After enjoying the first-round bye as the No. 1 seed, the Detroit Lions (15-2) will host the No. 6 seed Washington Commanders (12-5) in the NFC Divisional Round Saturday night.
As the lowest remaining seed, Washington makes the trip to Ford Field following their 23-20 Wild Card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Saturday’s game is the first time the teams have faced each other this season.
Commanders report: With the win over the Buccaneers, the Commanders won their first playoff game since 2006, fueled by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels’ 268-yard, two-touchdown performance. Daniels remains the lone rookie quarterback still in contention for the Super Bowl and has the Commanders riding a five-game win streak.
Daniels possesses a dual-threat ability, rushing for nearly 900 yards on the season and throwing for more than 3,500. Washington’s offense has a variety of skill players, including wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who ranked second in the league during the regular season with 13 touchdowns. Tight end Zach Ertz, running back Brian Robinson Jr., running back Austin Ekeler and wide receiver Olamide Zaccheus are other notable offensive players to watch.
Defensively, Washington allowed 23.0 points per game in the regular season, and limited opposing quarterbacks to just under 190 passing yards per game, which will be a test for Detroit’s second ranked passing offense. Linebacker Bobby Wagner and safety Jeremy Chinn led the team with 132 and 107 tackles, respectively, in the regular season while linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. led the team with 10.5 sacks.
Similar to Detroit, the Commanders have a tendency to be more aggressive on fourth down. Washington led the NFL in the regular season with an 87% fourth-down conversation rate (20-of-23) and converted 3-of-5 attempts in the playoff win over Tampa Bay, including a touchdown to tie the game at 20.
Last meeting: In Week 2 of the 2022 season, Detroit picked up their first win of the season with a 36-27 victory over Washington at Ford Field. Two Jared Goff touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Reynolds along with two field goals built a 22-0 halftime lead for Detroit. Washington trimmed the lead to as a little as seven in the second half, but Goff connected with D’Andre Swift and St. Brown once more to secure the win.