NFC Divisional Round: Washington Commanders (13-5) @ Detroit Lions (15-2)

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Kansas City is going to win it all again. They are guided by a witch and get every lucky break imaginable. This season sucks. 

[Nate7474]

23 minutes ago, Klondike said:

We did? I didn't know one person who thought we wouldn't win if not easily. Same for the Vegas guys. And pundits everywhere. I'm amused at all the condescending comments on these boards that casually say "oh, we knew it would happen with all these injuries"

Yes we did. Did I think it would be 45 points no. But I was prepared for them to score 30+. A lot of people were talking about how we’d have to out score teams and hope for just a couple stops. I think us and Vegas just were pretty confident that would happen against Washington but clearly we were wrong. 

[519superfan]

38 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Kansas City is going to win it all again. They are guided by a witch and get every lucky break imaginable. This season sucks. 

 

true 100% satanic witch will get them another ring lol

 

 

[Tenacious D]

I don’t see the Chiefs beating either the Ravens or Bills, even with the refs on their side.

Now I find myself in the uncomfortable position of having to cheer for the Eagles.

Not fair.

[buddha]

58 minutes ago, Motor City Sonics said:

This reminds me of the 1996 Red Wings.    They set a record with 62 wins and didn't get to the Finals

Sure, they regressed a bit in the regular season, but then the March 26th game galvanized them and they won it all

I see something similar with the Lions.    The Lions are the type of team that almost has to be an underdog to be comfortable. 

3 losses all year - all were at home.  

 

If you think this is the end of their run, you are nuts and you don't know what you're talking about.    This team will have at least 3 more years of very good football and hopefully fewer injuries.    If Brad keeps drafting the way he does, it'll be more than 3 years. 

 

Sure, it stings. 

PAIN IS PART OF THE PROCESS

 

31 fanbases end the season sadly, we're just one of them.   

 

Now - please - anyone but the ****ing Chiefs. 

this is not part of any "process".  youre trying to put a narrative on a series of random events.  its a human thing to do but the 90s red wings are not some blueprint for every detroit team that gets good.

this wasnt their year because of injuries to the defense.

they may never have "a year".  it happens.

[Motown Bombers]

This team was on to something historic, and then the injuries completely derailed their season. We've seen this happen to the 49ers before, only for them to bounce back the next season. This team is still mostly intact. Just need better health next year. 

[Hongbit]

The defense finally broke.   They couldn’t get any pressure even when they blitzed.  They missed so many tackles and had a stupid penalty when they finally did get a big stop.  

Still,  they win the game if Goff doesn’t have a nightmare of a game that nobody saw coming.    They were moving the ball but too many mistakes killed them.  

Tough one to take that will hurt for a long time.   They will be back.  The roster is set up nicely next year before having to do some cap maneuvering the following years.  

[NYLion]

I see people blaming the injuries and, sure, it played a factor but 5 (FIVE!!!) turnovers by the offense including a gifted 7 on an INT is what lost this game. Goff choked and Ben Johnson choked, those were the two main factors. A fumble and two INTs by the QB in the red zone, a third INT that ended up in his end zone and the arrogant OC neglecting the run after it was shredding the Commanders defense and doing that utterly brainless Jamo throwing the ball call down 10 early in the 4th, wtf was he thinking? Those are your two biggest culprits. The Commanders didn't even have to do anything special, just watch the Lions implode.

The biggest disappointment of this is a team that prided itself on composure and valuing the football did neither of that on the biggest stage.

[MichiganCardinal]

6 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

The defense finally broke.   They couldn’t get any pressure even when they blitzed.  They missed so many tackles and had a stupid penalty when they finally did get a big stop.  

Still,  they win the game if Goff doesn’t have a nightmare of a game that nobody saw coming.    They were moving the ball but too many mistakes killed them.  

Tough one to take that will hurt for a long time.   They will be back.  The roster is set up nicely next year before having to do some cap maneuvering the following years.  

In hindsight, I think the defense broke during and after Buffalo, but Chicago and Minnesota were pedestrian enough to disguise it.

[MichiganCardinal]

8 minutes ago, NYLion said:

I see people blaming the injuries and, sure, it played a factor but 5 (FIVE!!!) turnovers by the offense including a gifted 7 on an INT is what lost this game. Goff choked and Ben Johnson choked, those were the two main factors. A fumble and two INTs by the QB in the red zone, a third INT that ended up in his end zone and the arrogant OC neglecting the run after it was shredding the Commanders defense and doing that utterly brainless Jamo throwing the ball call down 10 early in the 4th, wtf was he thinking? Those are your two biggest culprits. The Commanders didn't even have to do anything special, just watch the Lions implode.

