Commanders and Lions More Alike Than Not Entering Divisional Round

The Washington Commanders have some similarities between them, including their affinity for attempting fourth-down conversions.

Jan 12, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn during the fourth quarter of a NFC wild card playoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

DETROIT -- The Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions matchup is more than just a playoff game between two good teams.

This weekend's battle involves two teams with fan bases who have long starved for winning football. Granted, the Lions have been good for multiple years now, but it is still a franchise that has yet to appear in a Super Bowl let alone win one. Meanwhile, the Commanders just got their first playoff win for the franchise since 2005 last week.

But the similarities between the two teams don't stop there, nor do they stop with the two coaches named Dan leading Washington and Detroit into this fight.

Jan 12, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn during the fourth quarter of a NFC wild card playoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

"Look for the Lions and Commanders to light up the scoreboard," says The Athletic's Mike Jones. "The Lions entered the postseason averaging an NFL-high 33.2 points per game. The Commanders ranked fifth, averaging 28.5 points per contest."

The Lions have the edge in that race, though not by much in the grand scheme of things. Stylistically, both teams have been able to score as much as they have, thanks to an impressively aggressive mindset that made each team among the league's leaders in fourth-down attempts this season. That fact led Jones to another observation about the two teams.

"Campbell and Quinn are among the most aggressive coaches in the league because of their willingness to go for it on fourth down — even while possessing the ball in their own territory," Jones notes. "Washington succeeded on 87 percent of its fourth-down attempts in the regular season, leading the NFL. Detroit converted 66.7 percent of its fourth downs, tied for seventh-best."

In their Wild Card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the Commanders went for it on fourth-down five times, converting three of them, and didn't punt once.

Although, if either side finds itself in a position to punt, both teams have very good punters with Tress Way leading the special teams charge for Washington while Jack Fox–the First Team All-Pro–serves in that capacity for the Lions.

"I think the field position is the critical part of it, and how does that look as you're changing field position? Both these guys can really hit the long ball to change field position or to drop one inside the 10-yard line," Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said when we asked about the two punters this week. "So, the field position, to me, is a big piece of this - the average drive starts. And those two certainly are at the upper echelon of what they do. So, like you said, maybe it's not the volume, but the success of the times that it's done, both sides.” 

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