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5 things to know about Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions' divisional round opponent
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- 5 things to know about Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions' divisional round opponent
The Detroit Lions start their playoff run against a new variable in the NFC — the Washington Commanders .
The Commanders (13-5) continued their surprise season by taking down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-20, on the road Sunday night . Now, the Lions (15-2) will host rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and Washington in the divisional round as Detroit looks to reach the NFC championship game for the second year in a row.
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) scrambles against Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey (94).
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This is the first time the Lions have played the Commanders since beating Washington, 36-27, in 2022's Week 2. The Commanders advanced in the playoffs for the first time since 2005, for another milestone in the first year of the rebuild led by head coach Dan Quinn.
Here are five things to know about the Commanders ahead of the matchup at Ford Field which will determine one of the NFC championship game particiapants.
Hardware-worthy season from Jayden Daniels
The quarterback was arguably the best rookie not named Brock Bowers , and had the most impact on his team due to the position he plays. Daniels, alongside offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, has taken the offense to a high level. Last year, Washington averaged 19.4 points per game, good for 25th, but has improved to fifth this season, with an average of 28.5 points per game.
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A big reason why has been Daniels, who won the Heisman Trophy in his lone season with LSU after starting his career at Arizona State. Since being selected No. 2 overall at April's draft in downtown Detroit, Daniels has seamlessly transitioned to the next level. He completed 69% of his passes for 3,825 yards, 25 TDs and nine interceptions and rushed for a team-leading 891 yards with six touchdowns on 148 carries in the regular season.
Daniels ranked sixth among quarterbacks with 47 sacks taken. He has still been able to be productive under pressure because of his ability to extend plays, but the Commanders do find themselves off pace more than most because of that.
NFL draft prospect Jayden Daniels, who played quarterback at LSU and Arizona State, walks the red carpet for NFL draft day at the Fox Theatre in Detroit on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
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A dynamic (rushing duo: Jayden Daniels and Brian Robinson Jr.
The Commanders were a top-three rushing attack, averaging 154.1 yards on the ground per game. A big reason why was Daniels, who averaged 6 yards per attempt. More than half (75 of 148) of Daniels' carries came on scrambles, or designed pass plays where he decided to tuck it and run, according to Pro Football Focus . He accounted for 595 yards on those 75 scramble plays, per PFF .
The other half of Washington's ground game comes from Robinson at running back, ahead of Austin Ekeler , Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez . Robinson, a third-year Alabama product, had 187 carries for 799 yards and eight touchdowns this season.
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The Commanders' offensive line — Brandon Coleman , Nick Allegretti , Tyler Biadasz , Sam Cosmi and Andrew Wylie — also ranks No. 9 in pass block win rate and No. 2 in run block win rate across the NFL, according to ESPN.
A gettable defense
The Commanders ranked 18th in points allowed (23) and 13th in total defense per game (327.9). They ranked 30th against the run (137.47 rushing yards allowed per game), third in passing defense (189.5 passing yards allowed per game) and 20th in takeaways (17).
Washington has given up 30 or more points in five games, most recently in Week 16. The defense closed the year strong, other than giving up 33 to the Eagles that week, by holding four of its last five opponents to 24 points or fewer.
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Linebackers Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu , both second-team All-Pros, lead the defense. Wagner led the team with 132 tackles, followed by aggressive downhill safety Jeremy Chinn with 117. Up front, defensive tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen are the teeth of the defensive line. The secondary consists of corners Benjamin St.-Juste, Mike Sainristil and Marshon Lattimore with Chinn and Quan Martin at safety.
Cardiac kids
Despite being led by a 24-year-old quarterback, the Commanders' offense showed up in the clutch. The Commanders had four fourth-quarter winning drives, including three wins in the final seconds.
In Week 2, the Commanders had to battle with the New York Giants and outlasted them, 21-18, with seven Austin Seibert field goals, including the winner as time expired.
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The Commanders went 4-1 over the next five weeks before facing the Chicago Bears in a showdown of the top two picks. Washington trailed, 15-12, on the final possession but couldn't get into field goal range and settled for a Hail Mary, which Noah Brown hauled in off a tip to win.
In Week 16, the Commanders overcame five turnovers against the Eagles to pull off a 36-33 win on a last-second touchdown pass to Zach Ertz . A week later, Washington beat the Atlanta Falcons , 30-24, in overtime to clinch a playoff spot.
Past playoff history
This is the fourth all-time playoff matchup between Detroit and Washington, with the Commanders holding a 3-0 record. The franchises first met in the 1982 postseason, when Washington beat the Lions, 31-7, in the wild-card round on it way to winning Super Bowl 17.
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In 1991, the Lions, led by Barry Sanders, made their first NFC championship game but got pummeled, 41-10, on the road by Washington, which went on to win the Super Bowl again. The last meeting came in the 1999 wild-card round, a 27-13 win by Washington.
Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press . Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22 , and email him at jramsey@freepress.com .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions playoff foe: 5 things to know about Washington Commanders