The biggest disappointment of this is a team that prided itself on composure and valuing the football did neither of that on the biggest stage.

I agree. Washington is a top 10-15 team that played mistake-free football, and that’s enough when your opponent gives you five free possessions. Detroit wins the game more often than not.

At the same time, I think it would have been a far cry to beat an Eagles, Bills, or Ravens team with this defense. Early in the season, we saw our defense take over and do enough to win games when our offense was struggling (e.g., Cardinals, Texans). That wasn’t about to happen after the final daggers against Buffalo, losing Alim and CDIII. It’s hard to win a Super Bowl, let alone win one with only one Super Bowl worthy unit.

Now I’m not saying it was inevitable so might as well lose yesterday, but just to say I truly think the defensive injuries is what doomed this team in a larger context.

The only point I’ll push back is that the Jamo throw was on Jamo, not Ben Johnson. That was drawn up to look like the same play that went for six, but Jamo made it obvious he was throwing way too soon, and then needed to throw that ball away when it wasn’t there. I actually love the play design, the execution was atrocious.

Edited Sunday at 03:33 PM by MichiganCardinal

[Motown Bombers]

9 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I agree. Washington is a top 10-15 team that played mistake-free football, and that’s enough when your opponent gives you five free possessions. Detroit wins the game more often than not.

At the same time, I think it would have been a far cry to beat an Eagles, Bills, or Ravens team with this defense. Early in the season, we saw our defense take over and do enough to win games when our offense was struggling (e.g., Cardinals, Texans). That wasn’t about to happen after the final daggers against Buffalo, losing Alim and CDIII. It’s hard to win a Super Bowl, let alone win one with only one Super Bowl worthy unit.

Now I’m not saying it was inevitable so might as well lose yesterday, but just to say I truly think the defensive injuries is what doomed this team in a larger context.

The only point I’ll push back is that the Jamo throw was on Jamo, not Ben Johnson. That was drawn up to look like the same play that went for six, but Jamo made it obvious he was throwing way too soon, and then needed to throw that ball away when it wasn’t there. I actually love the play design, the execution was atrocious.

Down 10 late in a playoff game, I still don't like putting the ball in Williams hands to throw. 

[NYLion]

14 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I

The only point I’ll push back is that the Jamo throw was on Jamo, not Ben Johnson. That was drawn up to look like the same play that went for six, but Jamo made it obvious he was throwing way too soon, and then needed to throw that ball away when it wasn’t there. I actually love the play design, the execution was atrocious.

That is 100% on Ben Johnson. They had no problem moving up and down the field on that defense with conventional offense, there was no reason to get cutesy and put the ball in the hands of a receiver who does nothing but want to make big plays so of course he's going to force a throw to make a play. Just an absolutely horrendous and unnecessary call IMO.

Edited Sunday at 03:43 PM by NYLion

[MichiganCardinal]

On a large scale I’m not going to defend Ben Johnson. I like the play call, and it’s the kind of thing we are going crazy about if it works and Jamo throws a TD. Iif you want to dispute the timing fine, but I’m not that worked up over any single call.

I said last night that this game is his Lions legacy if he leaves, and I stand by that. His unit coughed the ball up five times in the biggest game of his tenure, and that falls at his feet.

[The Ronz]

1 hour ago, Klondike said:

I didn't know one person who thought we wouldn't win if not easily. Same for the Vegas guys. And pundits everywhere. 

I knew they weren't going to win.

I just didn't post anything about it because I don't post as much anymore.

I based it on two things.

1. The Lions played the Washington "Team" three times prior in the playoffs. They lost all three games and were outscored 105 - 34.

2. Not counting yesterdays game the Lions as a team had a record of 11-31 against teams from Washington.

Sometimes past performance is indicative of future losses.

[MichiganCardinal]

4 minutes ago, The Ronz said:

I knew they weren't going to win.

I just didn't post anything about it because I don't post as much anymore.

I based it on two things.

1. The Lions played the Washington "Team" three times prior in the playoffs. They lost all three games and were outscored 105 - 34.

2. Not counting yesterdays game the Lions as a team had a record of 11-31 against teams from Washington.

Sometimes past performance is indicative of future losses.

I think things that occurred before I was alive played any role yesterday whatsoever.

