How a rookie GM and a retread coaching hire turned around Lions' Divisional round opponent overnight
Allen Park — When Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes arrived in Detroit, it took a minute for the Lions’ rebuild to start consistently producing wins.
In 2021, the team threatened to go winless before securing three victories in their final six games. The following season, the Lions started 1-6 before the switch finally flipped. But since that sluggish start, the team has won 35 of its last 44 regular-season contests, earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC this year.
The rebuild for the Washington Commanders — Detroit’s Divisional round opponent — has been on a more accelerated path.
The franchise reset started with the hiring of new leadership last offseason. First-year general manager Adam Peters was lured away from San Francisco, where he had served as John Lynch’s assistant GM the previous three seasons. Then, after being spurned by Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, the Commanders pivoted to Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to helm the roster.
In Dallas, Quinn had led three straight top-10 scoring units. And before that, he compiled a 43-42 record as the Falcons head coach, including a 2017 Super Bowl appearance.
But the heart of the Commanders’ resurgence has been a near-total overhaul of its roster. While Holmes was handcuffed by a subpar salary cap situation upon his arrival to Detroit — exasperated by having to fulfill quarterback Matthew Stafford’s trade request — Peters inherited more than $90 million in space and wasted little time putting those funds to work.