Jayden Daniels Lions e1737264683736 Washington CommandersLon Horwedel/Imagn Images

Two ownership transitions, 12 head coaches and 36 starting quarterbacks later, Washington is returning to the NFC Championship Game. The Commanders earned their franchise’s first berth in the contest since 1991 with a stunning, 45-31 upset over the No. 1-seeded Lions on Saturday night. No other team has waited longer to advance this far.

Having snapped the league’s longest active championship-game drought, Washington will travel to either Los Angeles or Philadelphia, depending on the winner of Sunday’s Rams-Eagles game. And one more win would make Jayden Daniels the first rookie quarterback to start a Super Bowl.

“As a team, we believe in one another,” said Daniels, who finished 22 of 31 for 299 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and 51 rushing yards. “We believe in the man upstairs. We’re going to go out there and we’re going to fight. We prepared the right way. We put in the work to get to this point and we got some more games left.”

They’re alive because they capitalized on a feverish second-quarter stretch that featured five touchdowns in six minutes. After two early lead changes, one of those touchdowns was a 58-yard strike from Daniels to Terry McLaurin that gave Washington a lead the Commanders would not relinquish.

“We knew we’d give them a four-quarter battle,” McLaurin told Westwood One’s Laura Okmin after the game. “We can hang with anybody and that’s what we did.”

McLaurin has had to hang with 11 starting quarterbacks since Washington drafted him in 2019. Patience is paying off, however. McLaurin on Saturday helped Daniels become only the second rookie quarterback in league history to defeat the No. 1 seed in the postseason, joining Joe Flacco in 2008.

“Jayden is an unbelievable person,” said McLaurin. “First of all, he’s a man of God and he’s so poised. Since he got in here, he’s just been so humble and put his head down and worked. And he has a charismatic personality that I feel like is infectious on our whole team. He and I have connected a lot this season, so I’m excited to continue to grow with him and we’re not done yet.”

Detroit was done when Jared Goff’s third interception landed in the arms of Jeremy Chinn with 25 seconds left, sending a jubilant Daniels skipping onto the field to kneel on the final snap. Goff also overthrew Tim Patrick on a second-quarter interception that Quan Martin returned 40 yards for a touchdown that gave Washington a 24-14 advantage.

Rookie Mike Sainristil, who played collegiately at nearby Michigan, had two interceptions – one a ill-advised trick pass from wide receiver Jameson Williams. All told, Washington had five takeaways, including a strip-sack by Dorance Armstrong recovered by Frankie Luvu.

Luvu appeared to deliver a blow to Goff’s head and neck area during Martin’s return, knocking the quarterback several yards backward. Backup Teddy Bridgewater, who coached Miami Northwestern High School to a Florida state title last month, replaced Goff for the ensuing series. Williams ended that three-play possession with a dazzling, 61-yard reverse touchdown run.

But Daniels was too much for Detroit, especially in the fourth quarter. He engineered a 15-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that consumed eight-and-a-half minutes, culminating in Brian Robinson’s 1-yard run. And after his defense stopped Detroit, Daniels drove the Commanders 66 yards in eight plays for a short Jeremy McNichols touchdown – sending most of the 64,774 in attendance toward the exits.

The exit for the Lions (15-3) was shocking. Detroit, which fell inches from the Super Bowl last season, commanded the NFC’s best record all season. Decimated by injuries all year, they still dominated divisional rival Minnesota in the season-finale, earning the No. 1 seed for the first time ever. Saturday was a disappointing end to what had been the franchise’s best season since winning the 1957 NFL Championship.

In a losing cause, running back Jahmyr Gibbs exploded for 175 yards from scrimmage, including 105 yards on 14 carries. Star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had eight catches for 137 yards and tight end Sam LaPorta made a diving, left-handed touchdown reception.

For more information on the Commanders and Lions, visit the Washington and Detroit team pages at ProFootballPost.com.


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By Zak Gilbert

Since his freshman year at the University of Colorado, Zak Gilbert has worked 30 years in sports, including 18 NFL seasons. He's spent time with four NFL teams, serving as head of communications for both the Raiders and Browns. A veteran of nine Super Bowls, he most recently worked six seasons in the NFL's New York league office.

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