The Washington Commanders cannot afford to have any passengers for their biggest test of the campaign so far. Going on the road to the Detroit Laions is tough enough at the best of times. This gets even worse when the stakes get higher in the playoffs.
Nobody is expecting the Commanders to win. They are almost double-digit underdogs with sportsbooks across the country. Not many in the national media are giving them a chance to be competitive. But this team has a lot of fight and won't be rolling over by any stretch.
This season's been a dream for fans who are more used to examining mock drafts and potential free-agent additions at this time of year. The new regime changed all that, providing hope where once there was nothing but abject misery.
Who's to say this Cinderella story cannot go into the NFC Conference championship game with a little bit of luck on their side?
Washington has an almost clean bill of health, which is always a bonus. There are a few concerns, but nobody wanted to miss the Commanders' first Divisional Round playoff game in almost 7,000 days.
Daron Payne is good to go despite the defensive tackle suffering a gruesome dislocated finger in their Wild Card triumph at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His presence will be needed to limit Detroit's exceptional rushing attack.
Cornerback Marshon Lattimore doesn't carry an injury designation into the contest. He should benefit from another week of full practice under his belt. Just how healthy his hamstring is remains to be seen, but he's going to give it a go once again.
Only one player was officially ruled out. Rookie linebacker Jordan Magee's stop-start campaign continued after suffering a hamstring issue. Undrafted free agent tight end Colson Yankoff and veteran second-level presence Mykal Walker are listed as questionable. Aside from that, it's all systems go.
This is a nice problem for the Commanders to have. It also provided Quinn and his coaching staff with complex conundrums regarding who to leave out of such a pivotal clash.
With this in mind, let's see the inactive players for both teams at Ford Field.
Full list of inactive Commanders players in the Divisional Round
- WR K.J. Osborn
- QB Jeff Driskel (Emergency 3rd QB)
- CB Michael Davis
- RB Chris Rodriguez Jr.
- LB Dominique Hampton
- DE Andre Jones Jr.
- OL Chris Paul
Via Commanders PR release.
Full list of inactive Lions players in the Divisional Round
- QB Hendon Hooker (emergency QB)
- OL Kevin Zeitler
- LB Mitchell Agude
- DT Pat O’Connor
- DT Brodric Martin
- OL Colby Sorsdal
- OT Giovanni Manu