The Commanders are looking to take another big scalp.
The Washington Commanders sail into long-forgotten territory on Saturday Night Football.
They have not been in the second round of the playoffs since Joe Gibbs was coaching. Back in the 1980s, during his first run, Washington was routinely in the mix for division and conference championships. Those days seem like ancient history.
But Dan Quinn, Jayden Daniels, and a host of gritty players are bringing those days back. This team still has work to do on its roster, but the Super Bowl is just two wins away. The next step may be the toughest of them all.
The Detroit Lions are the team Washington aspires to be. They too were recently mired in decades of futility. Then they hired a smart general manager and an inspiring head coach. They finished 2024 as the best team in the entire NFL.
The Commanders just defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Lions have not been held below 23 points since Week 4. They led the league in scoring. They were in the top 10 in scoring defense. Their season-long scoring margin of 222 dwarfed the second-best team in the league.
When all-world defensive end Aiden Hutchinson was lost for the season early, analysts predicted doom. They lost stud interior defensive linemen Alim McNeill and Kyle Peko. Derrick Barnes and Carlton Davis. Then that depleted defense went out in Week 17 with the division on the line and demolished the 14-win Minnesota Vikings.
How can the underdog Commanders go into Ford Field and pull off a huge upset against a well-rested juggernaut? It won’t be easy, but here are some problems they must solve to achieve their lofty objective.
Problems the Commanders must solve entering Divisional Round at the Lions
Commanders’ critical fourth-down strategy
Detroit has far too many weapons on offense to keep them from scoring. Since falling to Tampa Bay in Week 2, the only team that beat the Lions was the Buffalo Bills.
They won in a shoot-out, 48-42. Washington may not have to go that high to win, but they will need points. That most likely means they will have to continue their mastery of fourth-down conversions.
That will not merely create more scoring opportunities for Jayden Daniels and crew. It will also keep that explosive Lions offense on the sidelines. Time of possession was perhaps the biggest reason Washington was able to beat Tampa Bay.
This doesn’t apply on offense alone. Dan Campbell goes for it on fourth down religiously. With a dominant offensive line, a savvy veteran quarterback, and a plethora of talented receivers and runners, it has proven very difficult to stop the Lions when they need three or four yards.
Washington’s defense has to make plays on fourth down.
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