The Washington Commanders are coming off their first playoff win in 19 years, and with another victory, they will reach the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1991 season.
“Anytime you get to play football in January, it’s a blessing,” said Washington defensive tackle Jonathan Allen. “We’re aware of that. We’re focused on what we got to do to get on to the next week…”
“We’re excited, but we’re not satisfied,” he added.
To advance to the next round, the Commanders must defeat the Detroit Lions in a Divisional Round matchup at 7 p.m. CST on Saturday, with the game broadcast on FOX.
As the lowest-seeded team remaining in the playoffs, Washington was the only road team to win on Wild-Card Weekend, edging out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 with a last-second field goal.
The Commanders have won their last five games, including thrilling finishes: scoring touchdowns with just seconds remaining in two of those games, stopping a two-point conversion at the game’s end in another, and securing an overtime win after the opponent missed a field goal on the final play of regulation.
While Washington is seeded sixth in the NFC, Detroit holds the top seed, earning a first-round bye.
“We’ve played a lot of tough games to the end here,” said Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne. “I feel like we have the capability to go blow-for-blow with anybody. We know what it takes to muscle out a win.”
Allen and Payne, former teammates at Alabama before joining Washington, are expected to play crucial roles when the Commanders face the NFL’s highest-scoring team.
“I think for me and the defensive line,” Allen explained, “it comes down to just re-creating a new line of scrimmage and dominating the line of scrimmage. That’s going to be our goal going into the game.”
Detroit quarterback Jared Goff has thrown 37 touchdown passes this season and holds the NFC’s best passing-efficiency rating. Allen and Payne’s mission is to disrupt Goff’s rhythm.
“Interior pressure is the goal,” Allen said. “If you can get interior pressure, move him off his spot, maybe make him go to a second read, that’s what’s going to come down to.”
Detroit is aiming for its second consecutive NFC Championship Game appearance, having lost to the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in last season’s conference title game.
In that same season, Washington defeated Detroit 41-10 on January 12, 1992, en route to the Super Bowl, and has not advanced past the Divisional Round since then.
