The Detroit Lions are going to have their chance to get some revenge over the Washington Commanders on Sunday. This is a pretty beat-up Commanders team, but we’ve learned that anything from the Lions’ win over the Buccaneers, good coaching can help overcome that. So let’s take a look at what the Lions need to do to beat the Commanders.

Attack the right side of the Commanders’ offensive line

The Commanders have a rookie starting right tackle in Josh Conerly, and he’s allowed 31 pressures and six sacks this season. He now has to defend the NFL’s pressure leader in Aidan Hutchinson. Because you know they’re going to double-team him, that could open up one-on-one opportunities for Alim McNeill, who can go in on Commanders center Tyler Biadaz, who’s allowed 12 pressures and three sacks. If the Lions stay on the right side and attack from the interior, they should be able to get home on Marcus Mariota.

Take advantage of the Commanders’ defense struggles with third-down stops

The Lions have been having a lot of trouble converting on third down this season. They went from fourth in the league at converting on third down in 2024 by converting 46.9% of the time, to 25th by converting just 36.2% on third down. It’s bad. The good news is that they’re now going up against a Commanders defense that’s allowed the fifth most third-down conversions in the league with 47. If the Lions get in a jam here, they have to take advantage of it.

Ideally, the Lions don’t get into a lot of third-down situations this week. You definitely don’t want to see them have 17 third-down attempts like last week, but if they do, they should have a better chance at converting here.

Run the ball to set up the pass

This one is super simple. The Commanders are allowing the eighth most rushing yards in the league right now, and they’re allowing 4.4 yards per carry. What’s even better for the Lions is that the Commanders are allowing the third-most passing yards in the league. Just go out there and do your thing, and have a balanced offense, and you should win. It’s as simple as that.

Final score prediction for Lions vs Commanders

At the end of the day, the injuries might just be too much for the Commanders here, and the Lions just match up really well with them. So I’m taking the Lions to get back on track with a 35-14 win in Washington.

The story was orginally published at A to Z Sports Detroit Lions as 3 keys to victory and final score prediction for Detroit Lions at Washington Commanders, Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill could have big nights

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