The Lions will have their toughest challenge yet against scrambling quarterbacks on Saturday against Jayden Daniels. Why slowing him down is a must.
There are some similarities between the Washington Commanders this season and the Detroit Lions of last year. Both had expectations, nothing big but an improvement from the year before. When both made the playoffs, their fanbase just wanted a win to call the season a success. The Lions got two wins and were just a half away from making it to their first ever Super Bowl. On Saturday, Detroit hopes the Commanders don’t go on a similar run as they did last year.
The play by their first-round pick from the 2024 NFL Draft, quarterback Jayden Daniels has propelled the Commanders to early success under their new regime. Daniels is the favorite to win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award and rightfully so. He has led the Commanders to four game-winning drives this season and finished with a 12-5 record.
For the Lions to hold off the upset from the Commanders, Daniels can’t play like he has for most of the season. Here’s why the Lions must contain Daniels to move onto the NFC Championship game.
Offensive line struggles
For Daniels to have his best game, he has to have time to throw the ball. The Commanders are tied for the seventh-most sacks allowed in the NFL (50). According to PFF, the Commanders have the 11th-worst pass-blocking grade (63.4), with the best performer being right guard Sam Cosmi (73.6). Despite being the highest-graded, he has the most penalties among the starters with six. Another issue with this line is rookie left tackle Brandon Coleman, who is the lowest-graded starting offensive lineman (58.7). According to PFF has given up nine sacks and the second most pressures (35).
The Lions defensive line will need to generate pressure on Daniels, especially on the left side of the line, as Coleman and left guard Nick Allegretti are the lowest-graded players on the starting line. Blitzing can be an option, but I think defensive end Za’Darius Smith should be lined up against Coleman to have the best option to take down Daniels. Coleman was also added to the injury report on Wednesday with a shoulder injury. Even though he practiced fully, that certainly won’t make things easier for him.
Be wary of blitz
Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn loves to blitz, as according to Pro Football Reference, Detroit blitzed on 34.6 percent of plays this season, only behind the Minnesota Vikings. So with Detroit being the heaviest blitz team left in the playoffs, they certainly won’t shy away as to what got them here.
Per PFF, Daniels holds onto the football for an average of 2.98 seconds, the fourth-highest among quarterbacks left in the playoffs, and seventh among all NFL starters. But when he is blitzed, he plays better than when he isn’t. He has thrown for 12 touchdowns and three interceptions when blitzed, and 15 touchdowns and six interceptions when not. So Detroit shouldn’t just do an all-out blitz to try and slow Daniels down as he can play better when his back is up against the wall.
When blitzing, the Lions will have to adjust their goal. The priority must be to contain over attack. Daniels is dangerous with his legs, so keeping him inside the pocket is the biggest goal. But Detroit will have to send extra guys to do that.
“You have to do a lot as far as being disciplined in your rush, obviously sending more people at him so you can make sure you close up as many lanes as you can,” defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said this week.
QB contain hasn’t been horrible
The biggest headache for any team when facing a mobile quarterback is worrying about their legs and what they can do with them. Whether it’s running designed plays on the ground, read options, RPOs, scrambling when nothing is there, or running around to keep a play alive, there is a lot to defend. Lions head coach Dan Campbell challenged the media to try and find a team who’s good at defending mobile quarterbacks, because nobody has it figured out.
The Lions have allowed 6.2 yards per carry against quarterbacks, second worst in the league. But when you look at the quarterbacks they’ve faced, they honestly haven’t done bad.
- Baker Mayfield: Five carries for 34 yards and a touchdown
- Kyler Murray: Five carries for 45 yards
- Geno Smith: Five carries for 38 yards
- Dak Prescott: One carry for 1 yard
- Jordan Love: Seven carries for 23 yards (two games combined)
- C.J. Stroud: One carry for 5 yards
- Anthony Richardson: 10 carries for 61 yards
- Caleb Williams: 10 carries for 73 yards (two games combined)
- Josh Allen: 11 carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns
The worst performance is against MVP candidate Josh Allen, but outside of that, it’s not a bad performance for this defense. Richardson found success early in the game with his runs before the Colts went away from it.
Daniels will get his yards, they will have to accept that. They need to limit how much damage he can do with them overall. If Daniels is going to be causing havoc and getting easy chunks constantly, it will be a long night for the defense. If Detroit can get a few sacks or simply close up his escape lanes, Daniels will be forced to beat Detroit with his arm.
Another way the Lions can shut down Daniels’ legs is with their offense. If the Detroit can get a big enough lead in this game—and I think they can—the running game for Daniels will have to change. The clock will turn into their enemy, and they will have to try and score quickly to keep up with the Lions offense. With that, fewer runs will be called, keeping their offense one dimensional. If Detroit can do that, it will keep Daniels in the pocket, and that is when Detroit can dial up the blitz and do serious damage.
