The Washington Commanders (14-5 straight up, 12-6-1 against the spread) are going to the NFC Championship Game. With a pair of rookies – quarterback Jayden Daniels and cornerback Mike Sainristil – leading the way, Dan Quinn’s team took advantage of five Lions’ turnovers and captured a 45-31 win at Detroit as an eight-point road underdog.
Trailing 14-10 in the second quarter, Washington WR Terry McLaurin turned a short pass from Daniels into a 58-yard touchdown reception to give his team the lead – for good. A few plays later, Quan Martin intercepted Jared Goff and returned the pick 40 yards for a TD.
Detroit, the NFC’s #1 seed for the first time in franchise history after winning a franchise-record 15 regular-season games, countered with a 61-yard TD run by Jameson Williams on a reverse with 4:01 left in the second quarter. But the Commanders extended their lead to 31-21 thanks to Daniels’ five-yard TD pass to tight end Zach Ertz on a third-and-goal play with 1:46 left until halftime.
Midway through the third quarter, Detroit cut the deficit to 31-28 on an eight-yard TD run by Jahmyr Gibbs to cap an 11-play, 91-yard drive.
Any momentum shift toward the Lions was short lived, though. Washington chewed up 8:28 of clock on its next drive while going 70 yards in 15 plays. The Commanders converted a fourth-and-two play from Detroit’s 16 when Daniels ran for a three-yard gain.
Then on fourth and two from Detroit’s 5, Washington got a first down when the Lions were flagged for 12 men on the field. RB Brian Robinson found paydirt on a one-yard TD run two plays later with 13:29 remaining, giving the Commanders a two-possession lead, 38-28.
Detroit desperately needed to answer at this point. After a five-yard run by RB David Montgomery, Goff found Tim Patrick for a 22-yard reception out to the Lions’ 46. But on the next play, OC Ben Johnson called another reverse for Williams with the option to throw.
Williams didn’t have anything down the field, so he should’ve thrown the ball away or tried to run it. Instead, he threw into triple coverage and was intercepted by Sainristil. Washington promptly orchestrated an eight-play, 66-yard drive that was capped by a one-yard TD run by Jeremy McNichols.
The key play of the drive came on a fourth-and-two play from Detroit’s 13 when Daniels completed a 12-yard throw to McLaurin.
Detroit went 60 yards on its next drive, covering that ground in 10 plays but had to settle for a 28-yard field goal with 5:01 remaining. Trailing 45-31, the Lions had three timeouts remaining but had to have a three and out.
They didn’t get it. On a third-and-five play with 4:01 left, Daniels found TE John Bates for a 20-yard gain. Three plays later, Washington missed a 44-yard field goal with 2:31 remaining.
Detroit advanced into the red zone, but Goff was intercepted by Jeremy Chinn in the final minute.
Daniels completed 22-of-31 passes for 299 yards and two TDs without an interception. He added 51 rushing yards on 16 attempts, but that was an ‘under’ for his prop for rushing yards that closed in the mid-50s at most books.
Robinson, who had a career-high 799 rushing yards and eight TDs in 14 regular-season games, had 77 rushing yards and two TDs on 15 carries. Austin Ekeler added 47 rushing yards on merely six totes, and he also had four catches for 41 receiving yards.
WR Dyami Brown hooked up his supporters on prop bets (36.5 receiving yards) by catching six balls for 98 yards. McLaurin had four receptions for 87 yards and one TD.
Chinn had a team-high 12 tackles, while Dorrance Armstrong had three tackles and a pair of sacks.
In the losing effort, Goff connected on 23-of-40 throws for 313 yards, but he was intercepted three times and coughed up a fumble in the red zone in the first half. Gibbs had 175 yards from scrimmage, producing 105 rushing yards and two TDs on 14 attempts. He had six catches for 70 yards, too.
Detroit WR Amon-Ra St. Brown had eight receptions for 137 yards, while TE Sam LaPorta had six catches for 51 yards, including a diving, one-handed TD grab.
Washington hooked up money-line backers with a +470 payout at DraftKings, although most other spots had the Commanders in the +350 to +400 range. The 76 combined points went ‘over’ the 55.5-point total on Gibbs’s TD run with 6:57 left in the third quarter.
“This isn’t the time to talk about what a great year we had and all the wins,” Campbell said after the disappointing result. “We’re here to get to the show and we fell short. That hurts.”
I don’t think Detroit’s window to win a Super Bowl closes here by any means. Remember, this team was missing starters galore from its defense due to season-ending injuries.
Yes, it appears as if both coordinators, Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn, are likely to leave for head-coaching jobs elsewhere. But the Lions will still have some of the best talent in the league next season, and let’s not forget that GM Brad Holmes is one of the NFL’s top 2 or 3 (or #1?) at his job.
Most spots opened Philadelphia as a five-point home favorite vs. Washington in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game that’s scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. Eastern kickoff. As of late Monday morning, most books had the Eagles at -5.5 with a total of 48 points. The Commanders were in the +210 to +232 range to win outright.
Circa had Philadelphia at -6.
These NFC East rivals split a pair of regular-season meetings. In the first encounter at Philadelphia on Thursday Night Football, Washington had a 10-6 lead with less than 13 minutes remaining, but the Eagles erupted for 20 points in less than eight minutes and ended up winning a 26-18 decision as 4.5-point home ‘chalk.’
The 44 combined points fell ‘under’ the 49.5-point total. Saquon Barkley ran for 146 yards and two TDs on 26 totes, and he had a pair of catches for 52 receiving yards. Daniels completed 22-of-32 passes for 161 yards with one TD and one interception, and he was limited to 18 rushing yards on seven attempts.
In the rematch at Washington on Dec. 22, Philadelphia raced out to a 21-7 lead in the first quarter. However, QB Jalen Hurts sustained a concussion and was forced out of the game in the opening stanza.
Trailing 27-14 going into the fourth quarter, the Commanders outscored the Eagles 22-6 and won 36-33 thanks to a nine-yard TD pass from Daniels to WR Jamison Crowder. They won as four-point home underdogs, and the 69 combined points soared ‘over’ the 47-point tally.
Daniels was spectacular, shaking off two interceptions to throw for 258 yards and five TDs. He added 81 rushing yards on nine carries.