The Detroit Lions were breathing a sigh of relief after winning in Week 18 to get the first-round bye, and after the Los Angeles Rams' emphatic win over the Vikings, head coach Dan Campbell and crew are not just happy for the extra rest.
Avoiding an early bump in the road is usually beneficial, and the Lions will look to take advantage of that against the emerging Washington Commanders. Washington entered the season with low expectations, but now arrives in the divisional round with the presumptive NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in Jayden Daniels and coming off a road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round — the only road team to win in the first weekend of the playoffs.