Division Round Game Recap – Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions

Commanders Beat Lions by Two Touchdowns in a Huge Upset

January 20, 2025

By Noonefromtampa

First Quarter

Washington won the coin toss and elected to defer. Zane Gonzalez kicked the ball out of bounds at the two, which put the ball on the Lions 40 yard to start the game. David Montgomery gained two yards on first down but lost 5 yards on second down when Dante Fowler blew into the backfield for the tackle. Jared Goff threw an incompletion on third down forcing a Lions punt. The punt by Jack Fox went out of bounds at the twenty.

Washington came out throwing with Jayden Daniels hitting Zack Ertz for six yards over the middle and Terry McLaurin for 6 yards on a bubble screen. Cornerback Amik Robertson was injured on the second down play. Dyami Brown caught a swing pass for 7 yards when play resumed. Austin Ekeler picked up 24 yards on checkdown. Jeremy McNichols ran for 1 yard on Washington’s first run play. After an incomplete pass and a false start on Tyler Biadesz, Daniels hit Jamison Crowder for 13 yards short of the first down marker. Washington elected to go for it, but the fourth down play did not go off as planned and they turned it over on downs.

Goff hit Jameson Williams for 19 yards to start their next drive. Jahmyr Gibbs then took over, with a 15 yard run and reception for 23 yards down to the Washington 14 yard line. He then picked up 9 yards and after Montgomery ran for 4 yards, Gibbs came back in to score the 1 yard touchdown. The extra point by Jake Bates was good giving the Lions a 7-0 lead.

Daniels ran for 4 yards on an option play on first down and threw 11 yard to McLaurin for the first down. Ekeler lost four yard on a run around left end and got that back on a pass on second down. On third and long, Daniels threw a dart to Crowder for 12 yards. Brian Robinson ran for 14 yards on first down. After two incompletions, the Commanders faced third and long again. Daniels found Brown open deep over the middle, but the Lions defensive back was able to knock the ball out of his hands during the tackled. Gonzalez converted a 47 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.

After a 20 yard return by Craig Reynolds on the Lions next drive, Goff threw 14 yards to Sam LaPorta. Gibbs then ran for 33 yards around the left side. The Lions picked up 9 yards on 6 yard pass to LaPorta and a 3 yard run by Montgomery. Dorance Armstrong was able to strip-sack Goff on third down, with Frankie Luvu recovering the loose ball at the Washington 22 yard line.

Robinson ran for 15 yards and then 5 yards to end the quarter.

Second Quarter

Daniels, with good pass protection, hit Brown on a deep throw for 42 yards. Daniels ran twice for 7 yards but threw an incompletion on third down. On fourth down, from the nine, Daniels found Ertz for 7 yards and the first down. Washington was unable to put the ball in the end zone, but McLaurin drew a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone to give Washington a fresh set of downs. After losing a yard, Robinson powered into the endzone for the touchdown, but Sam Cosmi was injured on the play. Gonzalez made the extra point to give the Commanders a 10-7 lead.

After overthrowing Williams on a deep ball, Goff his Amon-Ra St. Brown for 7 yards. On third and three, Goff found St. Brown deep for 34 yards over Noah Igbinoghene who was flagged for defensive holding on the play which was declined. Gibbs followed that with a 12 yard run down to the Washington 17 yard line. After a stop for no gain, Goff threw a screen to Kalif Raymond for 15 yards. Just as Goff was being hit, he threw an off-balance pass with LaPorta caught one-handed in the back of the end zone for the touchdown. The extra point was good, putting the Lions ahead 14-10.

After the touchback, Daniels ran for 3 yards and then threw to Brown for 8 yards. Daniels threw a bubble screen to McLaurin, who got good blocks from Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus and with the Lions blitzing, was able to outrun the lone Lions defender to score a 59 yard touchdown. The extra point was good, giving the Commanders a 17-14 lead.

LaPorta was called for a false start on the first play after a 19 yard return on the subsequent kickoff. Gibbs ran for 1 yard on first and 15. Goff overthrew Tim Patrick, and the ball was intercepted by Quan Martin who threaded his way back to score a 40 yard touchdown on the return. The extra was good, giving Washington a surprising 24-14 lead.

After a short return, Teddy Bridgewater came into the game and Goff was being evaluated for a possible concussion. After picking up a first down, the Lions ran a reverse to Williams who ran 65 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was good, cutting the lead to 24-21.

Ekeler ran for 8 yards after the touchback. Daniels picked up another 15 yards and the first down. After an Ekeler two yard run, Daniels found Brown deep again for 38 yards down to the Lions 7 yard line.  After the two-minute warning, Daniels ran for 2 yards up the middle. After the incompletion on second down, Daniels found Ertz for the 5 yard touchdown. The extra was good, putting the lead back to 31-21.

After a touchback on the kickoff, Goff returned to the game to run the two-minute offense. He completed an 11 yard pass to St. Brown. LaPorta caught a 7 yard pass and Gibbs then ran for 11 yards after a call was revered to incomplete pass. Clelin Ferrell tipped a pass incomplete, and Gibbs made a 12 yard reception. Goff went deep to Williams in the end zone, but Mike Sainristil undercut the throw and intercepted it. He returned it 22 yards out to the Washington 14 yard line. Washington took a knee to end the half.

Third Quarter

Robinson ran for 14 yards on the first play after a touchback on the opening kickoff. Daniels ran twice for a net loss of 1 yard and the third down pass was incomplete. Tress Way had his punt of the game which was downed on the Lions nine yard line by Colson Yankoff.

Montgomery eluded players in the backfield to pick up 11 yards on first down. After an incompletion, Montgomery picked up 8 yards. Washington stopped Montgomery for a loss but Fowler was called for a phantom facemask penalty giving the Lions a first down. Gibbs ran twice for a net no gain. Goff then hit St. Brown for 19 yards. After an incompletion, Goff threw a screen to Gibbs who picked up 11 yards.  The Lions ran a trick play with a lateral to Montgomery who threw a shovel pass to St. Brown who picked up 20 yards to the Washington 7 yard line. After Gibbs lost a yard, he ran 8 yards up the middle for the touchdown. The extra point was good, reducing Washington’s lead to 31-28.

Daniels scrambled for 1 yard on first down and picked up 14 yards on second down. Robinson ran for 5 yards and Detroit was called for unnecessary roughness on Daniels which added 15 yards to the play. Robinson ran three straight times and picked up 10 yards. They tried a screen to Brown but he fumbled the ball out of bounds and lost a yard. Ekeler picked up 6 yards on a swing pass. On third down, Brown caught a three yard pass short of the first down. Daniels ran for 3 yards on fourth down to give Washington a first down on the Lions 13 yard line. Ekeler picked up 7 yards on a shovel pass and then ran for 1 yard to end the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The third down pass to Ertz was stopped for no gain. However, the Lions were called for too many players on the field, giving Washington a first down. Two plays later Robinson scored a touchdown. The extra point was good, pushing the lead to 38-28.

After a Montgomery 5 yard run, Patrick picked up 22 yards on a short pass from Goff. The Lions tied another trick play with Williams throwing deep to Gibbs, but the pass was intercepted by Sainristil, his second of the game.

Ekeler ran 35 yards to the Lions 31 yard line on first down. Ekeler picked up another 5 yards on the next play. Daniels scrambled for 5 yards and the first down. The Commanders were called for delay of game, which backed them up 5 yards. McNichols ran for 3 yards on second down. Ertz caught a 10 yard pass to put them in a third and two. In an uncharacteristic behind the player throw, Daniels missed McLaurin for the first down. On fourth down, Daniels, under pressure threw a great thrown to McLaurin for 12 yards and a first down. McNichols reached the ball across the goal line as he was being tackled for the touchdown. The extra point was good, expanding the lead to 45-28.

The Lions then went into their hurry up offense with 7:31 on the clock. At one point Goff hit Gibbs for 12 yards, 13 yards to Raymond and 20 yards to St. Brown to move the ball to the Commanders 25 yard line. St. Brown picked up 13 more yards, but the Lions only gain two more yards after that. They were forced to kick a 28 yard field goal to cut the lead to 45-31.

Ertz recovered the onside kick at Washington’s 40 yard line. Robinson ran twice for 5 yards. On third down Daniels hit a wide-open John Bates for a 20 yard completion. McNichols ran for 3 yards over the left side on first down and Daniels ran for 1 yard. Robinson ran for 5 yards on third down. The Lions used up their remaining timeouts to preserve time on the clock. The Commanders elected to attempt a field goal on fourth and one, but the 44 yard kick was just left of the upright and no good.

Armstrong sacked Goff for an 11 yard loss on first down. Goff was able to complete many short to intermediate passes as the clock continued to count down. The Lions reached the Washington 17 yard line when Jeremy Chinn picked off Goff for the fifth turnover of the game which sealed the victory. Daniels knelt down to end the game.

Thoughts

Washington’s defense was up and down all game, but this was against the one of the best offenses in the NFL. However, they created five turnovers, which was a big difference maker in the game.

The stats difference: Washington 0 sacks and 0 turnovers, with Detroit 2 sacks and 5 turnovers. Huge!

Kliff Kingsbury called a very good game and put the offense in a position to score points against the Lions. A shootout was expected and delivered. The Commanders were able to exploit against pressure when Aaron Glenn got aggressive on defense. Jayden Daniels continues to play like a seasoned veteran quarterback and not like a rookie.

Dyami Brown had another great game, and the Commanders will have a decision on whether to try and re-sign him after the season.

The officials missed penalties or miscalled penalties against both teams, resulting in both teams getting scores.