The Detroit Lions will host the Washington Commanders at Ford Field Saturday night in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The Lions are the No. 1 seed as the NFC North champions and the Commanders come in as the No. 6 seed fresh off their Wild Card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday night.
Here are five storylines to follow for this matchup to kick off the week:
1. Jayden Daniels vs. Aaron Glenn
There were six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and there’s one left in the playoffs, the No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels.
Daniels threw for 268 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions and led the Commanders’ rushing attack with 36 yards in the win over the Bucs. He became the first rookie to lead his team in passing and rushing during a playoff win, per NFL Research.
During the regular season, he completed 69 percent of his passes for 3,568 yards with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions with a 100.1 passer rating. A dual-threat weapon for the Commanders, Daniels also rushed for 891 yards and six touchdowns. Daniels is likely to be the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, but he’s still a rookie who hasn’t seen everything in this league.
Glenn put together a terrific game plan against Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings in Detroit’s regular season finale to clinch the NFC North and the No. 1 seed. Can he generate pressure and mix up coverages behind it to confuse the rookie? Keeping Daniels in the pocket and limiting his playmaking outside of it will be key for Detroit’s defense.
“He is dangerous,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Monday of Daniels. “He poses a major threat because he does not play the position like a rookie quarterback. He’s composed, he understands how to progress, he sees the field well and he can bide time with his legs. He’s a dangerous runner. He’s smart and you can tell he knows how to run that offense.”
The Lions are 2-1 this season against mobile quarterbacks. Buffalo’s Josh Allen handed them a defeat in Week 15, but the defense was able to contain Kyler Murray in Week 3 and Anthony Richardson in Week 12. Allen rushed for 68 yards, while Richardson ran for 61 and Murray had 45.