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The Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders meet in Week 10 with both focused on getting a critical win at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland on Sunday. For the Lions (5-3), last week’s unexpected loss to the Minnesota Vikings now makes life in the NFC North harder and they need to stay on top of their next stretch of games to stay in playoff contention. The Commanders (3-6) are in a rut with hope starting to fade for another trip to the postseason. Amid a four-game losing streak, Washington is quickly tanking in the NFC and with quarterback Jayden Daniels expected to miss meaningful time due to an elbow injury, the season might be unsavable with another defeat. Here are score predictions for Detroit’s road matchup with the Commanders from MLive’s beat writers: Ben Raven Dan Campbell always seems to get more out of his team coming off a loss. He’s mastered the bounce back, and I see that continuing against backup QB Marcus Mariota and Washington’s thin run defense. The Lions should be able to get the ground game going as they show some life on offense and enact a little revenge after last year’s divisional-round loss. Prediction: Lions 27, Commanders 14 Kory Woods With Jayden Daniel’s out, I am not sure how much of a “revenge game” this will be for the Lions. However, I see this being the one where they get things back on track, especially offensively. I do have concerns for how the offensive line will look. But this team still has not lost back-to-back games since Week 8 of the 2022 season. Under Dan Campbell, this group has a unique ability to shake off a loss and play with their hair on fire the next game. This is definitely a game they must win. The key here will be establishing the run game out the gate. Get David Montgomery involved often and early, especially on the 3rd and short. Prediction: Lions 24, Commanders 14 Jacob Richman It feels wrong to pick against the Lions coming off a loss. And I can’t even justify making it close. During Detroit’s impressive bounce-back streak the past three seasons, the Lions have won the game after a loss by an average of 16.6 points. The Commanders seem to have plenty of problems on their own end with injuries stretching beyond quarterback that make me want to go for a very solid victory for the Lions on the road. Prediction: Lions 31, Commanders 14 Here are some additional predictions from national media for the Lions-Commanders game: CBS Sports Pick: Lions “The Commanders will be without quarterback Jayden Daniels, which means Marcus Mariota starts. That’s not their biggest issue. The defense is bad. The Lions weren’t as good on offense last week in the loss to the Vikings, but that will change here. Jared Goff will light up the Commanders.” ESPN Pick: Lions (unanimous) NFL.com Pick: Lions (unanimous) “The Commanders enter this weekend’s matchup on the heels of one of the more demoralizing outings in recent franchise history. Washington’s defense added insult to the numerous injuries the team sustained Sunday night, allowing 31 first-half points to the Seahawks’ top-10 offense. Counting on Dan Quinn’s group to suddenly snap out of its season-long funk, against Dan Campbell’s ruthless 11th-ranked unit, seems unwise -- even with Detroit’s offense in a bit of a mini-slump, as well.” The Arizona Republic Pick: Lions “Washington has now lost four straight games, and Jayden Daniels got hurt again. It’s turning into a nightmare of a season for the Commanders that will get worse with a big loss to Jared Goff and the Lions.” The Sporting News Pick: Lions “The Lions get a break here against a Dan Quinn defense wilting against the pass and giving up big plays on top of being gashed by the run often. That leaves no chance for Marcus Mariota to outduel Jared Goff with his weaponry well shorthanded.” USA Today Pick: Lions (unanimous) “Look, I like Marcus Mariota as much as the next guy, but when the Commanders were struggling with Jayden Daniels under center, it’s hard to have faith they’ll put up a fight against a Lions team hungry for a win after an embarrassing loss to Minnesota.” NBC Sports (Pro Football Talk) Pick: Lions (unanimous) “It will be much easier for the Lions to avenge the playoff loss than it would have been if Jayden Daniels was available.” Bleacher Reporter Pick: Lions (majority) “The Lions are angry after losing at Ford Field to the Vikings a week ago. The Commanders aren’t unravelling—they have unraveled. All the fun of this playoff rematch from a year ago (Was it just one? Feels like six in D.C.) has been Robosealed right out of this “game”.
