title: Lions season ends at home with 45-31 loss to Washington Commanders

The best Detroit Lions season in franchise history came to a disappointing end at home. The Lions (15-3) shot themselves in the foot over and over in a 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders (14-5) in the NFC divisional round on Saturday night at Ford Field.

output The Detroit Lions season came to a disappointing end at home in the NFC divisional round on Saturday night.

The Lions (15-3) shot themselves in the foot over and over in a 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders (14-5) at Ford Field. The Lions, the NFC No. 1 seed, had a first-round bye, but had four turnovers and only three defensive stops as Jayden Daniels and the Commanders tore through Detroit's defense.

Detroit turned it over three times, including an interception returned for a touchdown by Quan Martin, and only produced one defensive stop in the first 30 minutes. Daniels connected on two touchdowns to Terry McLaurin and Zach Ertz and Brian Robinson added a rushing touchdown. Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and Jameson Williams scored for Detroit, but Jared Goff had two interceptions and a fumble.

The Lions started the second half with a defensive stop and a second Gibbs touchdown. The Commanders answered with a drive lasting over eight minutes, which ended with Robinson's second rushing touchdown. Williams threw an interception on the next drive on a trick play, leading to a Jeremy McNichols touchdown. The Lions had nearly the same yardage as Washington, but were minus-five in the turnover margin, which proved to be the difference.

The Lions, who own the NFL's third-worst record in the playoffs, are now 0-4 against Washington, having been outscored 144-61.

The Commanders advance to the NFC championship to play on the road against either the Philadelphia Eagles or Los Angeles Rams, who meet Sunday afternoon.