DETROIT, MI (WTKR)- Six days after picking up their first playoff victory in 19 years, the Commanders face an even taller task with an NFC Championship Game berth on the line.
Washington takes aim at the Detroit Lions, a squad that finished the 2024 regular season 15-2 and earned the conference's top seed.
"They've got a huge playbook," Commanders' head coach Dan Quinn said earlier in the week. "There's plenty of stuff that they have where we have to be really rock-solid and ready."
Watch: Commanders fans flock to Detroit in hope of an upset
The Lions are coming into Saturday night's contest after establishing themselves as an offensive force during the regular season. Detroit leads the NFL with 33.2 points per game and is second in the league with 409.5 yards per contest. Washington was still among the tip third of the league in offense, picking up 369.6 yards per game (seventh in the NFL) and 28.5 points (fifth).
Detroit will be well-rested after its first round bye and comes in with the offense clicking. The Lions have posted at least 31 points in each of their last five games (4-1). Meanwhile, the Commanders have gone down to the wire in each of the last five weeks, winning on the final play from scrimmage in each contest, most recently taking down the Buccaneers last week on a walk-off 37-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez as time expired. Quinn says "you can't feel more alive" than in those last-second situations.
"It's like the best part of coaching," he smiled. "It's right with everything on the line and it's my most-favorite part of of it all, being 10-toes down with guys that you really love and care about, it's the best."
Watch: Commanders recall game-winning field goal
Don't expect much kicking on fourth down and short, either. Dan Campbell and Dan Quinn have developed a reputation for going for it in those situations, While Campbell is known for leaving the kicker on the sideline (he was given the nickname Dan Gamble), the Commanders were kings of the fourth down conversion this season. Washington converted on 20 of its 23 fourth down attempts, an eye-popping 87 percent conversion rate. Detroit was 22 of 33 in fourth down conversions this season, a 66.7 percent efficiency rate.
The Commanders will also have to contend with the Ford Field atmosphere. In a recent survey done by ESPN of 111 NFL players, the venue ranked as the 11th-toughest place to play in the NFL, so there are places that are louder, but there will be a noise factor with which to contend. Washington pumped in crowd noise during some of its practices during the week to help prepare for the environment.
"It's an absolutely fantastic place," Quinn said. "It will be lit."
The Commanders enter this match-up as 8.5 point underdogs (ESPN updated the line Saturday), but this team has made a habit of creating some magical moments this year. Does it have any left for its biggest stage of the season? We'll find out Saturday night.
Watch: On the field with Marc Davis after the Commanders' win over the Buccaneers
"As far as playoffs go, every game's a championship game," noted Quinn. "That's what makes it so much fun because you can't place one versus the other. For us, all there is is Saturday night."
The Commanders and Lions kick off at 8:00 PM at Ford Field. News 3 will have reports and updates from Detroit throughout the day on-air and online.
