The Detroit Lions' historic season has come to a heartbreaking end.
The top-seeded Lions were upset by the No. 6 seed Washington Commanders, 45-31, Saturday night at Ford Field in the Divisional Round of the playoffs as their season ends in disappointment after a record-setting 15-win regular season and their second straight NFC North title.
"They earned that win and we didn't," an emotional Lions head coach Dan Campbell said after the game. "We just didn't play good enough. Really, we never complemented each other. I felt that way going into halftime and it really never got better."
The Lions' defense knew they had a tough task coming in trying to limit Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who will likely be the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the Lions had few answers defensively for Daniels and the Commanders' fifth-ranked scoring offense all evening.
Daniels led three first-half touchdown drives as Washington racked up over 300 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes and led 31-21 at halftime. The Commanders also got a 40-yard pick-six by safety Quan Martin on a ball overthrown by quarterback Jared Goff intended for wide receiver Tim Patrick in the second quarter that helped push the halftime lead to double digits.
The Lions gained 521 yards of offense but ultimately couldn't overcome five turnovers with three Goff interceptions, one Goff fumble and a Jameson Williams interception on a trick play end-around pass.
"We turn the ball over five times, the (last) one is whatever, so call it four, it's just too much," Campbell said. "Too hard against a team like that to come back. We tried, but couldn't quite get over the hump."
After Detroit trimmed the lead to 31-28 midway through the third quarter, Daniels led a 15-play, 70-yard scoring drive that took up eight and a half minutes off the clock and culminated with a 1-yard Brian Robinson Jr. touchdown to push the lead back up to 10 to begin the fourth quarter.
Washington essentially sealed the win after the Williams interception on Detroit's next possession by turning it into a Jeremy McNichols 1-yard touchdown run and a 45-28 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Washington converted a 4th & 2 at the Detroit 13-yard line down to the 1-yard line that proved to be the dagger on the scoring drive.
Daniels finished the game 22-for-31 passing for 299 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 122.9 passer rating. He also added 51 rushing yards.
Detroit's injuries on defense finally seemed to catch up with them. Cornerback Amik Robertson left the game with an elbow injury on the second play of the game and didn't return. The Lions came into the game with 13 defensive players on IR, including six starters. Washington ended the game with 481 yards of total offense and were 3-for-4 converting on fourth down.
Goff ended the game completing 23 of his 40 pass attempts for 313 yards with one touchdown. His three interceptions and one fumble were costly turnovers for the Lions as he finished with just a 59.7 passer rating. Goff fumbled at the Washington 25-yard line that killed a scoring chance. He had the pick-six and also threw an interception in the Washington end zone late in the first half and one at the Washington 2-yard line late in the fourth quarter.
"It sucks. Worst part of this job," Goff said after the game. "You hate when you feel like you let guys down. It's hard to put into words. It just sucks.
"I wish I could have played a little bit better. Wish I could have taken care of the ball a little better. The pick six is really the one I'd like back. That was just a poor decision by me. It's on me. I have to take care of it better."
Detroit got touchdowns on a 1-yard run by Jahmyr Gibbs, a 2-yard catch by tight end Sam LaPorta, a 61-yard run by Williams and an 8-yard Gibbs run.
Gibbs finished the game with 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns with six receptions for 70 yards. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had eight receptions for 137 yards.