[Motown Bombers]

 

[Hongbit]

Goff plays normal the Lions probably win.  He was off the entire game.  Most of the decisions looked correct but his usual pinpoint accuracy failed him.     Very odd.  Not sure how Ben could prepare for that.

 Even when Goff was shaky, Ben had to trust that his Pro Bowl QB would shake out of it and make plays when it counted.  

[holygoat]

We all knew the defense was the weakest link of this team, and it was up to the elite unit -- the offense -- to put pressure on the Commies to keep up. Goff was pretty bad and Johnson got a little too cute by half, so that's where I put the bulk of the blame. If we "only" turn the ball over twice, I think we still have a shot to win, but our elite unit kept putting our weak unit in terrible positions, and they reacted predictably. S**t happens in the NFL, and Jared and Ben picked a bad day to have a bad day, but for me, it completely ruins the season. 15-2 is meaningless after an 0-1 playoff exit in that fashion.

Our window will remain open for at least a couple of years, I think, but this is such a waste since we're likely to be breaking in two new coordinators next season. Maybe that fires the boys up, but they have a brutal schedule and are likely to fall back to the pack. Perhaps they really will thrive on being more of an underdog, but I was hoping they'd be one of those alpha-dog teams who thrive on being the favorite.

[Motor City Sonics]

1 hour ago, The Ronz said:

I knew they weren't going to win.

I just didn't post anything about it because I don't post as much anymore.

I based it on two things.

1. The Lions played the Washington "Team" three times prior in the playoffs. They lost all three games and were outscored 105 - 34.

2. Not counting yesterdays game the Lions as a team had a record of 11-31 against teams from Washington.

Sometimes past performance is indicative of future losses.

What happened before any of our players were alive doesn't mean anything.  

[Motor City Sonics]

14 minutes ago, holygoat said:

. Maybe that fires the boys up, but they have a brutal schedule and are likely to fall back to the pack. Perhaps they really will thrive on being more of an underdog, but I was hoping they'd be one of those alpha-dog teams who thrive on being the favorite.

I feel like they are just better when people doubt them.     Kind of like Dantonio's Michigan State teams.  

[Sports_Freak]

Detroit area hospitals report a surge of patients with broken legs from jumping off the bandwagon.

[Sports_Freak]

1 hour ago, Hongbit said:

Goff plays normal the Lions probably win.  He was off the entire game.  Most of the decisions looked correct but his usual pinpoint accuracy failed him.     Very odd.  Not sure how Ben could prepare for that.

 Even when Goff was shaky, Ben had to trust that his Pro Bowl QB would shake out of it and make plays when it counted.  

Calling a pass on 3rd and 1 early in the game was a terrible play call. Having Jaymo throw a pass was another one. Both ended up in interceptions. That's 100% on poor play calling. Remember, Washington is 30th in the league against the run. Should have been a run offense to control the clock and keep their O off the field. Coaching failure...

[MichiganCardinal]

Anecdotal, but the lone Commanders fan in my section was a total douchebag.

He was chill with me to start the game, ribbing back and forth, but he took it way too far in the second half. There is a kid probably 10 years old who sits in the seats next to me, possibly on the spectrum, who gets really into the game. It’s a highlight of the game for me when he’s there. The dude behind me would not stop giving him and his mom ****. It was pathetic.

He ended up getting kicked out by stadium security after he made a sexist comment to the mom, asking where the kid’s dad was so he could “teach the kid some manners.” When others in the section called him out, he started literally begging someone to throw a punch so he could fight them. Some real Philly nonsense.

The kid took it well. He was more upset about the loss than anything, but I had a good conversation with him after the game and told him to keep his chin up, how he was the best fan in the section and we need him next year.

I try to keep it real with opposing fans, but for that fan’s sake I hope the Commanders get clobbered in the next round.

[number20]

29 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Calling a pass on 3rd and 1 early in the game was a terrible play call. Having Jaymo throw a pass was another one. Both ended up in interceptions. That's 100% on poor play calling. Remember, Washington is 30th in the league against the run. Should have been a run offense to control the clock and keep their O off the field. Coaching failure...

Gibbs was unstoppable the entire night. He was the one player Washington had no answer for. Only 4 carries in the 2nd half was the other indictable crime against Johnson  

 

[Hongbit]

Putting up 31 points despite 5 turnovers and his star QB ****ting the bed and now Ben sucks.  That’s bull****.   Everyone is in part to blame but there are at least 10 people on that list before Ben.