Now that the smoke is cleared the Detroit Lions now have a clear sight of what their road to the Super Bowl looks like. They will play host to the Washington Commanders on January 18th at 8:00 PM. The Commanders are coming off a close victory on the Road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Next, we will look at what the Lions will hope to do to knock off the Commanders en-route to the NFC Championship Game. The Lions come into the game as 9.5 point favorites at home. This will be the first Playoff meeting between Detroit and Washington since 1992. A game that Washington would ultimately reign victorious in by a wide margin.

The last time the Detroit Lions & Washington Commanders met in the playoffs 👀

The revenge tour continues. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/Ec8E2sDU27

— Lukas Klotz 🤝 (@1ukasklotz) January 13, 2025

Look for the Lions to do whatever they can to keep Jayden Daniels contained within the pocket. Daniels does an excellent job of extending plays with his legs. He has the second most rushing yards by a quarterback, behind only Lamar Jackson. If the the Lions can neutralize his mobility, they’ll limit a lot of what Washington likes to do offensively. When Daniels is confined to the pocket the Commanders have shown that they are susceptible to the QB sack. Their O-line has allowed the 7th most sacks this season with 50.

The 2nd key to success is establishing the run. When the Lions are most successful, they are controlling the line of scrimmage and dominating the time of possession, using their versatile running attack. The Commanders rank 29th in the league against the run, which poses a major concern given the Lions strength in that category. Establishing the run will slow down Washington’s strong pass rush and loosen up a secondary that has been very stingy this year. The acquisition of 4-time Pro-bowler Marshon Lattimore, further strengthened their menacing secondary. The Lions running has barely missed a beat in the absence of their 1A ball carrier David Montgomery. The Lions will likely try pound the rock early and often to see if the Commander front 7 is able to hold up.

Top Matchup

One marquee matchup to focus on is Terrion Arnold vs. Terry Mclaurin. Arnold should be coming into the game very confident after putting up one of his best performances, going head to head with Minnesota Viking’s Receiver Jordan Addison. A matchup, Arnold won handedly holding him to just 1 reception for 0 yards. Mclaurin is having a monster year, and as a result was voted to his second Pro Bowl this year. He contributed 7 receptions for 89 yards, and a Touchdown in a winning effort on the road versus Tampa Bay. Arnold did suffer a foot injury in the Vikings game, which resulted in him wearing a walking boot for a few days, but the Rookie Cornerback remains confident that he’ll be ready to suit up on Saturday. In the event he is not able to go, look for fearless Veteran Amik Robertson to be tasked with the role of corralling Mclaurin. The Detroit Lions CB1 is likely out for the year with a broken jaw that he suffered in week 15 vs. The Buffalo Bills.

The Detroit Lions will reap the benefits of a well-deserved bye week. They will enter the game with the probable return of David Montgomery as well Ennis Rackestraw, which will certainly provide some depth to shorthanded secondary. The status of Terrion Arnold and Veteran Guard Kevin Zeitler are still uncertain, the additional week off will aid in them getting as much recovery time as possible.