If you think that the Lions are going to score a lot of points, then you need to be backing some Washington pass-catchers in those parlays. Someone has to respond, and with the Commanders coming in as 8-point underdogs they are likely game-planning for a pass-heavy gamescript. My two favourite options on Washington are Terry McLaurin and Dyami Brown because they have that deep ball ability that the Lions can struggle to defend.

Dyami Brown is coming off his best career game, posting 5 catches for 89 yards and 1 touchdown. He’s perfect for these longshot parlays because he gets some short-yardage screen work, but most of his action is down-the-field targets. While he was a very boom-or-bust option, thanks to injuries on the team he’s become consistent enough to get starter snaps.

The Lions are known for their heavy usage of single high safety coverage paired with man coverage, putting a lot of trust in their corners to win 1v1. In an era of 2-deep safety shells, this is a breath of fresh air for quarterbacks who like attacking down the field. They do have some good safety play, but Washington will need to overcome this if they want to win this game.

Amon-Ra Saint Brown is already one of the most consistent receivers in the league, and he finds himself in a great matchup against a weak Commanders secondary. If you backed the Commanders last week you probably hoped that the presence of Marshon Lattimore would stabilize a shaky secondary, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, he was immediately targeted, with Mike Evans comfortably winning the matchup. I would expect the Lions to exploit the same weaknesses on defense, and target the struggling Washington cornerback room which gets extremely weak behind Lattimore.

Amon-Ra St. Brown’s Reception % as an outside receiver this year was the highest by any WR in any season since 2000 that saw 50+ Targets (88.6%), via the 33rd team. He’s 3rd among all WR’s in QBR when targeted, and had shown an ability to do this all while handling incredibly high volume. Brown is already coming in with the 4th highest reviving yard total of any receiver in the league, I’m not sure why I wouldn’t back him in a game with a 56 total. The last time he faced the Commanders he had 9 catches, 184 total yards, and 2 touchdowns.

While Jayden Daniels is getting a lot of credit for his fantastic play, one thing that isn’t being talked about enough is the complete lack of a run game outside of the rookie sensation. Washington’s running backs on December 1st against the Titans combined for 229 total rushing yards.

In the 5 games since, they have combined for just 254. Jayden Daniels has had to step up during those five games and has done so, as the team’s leading rusher, going for 338 yards. Last game against the Buccaneers he became the first rookie to lead his team in passing and rushing during a playoff victory.

He now finds himself in a very good matchup against Aaron Glenn and Lions’ defense. Detroit’s blitz-heavy, man-coverage defense (1st in man rate, 2nd in blitz rate) opens up tons of chunk yardage opportunities for Carter to take advantage of. Daniels led the league in scrambles and was third in designed runs this season. This is already a weakness for the Lions, and as big underdogs, Washington should take advantage of his mobility.