Commanders Offense, Mistakes by Lions D Lead to Biggest Upset of the Season
Jayden Daniels and the 6-seed Washington Commanders smacked the 1-seed Lions around in their own yard and came away with a stunning 45-31 victory on Saturday night.
Several elements combined to make this shocking upset happen. Daniels was nearly flawless, particularly against the blitz, against which he completed 12 of 16 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown.
The Commanders also did a great job on the ground, running for 182 yards and 3 touchdowns. Many of these runs came as a result of the attention Detroit gave to Daniels. Kliff Kingsbury also did a great job of creating space with his formations, allowing Washington backs room to run.
But Detroit also made plenty of mistakes that led to big plays and kept drives alive.
Handling the Blitz
First, let’s deal with Daniels. Insert your favorite cliche about ice in his veins, not having a pulse, etc. I’m running out of ways to describe how impressive he’s been.
Entering this game, the Commanders knew they would see pressure. The Lions blitzed the second-most of any defense in the NFL this season.
Daniels was ready for it.
Let’s start with this 4th-and-3 on the Commanders’ first touchdown drive. To start, Kingsbury had running back Austin Ekeler motion to the perimeter. Safety Kerby Joseph followed him, an indicator of man coverage:
The man coverage on the outside was clear. Inside, the deepest defender (safety Ifeatu Melifonwu) aligned over the #3 receiver, tight end Zach Ertz. There was no one in the deep middle of the field. This was cover-0:
