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How Fulghum is backing the Commanders in divisional round vs. Lions (0:37)
Tyler Fulghum explains why he is taking the Commanders to cover the spread in their divisional round matchup vs. the Lions. (0:37)
The NFC divisional round is set for Saturday as the Washington Commanders will face the top-seeded Detroit Lions.
Washington is coming off a nail-biting 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that was headlined by a stunning performance from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels threw for 268 yards with two touchdowns — and he also set up Commanders kicker Zane Gonzalez for a walk-off 37-yard field goal to keep their Super Bowl hopes alive.
The win marked the Commanders’ first playoff win since the 2005 season, snapping the third-longest active playoff drought, according to ESPN Research.
Under the leadership of head coach Dan Campbell, the Lions are once again Super Bowl contenders.
Last season, the Lions charged their way to the NFC Championship Game, where they built a commanding 24-7 halftime lead over the San Francisco 49ers. However, a 17-point rally by the 49ers ended the Lions’ chance of appearing in Super Bowl LVIII.
The fight for an NFC championship berth comes with high stakes — and impressive statistics. Here are some notable numbers heading into Saturday’s matchup.
3-0: History will be written on Saturday between the Lions and Commanders, but this isn’t their first rodeo. Washington and Detroit have clashed three times in the postseason, making this weekend’s NFC divisional round meeting their fourth meeting. Washington won all three previous matchups — twice in the wild-card round (1982, 1999) and once in the conference championship (1991) — with Super Bowl victories following in 1982 and 1991.
5: Daniels thrives under pressure. Including Washington’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card, Daniels led five game-winning drives this season — the third most by a rookie quarterback since 1950. He joins the ranks of players such as Andrew Luck, who had seven in 2012 and Ben Roethlisberger, who had six in 2004.
927: Daniels doesn’t shy away from attacking gaps when under pressure. This season, Daniels has 927 rushing yards, the second most by a quarterback. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson leads the position with 996 rushing yards. Daniels, however, made history as the first rookie quarterback to rush for 900 yards.
222: The Lions have been dominant all season. Led by quarterback Jared Goff and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, along with the running back duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, Detroit has outscored its opponents by 222 points this season, marking the first time the franchise has achieved a +180 point differential.
1: For the first time in team history, the Lions secured a No. 1 seed, giving them a clear shot at their first championship since 1957, when they defeated the Cleveland Browns. Only three teams in major sports — the Arizona Cardinals, Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Guardians — have longer active championship droughts.
6: Daniels’ contest against the Lions will mark the sixth time in the Super Bowl era that a rookie quarterback will square off against a team with a share of the NFL’s best record. Out of the previous five instances, Joe Flacco remains the only first-year quarterback to secure a victory, after he led the Ravens to a 13-3 win over the Tennessee Titans in 2008.
13: In his rookie season, Daniels has 13 wins with the Commanders this season — the second most by a rookie quarterback in NFL history. He is one win away from tying Roethlisberger, who tallied 14 in 2004.
20: Gibbs is one of the best running backs in the NFL this season. He led the league with 20 scrimmage touchdowns during the regular season — three more than Jamaal Williams’ 17 in 2022 and Barry Sanders’ 17 in 1991.
4: With 1,412 rushing yards on the season — the fifth most in the NFL — and 517 receiving yards, the third most by a running back, Gibbs is the fourth player to record 20 touchdowns with over 1,400 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards.
ESPN Research contributed to this story.
