The Commanders stunned the Lions in a home playoff game, causing the team to miss out on their best season in franchise history.

The Detroit Lions achieved a franchise-record 15 regular season wins, despite being located 8 miles away from their home stadium.

On Saturday, the Lions suffered a 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders, ending their best regular season in franchise history.

Washington's rookie Jayden Daniels threw for two touchdowns in a flawless performance, leading the Commanders to the NFC championship game for the first time since winning the Super Bowl 33 years ago.

"It’s a surreal moment," Daniels said.

The Commanders, seeded sixth (14-5), faced significant odds against the Super Bowl-favorite Lions (15-3) with a rookie quarterback, new coach, and general manager, but managed to overcome doubts throughout the season.

Daniels stated that he has consistently believed that we are capable of accomplishing more than others give us recognition for.

The NFC's top seed, Detroit, lost its chance of winning by giving the ball away five times.

Dan Campbell, Lions coach, stated that it would be challenging to win if the ball is turned over five times against that specific team.

In the fourth quarter, Washington rookie Mike Sainristil had two interceptions, one of which was a trick play with receiver Jameson Williams throwing into coverage off a reverse. Additionally, Quan Martin returned a pick 40 yards for a touchdown.

In the first half, Jared Goff lost possession three times due to three interceptions and a fumble.

Daniels had a total of 349 yards, both passing and rushing, without any turnovers.

In 2009, Joe Flacco became the second rookie quarterback to defeat a top-seeded team, following in the footsteps of He who led his team past Tennessee on January 10th.

"I'm not surprised by anything with him," said Terry McLaurin, who turned a short pass from Daniels into a 58-yard touchdown.

Last week, Washington's first-year coach Dan Quinn led the team to their first playoff victory in 19 years. The Commanders achieved their sixth comeback win and fifth straight on the final play from scrimmage in regulation or overtime.

The Commanders, who converted three out of four fourth downs, prevented Detroit from maintaining a close margin.

"Campbell commended the team, stating, "They deserved to win that game, and we didn't.""

In the second quarter, Washington scored 28 points, surpassing the previous record for the highest-scoring quarter in NFL playoff history, leading Detroit 31-21 at halftime.

In the first half, Daniels set a rookie record with 242 yards passing, one week after becoming the first rookie to lead his team in yards rushing and passing in a playoff win.

The former LSU star, who was the No. 2 pick overall, had a 22 out of 31 passing performance, including a long TD on the screen to McLaurin and a 5-yard throw for a score to Zach Ertz in the second quarter.

Brian Robinson ran for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

In the second quarter, Goff completed 23 out of 40 passes for a total of 313 yards, including a touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta that briefly put the Lions in the lead.

While Amon-Ra St. Brown had eight receptions for 137 yards, Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

In the first quarter, Washington seized an opportunity when Goff struggled to find anything in his pocket on third-and-1 from the Commanders 17.

Daniels converted a fourth-and-3 from the Detroit 9 to extend a drive, culminating in Robinson's 2-yard touchdown run.

After Daniels’ TD throw to McLaurin, Goff missed his target and Martin intercepted it, taking it to the end zone and giving the Commanders a 24-14 lead. Goff was hit by linebacker Frankie Luvu during the interception return and was assessed for a concussion.

With backup Teddy Bridgewater under center, Williams scored on a 61-yard reverse.

Although Detroit's defense tried its best, it was unable to prevent Washington from scoring a season-high number of points throughout the game.

In the final minute of the first half, the Lions attempted to reduce the deficit, but Goff's pass over the deep middle was intercepted by Sainristil in the end zone.

Washington was forced to punt for the first time in the second half, and Detroit went on to score a touchdown through a 76-yard drive on 11 plays, with Gibbs scoring the second touchdown to make it 31-28.

The Lions, though, weren’t stingy for long on defense.

The Commanders' 10-point lead was restored after a 15-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, which was extended by Detroit having 12 men on the field when facing fourth-and-2 from its 5, and Robinson's second short touchdown run.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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