Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders stand in the way of the Detroit Lions advancing to their second straight NFC Championship Game.
Daniels had an Offensive Rookie of the Year-caliber campaign in 2024. The No. 2 overall pick threw for 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns and just nine interceptions, while running for another 891 yards and six touchdowns. Most importantly, though, he guided the Commanders to a 12-5 record and a playoff appearance, one year after the organization crashed and burned and finished 4-13.
For as much credit as Daniels gets for the team's drastic turnaround (and deservedly so), he's hardly the only player that helped make it a reality. Offensively speaking, wide receiver Terry McLaurin also deserves a significant amount of praise for Washington morphing into a playoff team.
McLaurin, a third-round pick of the Commanders in 2019, has been an ultra reliable member of the franchise’s receiving corps since day one.
As a rookie, he burst onto the scene with a 58-catch, 919-yard and seven-touchdown season. And he followed that up with his first 1,000-plus-yard receiving campaign, amassing 1,118 yards on 87 catches. It marked his first of five consecutive seasons with at least 77 catches and over 1,000 receiving yards.
Then, this past season, the Ohio State product finished with a career-best 13 touchdown catches, to go along with 82 receptions and 1,096 yards.
Thus, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the two-time Pro Bowl wideout wreaks havoc against Detroit's shaky-at-best cornerbacks group.
Cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Amik Robertson should each get one-on-one looks with McLaurin on the outside. Robertson likely stands a better chance at containing the star receiver, after helping limit the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson to three catches and 54 yards in Week 18.
From the safety position, Kerby Joseph – an All-Pro selection for the first time in 2024 – should also get some run against the Commanders’ No. 1 pass-catcher.
Joseph led all safeties with a 90.8 Pro Football Focus coverage grade during the regular season, and tied for the league lead in interceptions with eight.
Meanwhile, McLaurin recorded an 82.2 PFF receiving grade during the regular season, which ranked in the top 20 among all qualified wide receivers.
Additionally, he produced an impressive effort in Washington's triumph over the Buccaneers a week ago, hauling in seven of Daniels’ passes for 89 yards and a score. He earned a season-best 88.1 overall mark for the playoff contest – his highest grade for a game since 2021.
Undoubtedly, McLaurin is currently playing some of his best football, which should make for an interesting matchup between him and Joseph and the entirety of the Lions’ secondary.
“That's the one thing that really stands out, is his competitive nature," Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said of McLaurin Wednesday. “He kind of reminds me of how ‘Saint’ (Amon-Ra St. Brown) goes about, because he will block, he’ll go across the middle, he’ll take hits, he’ll get back up, get back to the huddle. So, he’s a gamer, he's a gamer. So, it doesn’t surprise me, the success he’s having.”
In this divisional-round postseason matchup, I'm predicting that McLaurin will end up with six catches, 82 yards and a touchdown.
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