369.6 (7) |
| ∎ Passing yards per game |
263.2 (2) |
215.6 (17) |
| ∎ Sacks taken |
33 (23) |
50 (8) |
| ∎ Rushing yards per game |
146.4 (6) |
154.1 (3) |
| ∎ Turnovers |
15 (T-26) |
16 (T-24) |
| ∎ Third-down conversion rate |
47.6% (4) |
45.6% (6) |
| ∎ Fourth-down conversion rate |
66.7% (7) |
87% (1) |
| ∎ Fourth-down conversion attempts |
33 (4) |
23 (T-17) |
| ∎ Penalties per game |
6.3 (21) |
6.5 (13) |
| ∎ Penalty yards per game |
58.1 (6) |
56.5 (8) |
| ∎ Score percentage (drives ending in points) |
51.6% (1) |
50% (2) |
| ∎ Points per game |
33.2 (1) |
28.5 (5) |
| ∎ Yards allowed per game |
342.4 (20) |
326.9 (13) |
| ∎ Passing yards allowed per game |
244 (30) |
189.5 (3) |
| ∎ Blitz percentage |
34.6% (2) |
31.5% (5) |
| ∎ Sacks |
37 (T23) |
43 (T-10) |
| ∎ Rushing yards allowed per game |
98.4 (5) |
137.5 (30) |
| ∎ Takeaways |
24 (T-10) |
17 (T-20) |
| ∎ Third-down conversion rate allowed |
32.4% (1) |
38.2% (15) |
| ∎ Fourth-down conversion rate allowed |
41.4% (2) |
66.7% (27) |
| ∎ Points allowed per game |
20.1 (7) |
23 (18) |
Stats courtesy pro-football-reference.com
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Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com . Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y'know?) and BlueSky @theford . Read more on the Detroit Lions and sign up for our Lions newsletter .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions vs Washington Commanders statistics: Who has the edge?
