Commanders at Lions
► Kickoff: 1 p.m. Sunday, Ford Field, Detroit
► TV/radio: Fox/97.1
► Records: Lions 0-1, Commanders 1-0
► Line: Lions by 2
Detroit News staff writer Nolan Bianchi breaks down the Detroit Lions’ Week 2 matchup against the Washington Commanders.
Key matchup
LIONS’ SECONDARY VS. COMMANDERS’ WIDE RECEIVERS
The Lions had a hard time slowing down Eagles receiver A.J. Brown in Week 1, but otherwise handled Philadelphia’s passing game decently well. Jalen Hurts was 18-of-32 for 243 yards with more than half of his completions going to Brown, who caught 10 for 155 yards.
In the Commanders’ Carson Wentz, Detroit will see an entirely different style of quarterback this week. They won’t have to worry about Wentz’s mobility as much and the complexity of Washington’s offense won’t quite reach Philadelphia’s level, but Washington’s receiving core and running backs are just as dangerous.
Wentz went 27-for-41 for 313 yards and four touchdowns — a number second to only Patrick Mahomes, who had five — against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. If that game was any indication, he intends on spreading the ball around. Jahan Dotson had three catches for 40 yards and two touchdowns; Terry McLaurin had two for 58 and a touchdown; Curtis Samuel had eight for 55 and a touchdown; and nobody was more active in the passing game than running back Antonio Gibson, who was first on the team in receiving yards (72) and second in receptions (seven).
The Lions’ success in defending Washington’s pass game will obviously start in the trenches, but cornerbacks Jeff Okudah, Amani Oruwariye, and Mike Hughes all have an excellent chance to put on a breakout performance.
Commanders to watch
► IDL Daron Payne: In the second game for right guard Logan Stenberg, the competition doesn’t get any easier: He’ll be tasked with slowing down Payne, who had a sack last week and is an excellent complement alongside Pro Bowler Jonathan Allen. Stenberg was solid against Philadelphia after a couple of first-half mistakes, which included a pair of false starts and another play where Eagles rusher Milton Williams blew by him to force Jared Goff into a pick-6. Stenberg improved in the second half, but you can count on Washington’s pass rush to attack that part of Detroit’s line, and that all starts with Payne.
► RB Antonio Gibson: Gibson was a multi-dimensional piece in Washington’s Week 1 win. Aside from his 72 receiving yards, he also carried the ball 14 times for 58 yards. After getting punished by Philadelphia’s ground game a week ago, the Lions desperately need a bounceback week in run defense. In theory, that should become a bit easier against the Commanders, with Wentz’s lack of mobility taking away the threat of zone-read options. If the Lions are to be effective in stopping Wentz through the air, they’ll need to make Washington’s offense one-dimensional.
► TE Logan Thomas: Old friend alert. Thomas has grown quite a bit in the passing game since his one-year stint in Detroit in 2019, when he caught just 16 passes. Thomas in 2020 caught 72 passes for 670 yards, and after having his last season cut short by injuries, he looks like he’ll be a key piece in Washington’s offense yet again — especially with Wentz. Philadelphia tight end Dallas Goedert had the second-most receiving yards for the Eagles against Detroit last week, so watch out for Thomas this week, as the Lions put everything they have into stopping Washington’s wide receivers.
Facts and figures
► D’Andre Swift was the star of Detroit’s offense in Week 1. He ran for a career-best 144 yards on 15 carries, an average of 9.6 yards per carry. But one of the more interesting numbers to come out of Sunday’s rushing performance is six, which is the number of times that Detroit ran for 10 or more yards on a single rush. That tied for third in the league behind the Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is the most since Week 10 last season against Pittsburgh.
► This week’s Lions-Commanders matchup will be a game of chicken. Both teams turned 100% of their trips to the red zone into touchdowns in Week 1 — as did seven other teams in the NFL. That will obviously be something to watch on the Lions’ defensive side this Sunday, but on offense, it marks a massive improvement from a year ago, when Detroit ranked 31st.
► Detroit blitzed at twice the rate of the rest of the league in Week 1, blitzing on 48% of its opportunities, compared to a league-average of 24%. But with the extra bodies, the Lions still couldn’t get to the quarterback; Detroit had a pressure percentage of 21.2, compared to a league average of 28.8.
Twitter: @nolanbianchi
nbianchi@detroitnews.com