Fresh off one of the best seasons in franchise history, the Detroit Lions entered the NFL playoffs as the NFC’s top seed and with ambitions of making their first Super Bowl.
Instead, the Lions were stopped before they could advance even to the conference title game. This season Washington has become synonymous with unpredictable comebacks, but another wasn’t necessary Saturday inside Detroit’s Ford Field. On the road but undaunted, Washington overwhelmed Detroit 45-31 behind rookie phenom Jayden Daniels and a Commanders defense that forced five turnovers to advance to the NFC title game for the first time since 1991.
The Commanders will play the winner of Sunday’s Eagles-Rams matchup.
Washington trailed 7-0 midway through the first quarter, but took a lead it would never relinquish early in the second quarter on a short touchdown run by Brian Robinson. It started a wild second quarter that featured six touchdowns and 42 points combined between the teams. By halftime, though, the Commanders still led 31-21, and though the Lions would pull within three points midway through the third quarter, Washington answered with consecutive touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to as much as 17 points.
The 45 points are the most scored by Washington on the road in the playoffs in team history.
-Daniels threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns, was never sacked and rarely looked rattled by a defense led by Aaron Glenn, the Lions coordinator who is one of the most in-demand coaching candidates.
Offensively, Detroit was done in by five turnovers, including three interceptions by quarterback Jared Goff and another thrown by receiver Jameson Williams on an ill-fated trick play early in the fourth quarter. Drawn up by Lions coordinator Ben Johnson, who could also become a head coach as soon as this week, the play was intended to give Detroit a spark while trailing by 10 points; instead, it gave Washington the ball back, and it scored just eight plays later to lead by 17 and effectively put the game out of reach.
Earlier Saturday, Kansas City advanced to its seventh consecutive AFC conference championship game by beating Houston 23-14. Tight end Travis Kelce turned in a vintage playoff performance, catching a season-high 117 yards, including a season-long 49-yard catch. And Patrick Mahomes, too, added yet another highlight to his postseason reel, after somehow throwing a touchdown pass through Houston’s zone defense to Kelce while falling down.
Mahomes threw for 177 yards, and Kansas City was turnover-free for an eighth consecutive game. The Chiefs will face either the Bills or Ravens, who face off Sunday, in next week’s AFC title game.
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