Three Things the Lions Learned About the Commanders On Sunday
Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
While the Detroit Lions had the week off, they’d have been silly to not have an eye on their potential playoff opponents. They had to wait until late Sunday night to find out who’d be coming to Ford Field on Sunday, but the Washington Commanders eventually punched their ticket to the Divisional Round with a last-minute doink to claim the 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That’s 60 more minutes of tape that Detroit has on the Commanders ahead of their Saturday Night date. What did they learn about their opponent? Let’s check it out.
Timing Will Be Everything
Both Detroit and Washington understand what Napoleon meant when he once said “Quantity has a quality all on its own.” Each team finished the regular season in the NFL’s top five in plays per game, and the Commanders demonstrated that ability again on Sunday, running 69 plays against the Buccaneers’ 44.
Even when Washington didn’t produce points (they had two turnovers on downs), their offense did a great job at keeping the ball out of Baker Mayfield‘s hands. Throwing out a one-play kneel-down to end the first half, just two of the Commanders’ seven drives were less than four minutes. One was a seven-play drive resulting in a turnover on downs that nevertheless almost hit the four-minute mark (3:49), and the other was a touchdown drive after recovering a fumble on the Tampa 13-yard line (2:10).
Detroit’s injured defense must find ways to get three-and-outs, because the Lions’ offense also relies on chewing up clock to grind down opponents. While dominant in both cases, there’s still a noticeable difference between the Lions when they win the Time of Possession battle versus when they lose it. When they’ve had the ball more, they’re 10-1 with an average point differential of +15. They’re still 5-1 when they’re on the wrong side of TOP, but their average point differential goes down to just +9.
Jayden Daniels Can’t Be Slept On
After facing Caleb Williams twice this season, it might be easy for the Lions to disrespect the 2024 Draft rookie quarterback class. On Sunday afternoon, we saw rookie Bo Nix flame out in a 31-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Maybe facing Jayden Daniels wouldn’t be so bad after all.
After Sunday night, we can confirm it: Daniels might be a rookie, but he showed he was a big-time player against the Buccaneers.
4th & 2. THEY GOT IT. @Commanders
📺: #WASvsTB on NBC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/GeXvGmpnec— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2025
The dual-threat quarterback beat the Buccaneers, and he did so with his arm. The Bucs did a decent job of bottling him up on the ground, with just 38 yards on 13 carries. But Daniels came ready to pick apart Tampa in the short-to-intermediate game, going 25-for-34 and 277 passing yards. He’s joined C.J. Stroud and Brock Purdy as the only rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to win a playoff game with multiple touchdown passes and zero interceptions.
The Lions will surely try to fluster him at Ford Field, which is a much more intimidating environment than traveling to Tampa. But Daniels might just be unflappable, as he flashed that “It” quality and big-play ability in his playoff debut.
Jared Goff Can Go Off Against Washington
Baker Mayfield aired it out for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns this season, but his statline on Sunday night resembled what people think of as the prototypically efficient Jared Goff outing. Mayfield went 15-for-18 for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Maybe that’s not much, but if not for Mayfield’s fourth-quarter fumble, it was enough to give Tampa a 17-13 lead.
Of course, Goff can go Sicko Mode against Washington with a gaudy statline. But if the time of possession battle is a priority for Detroit, then feeding a steady diet of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery to the Commanders might mean that Goff has to take on the game manager role. Mayfield showed that blueprint can push Washington to the limit, and there’s no reason why Goff can’t replicate that against a suspect Commanders defense.
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