Lions prepare for a new foe in Commanders instead of rematch with Rams
The Detroit Lions kicked back and relaxed during a three-day weekend, enjoying the benefits of having the NFC's No. 1 seed and being one step closer to possibly playing in the Super Bowl.
The rest helped, but not more than simply not needing to win to advance to the divisional round of the playoffs.
"The odds say that's one less game that you're playing to get to your ultimate goal," Detroit coach Dan Campbell said. "That's the benefit, really."
The top-seeded Lions (15-2) also hope home field gives them another advantage against the sixth-seeded Washington Commanders (13-5) on Saturday night.
Washington's win over third-seeded Tampa Bay spared Detroit a rematch with the Matthew Stafford-led Los Angeles Rams.
"I do like the newness of it," Campbell said.
The Lions are also new to the Commanders, who have won five straight — each time on a last-minute or last-second play. But they haven't seen anything quite like Detroit's big-play ability on the ground and through the air.
"A lot of challenges, whether it's speed and ability at wide receiver or their running back tandem, the quarterback who can rip it, an excellent O-line, the defense plays a lot of man-to-man and plays aggressive," Washington coach Dan Quinn said. "We'll definitely have our work cut out for us."
The Commanders' 23-20 win eliminated the Buccaneers, one of the two teams to defeat Detroit during the regular season. The Buffalo Bills also beat the Lions, winning 48-42 a month ago.
That doesn't mean Detroit, an 8 1/2-point favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, thinks it will have an easy evening against a Washington team led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
"We've got a really good opponent here," Campbell said. "They've got a dynamic quarterback. They're playing good offense, good defense, really good coaching.
"We've got our work cut out for us."
The game will feature candidates for NFL Coach of the Year, and Campbell is well aware of Quinn's ability to lead a team after facing him at their previous stops.
Quinn led the Atlanta Falcons from 2015 through the early part of the 2020 season, overlapping with Campbell's years with the New Orleans Saints as an assistant.
"It's not like we hang out on a daily basis or anything or talk like that, but I've known him for a while," Campbell said. "Certainly when he was in Atlanta, having to play him twice a year, you gain a high level of respect for what they do.
"His teams are always going to be competitive and they're going to be ready to go and they're going to try to do things the right way. I've got a lot of respect for what he's done, and I'm not surprised that they're where they're at just knowing kind of the way he builds things, the way his attitude is."
While Campbell downplayed the significance of the bye week for his banged-up team, there's no doubt the break will allow at least one player to return to the field and others such as cornerback Terrion Arnold to get healthier.
The Lions expect running back David Montgomery to play against the Commanders — coming back from a knee injury that was originally expected to end his season — and rejoin Jahmyr Gibbs in perhaps the NFL's best backfield.
Montgomery finished with 1,116 yards from scrimmage and scored 12 touchdowns in 14 games, the last of which was against the Bills a month ago.
"He's a huge part of us," Campbell said. "He a bell cow. He's a tone-setter. He's a catalyst."
"There's a place for him here, so there'll be a place for him in this game. So, it's going to be good to get him back."