Identifying the Detroit Lions’ key players in Saturday’s playoff game against the Washington Commanders.
The Detroit Lions may be nearly 10-point favorites over the Washington Commanders for Saturday night’s Divisional Round playoff game, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be a walk in the park. The Commanders and Jayden Daniels have been outperforming expectations all season long. This season, they’re 4-3 in games they were Vegas underdogs, with their biggest upset victory coming in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals, who were 7.5-point favorites.
And with the Commanders currently riding a six-game winning streak, the Lions cannot afford to take their opponent lightly. Of course, coach Dan Campbell would never let his team lower their guards, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Still, Detroit will need several big performances from key players on Saturday night to advance to the Conference Championship round.
So today’s Question of the Day is:
Which Lions player is the biggest key to victory over the Commanders?
My answer: Linebacker Alex Anzalone. On offense, the Lions have so many weapons that it’s hard to identify a single key player. Detroit should be able to attack the Commanders defense on several fronts and see some success.
What the Lions don’t want to happen in this game is letting the Commanders hang around. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has been fantastic late in games when the game is close, so Detroit can’t give the burgeoning star an opportunity to play hero ball in the fourth quarter.
The best way to do that is to hold the Commanders offense in check early in the game and build a significant lead. In order to do that, they’ll have to manager Daniels as a rusher, and that begins with the second level of the defense.
Last game, we saw Anzalone calm down the entire defense. The pass rush looked better, Detroit was able to shut down tight ends and running backs in the receiving game, and the secondary held up their end of the bargain, too. With Zach Ertz and Austin Ekeler, the Commanders boast a couple of receiving threats that will challenge Anzalone, Jack Campbell, and whichever other defensive backs find themselves in the box.
But the trick will be to manage those responsibilities while keeping an eye on Daniels. No quarterback in the NFL scrambles more than Daniels, which will put an extra level of stress on the linebacking corps. Anzalone has elite awareness and is one heck of an athlete, but Daniels’ elusiveness is just as elite. I wouldn’t expect Anzalone to always make the open-field tackles against Daniels, but if he can simply redirect him toward help, that will be more than enough.
Who do you think is the biggest key player for the Lions on Saturday night? Scroll down to the comment section and share your pick.
