No team has scored more points than the Lions this season. However, the team that many saw at the Super Bowl suddenly finds itself on vacation, courtesy of the Washington Commanders.
• Also read: The Chiefs win…and it was embarrassing!
It’s a surprise of gigantic magnitude that shakes the NFL with this 45-31 victory for the Commanders.
The Lions were established as favorites by more than eight points by the oddsmakers. They were playing the match at home in Detroit. They scored 564 points in the regular season, the third highest total in league history. They won 15 games to have the best season in franchise history.
And despite all these accolades, it’s all over. Such is life in the NFL at a time of one-on-one games. It’s as if more than 65,000 Lions fans in Ford Field suffered a collective concussion. The images on television showed us people completely stunned, in disbelief, demoralized.
We can understand them, since the Lions have just become the first 15-win team in history to give up the ghost before the conference final. When we tell you that the surprise is huge…
Long wait in Washington
It must be said that Lions fans are not the only ones who have suffered for years supporting a pitiful team that is finally seeing the light. Talk to Commanders supporters, who will experience the first conference final for their team next Sunday since January 1992.
It’s an interminable wait and their patience has been rewarded. With quarterback Jayden Daniels, all of Washington can finally say that he has been born, the divine child.
The second overall pick in the most recent draft was once again imperial. He completed 22 of 31 passes for 299 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He added 52 yards on the ground. His arrival completely transformed this moribund franchise.
He becomes the first rookie quarterback since Mark Sanchez in 2009 to take his team to the conference final. Simply erasing Sanchez from the history books does a valuable service to humanity.
Hats off to the defense too!
The defense also played a critical role in this victory by generating five turnovers. Not bad at all, considering that this was the big question mark hanging over the team.
It all started when the Lions led 7-3 in the first quarter. Lions quarterback Jared Goff lost the ball when Dorrace Armstrong got behind him and Frankie Luvu recovered the fumble.
Ten plays later, carrier Brian Robinson scored the first touchdown for the Commanders, who took their first lead of the game, at 10-7.
In a furious second quarter, the Lions added two touchdowns and the Commanders three, including one on a Quan Martin interception, which he returned to the end zone.
At the end of the half, the Lions were threatening even though they trailed 31-21, but Goff saw his pass intercepted by Mike Sainristil in the end zone. The Commanders never gave up that lead again.
The Commanders defense held the Lions to just 10 points in the second half.
-A laudable effort
It takes an underdog, but it was hard this season to look down on either of these two teams.
The Lions were finally caught up by their constant injuries, especially on the defensive end. Such a conclusion became inevitable, even if it was not expected so soon.
Even in this meeting, the bad luck continued to strike when starting cornerback Amik Robertson, who had covered Justin Jefferson in a fantastic way in the last game of the regular season, fell in turn. It all seems so surreal.
With their regular lineup, it seems unlikely to believe that the Lions would have given up so many points, but the Commanders did and that is to their credit. Only seven teams in history have scored 45 or more points in a road playoff game.
We told you a few weeks ago that something very special was happening this year with this team that has been cursed for so long. We didn’t think we were saying that well.
And you want a good one to finish? No less than 10 former Cowboys, players or coaches, are currently with the Commanders. Meanwhile, in Dallas, we continue to dream of a first conference final since 1995. Life is sometimes funny…
THE 3 STARS OF THE MATCH
Jayden Daniels
Getty Images via AFP
No rookie player has had a bigger impact on the Commanders this season than Daniels. Even though it has been a long time since a rookie quarterback has transformed a franchise to this extent. You’d swear he doesn’t have a pulse.
Mike Sainristil
Getty Images via AFP
To stay on the theme of Commanders rookies, Mike Sainristil is another one who plays very big football. The University of Michigan cornerback threw two interceptions and recorded five tackles. His second interception was successful on a completely botched trick play by the Lions, when receiver Jameson Williams attempted a pass taking an unnecessary risk.
Jahmyr Gibbs
Getty Images via AFP
Among the Lions, carrier Jahmyr Gibbs can leave with his head held high. With 105 yards on the ground and 70 through the air, in addition to two touchdowns, he largely did his part. If we blink, we might miss his explosion across the line of scrimmage.
