Lions WR Sucker-Punched by Commanders DL Daron Payne

Things got testy on the field between Washington Commanders defensive lineman Daron Payne and Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

After a touchdown scoring drive, the veteran defender was caught sucker-punching Detroit's top wide receiver.

As a result, Payne was ejected from the game.

The Commanders defense struggled to contain Detroit's offense in the first half. Detroit was able to find their footing rushing the football.

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs recorded two touchdowns and the Lions took a 25-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Offensive coordinator John Morton shared prior to the game what the keys needed to be to be able to run the football much more effectively.

“Yeah, I mean I kind of already said it. So, that’s just like with the passing game, right? It’s just about being consistent. We’ve narrowed things down where you don’t have so many runs or so many passes, so the guys know what to do with all the different type of looks. I think that’s important. And we’ve been doing that," said Morton. "Listen, we’ve been doing that. That type of defense, it’s like, one, two, three and then all of the sudden you get one. But you get behind the eight ball, then your play-calling kind of changes. So, a lot of second-and-longs and third-and-longs, it’s hard.”