Lions vs. Commanders: Playoff Matchups, X-Factors & Bold Predictions

The divisional round of the 2024 NFL playoffs is just one day away! Tomorrow night, two of the NFL's best teams will collide on Saturday night with an opportunity to go to the NFC championship on the line. In this article, I will analyze and predict tomorrow night's intense matchup between the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders.

Breaking down this entertaining game, the Detroit Lions are coming off a franchise record-setting 15-2 regular season record and are currently sitting as the top seed in the NFC. What makes the Detroit Lions such an amazing team is their well-balanced offensive scheme. For detail, the Lions led by offensive coordinator and play caller Ben Johnson have turned a once-known unfunctional offence into the best in the NFL leading the league this season in points per game. With such a talented offence, all Jared Goff has to focus on is doing his job as the Lions gameplan is to make everything more efficient and easier for Lions quarterback Jared Goff. To explain, the Lions already have one of the best rushing offences in the NFL as their offensive line has been fantastic. 

Moreover, Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs has been the Lions best player this season as Gibbs uses his speed, agility, and power all together to create big plays and score many touchdowns. Additionally, the Lions will also get their second running back David Montgomery who has also been reliable for the Lions as both Montgomery and Gibbs split the backfield. No matter how good Montgomery has played this season, many believe inputting Montgomery back into their offence is a bad idea as Gibbs will see less playing time than before. However, David Montgomery has been a great rusher, receiver, and blocker for the Lions and giving Gibbs a smaller workload will increase his efficiency and decrease the risk of injury. Moving onto their passing attack, Jared Goff has been able to succeed in passing the ball as opposing teams are so worried about the run game that they forget about their talented receivers leading to big plays down the field. Using Ben Johnson’s schemes, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has been a top-three receiver in football this season playing from the slot. Using his route running ability mixed in with his elite hands, Amon-Ra is well deserving of first-team all-pro honours. The Lions have also had success throwing the ball deep to speedy Lions receiver Jameson Williams and also in the red zone to veteran Lions reciever Tim Patrick. Coming off of a bye-week as a reward for being NFC’s top seed, the Lions offence got to rest and recover implying that I expect the Lions offence to be able to exploit the Commanders streaky defence and score both running and throwing the ball.

https://www.detroitlions.com/news/montgomery-thinks-he-gibbs-can-be-an-even-more-productive-duo-in-2024

As for the Commanders, nobody expected this team to even sniff the playoffs, as they were the second-worst team in football last year. However, using the second overall pick on quarterback Jayden Daniels has completely shifted this franchise back to a contending team in just his rookie season! What has worked so well for the Commanders in their historic season is their ability to close games out no matter the circumstance. Explaining their red-hot offence, while offensive coordinator and play caller Kliff Kingsbury does not have the well-balanced offence that Ben Johnson has, Kliff has instead relied on his star players utilizing them into his gameplan as much as possible. For instance, many of the Commanders best plays are when Jayden Daniels is under pressure and heaves a prayer to their star receiver Terry McLaurin who uses his versatility and athleticism to catch passes that no other receiver in the NFL can do. Terry McLaurin has been sensational for the Commanders this season and is very happy that he has found his franchise quarterback that he has waited six seasons for. Additionally, the Commanders have also succeeded by going to veteran tight end Zach Ertz and running back Austin Ekeler on crucial plays including third and fourth downs. All together, the Commanders offence is playing at its best as of right now and can go toe to toe with any team in the league.

https://riggosrag.com/2022/09/23/3-simple-changes-commanders-must-make-humbling-week-2-loss-mclaurin-gibson-milne/

Going into tomorrow night's game, I expect the Lions to be able to run all over the Commanders as the Commanders front seven is no match for Gibbs, Montgomery and their elite offensive line. Due to their success in the run game, I believe that the Commanders inconsistent secondary will not keep up with the Lions talented receivers and will likely give up at least one big touchdown to either Jameson Williams or Sam LaPorta. I am assuming the Lions will utilize Amon-Ra St. Brown as a decoy as he will very likely be double-teamed throughout the game which only helps his fellow receivers. As for the Commanders, I also believe they can expose the Lions defence as long as Jayden Daniels is doing Jayden Daniels things. It is imperative for the Commanders to not be losing big early on as the Lions defence will be better in coverage if they are playing on a lead as they know that the Commanders will not run the ball if they are down big. I predict that the Commanders will be behind throughout the game but close enough to where Jayden Daniels can use his legs to run for many yards. Regardless of both teams solid defences, this game will be very entertaining and high-scoring. 

https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears/2024/10/01/bears-caleb-williams-rating-rookies-jayden-daniels-bo-nix-make-history-for-different-reasons

For my official prediction, I believe the Detroit Lions will win this game narrowly as their experience and tight culture will help them win this all-important divisional game. I expect each team to score at least 30 points and the game to come down to one last possession where either the Lions score to win the game or the Lions get a last-second stop on defence to clinch the victory. While I believe the Lions will ultimately defeat the Commanders, I still expect to Commanders to cover the large 9.5-point spread per USA Today. Either way, this game has the potential to be the best playoff game the NFL has had in a few seasons.

That is it for this divisional round breakdown. Let me know what your thoughts are on this upcoming playoff matchup and if you believe the Lions or Commanders will advance to the NFC championship. Comment down below who you believe is the better offensive play caller between Ben Johnson and Kliff Kingsbury. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s article as I will be breaking down and analyzing the other NFC divisional round playoff matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams. Stay updated by following the official X account of Blitz & Brawlers and try out our brand-new quiz!