To upset the No. 1 seeded Detroit Lions on the road, the Washington Commanders knew they’d probably have to be perfect. They knew they’d have to pull out every trick from their bag to steal points, possessions, and generally keep the Lions on their toes.

The Commanders took a major gamble with Jayden Daniels in the lineup on fourth down. But Marcus Mariota ended up getting criticized.

Decidedly not how they drew it up. The Washington Commanders are going to have to play a near perfect game to usurp the top-seeded Lions in Detroit on Saturday night and punch a ticket to the NFC Conference Championship game.

The Washington Commanders may have gotten a little too cute on fourth down early in Saturday's NFC Divisional Round matchup against the Detroit Lions. The

Marcus Mariota’s clutch play in the game’s final seconds earned the Commanders a six playoff seed highlighting the power of unseen preparation.

Veteran Marcus Mariota will finish the regular season at quarterback for the Washington Commanders. With a playoff spot locked up, head coach Dan Quinn chose to play it safe in the second half and sit rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Backup QB leads Washington to 23-19 comeback win over the Cowboys to close a dramatic regular season and set up a first-round game in Tampa.