One of the things that makes the NFL playoffs exciting that baseball, basketball and hockey don’t offer as much is the potential for big upsets.
With the divisional round about to take place, the one matchup where an upset seems most likely is the one featuring the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders.
The Lions have been picked by many dating back to the summer to win the Super Bowl championship, and while that hasn’t changed, one has to wonder if the Commanders could engineer an upset, especially considering the injuries the Lions are dealing with.
If they do pull off an upset of Detroit, it would mean something significant to Washington’s Jayden Daniels, according to one FOX Sports analyst.
“This would be the best rookie season ever by a quarterback,” Chris Broussard said on “First Things First.”
What would an upset win mean for Jayden Daniels? @Chris_Broussard answers:
“This would be the best rookie season ever by a quarterback.” pic.twitter.com/FatwL0v17N
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) January 17, 2025
Many didn’t expect Washington to make the playoffs this season, let alone win 12 games and get past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round.
Daniels has put together clutch heroics on multiple occasions, and in the regular season he threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns with a 69.0 percent pass completion rate. He also had 891 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
He seems to have the “it” factor as far as being able to elevate his team above the sum of its parts, and that ability has made the Commanders, who do not possess a ton of talent, a definite threat.
Detroit is a strong favorite to win at home, but Washington cannot be counted out, and though Daniels may or may not be the greatest rookie QB ever, it is exciting to think how much better he could become.
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