Ex-Commanders QB shares Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry-esque playbook to lead Jayden Daniels and co. past Lions in playoffs

Former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III wants Jayden Daniels to have support in the running game, like Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, so that the Commanders have a legitimate chance of beating the Lions. Detroit, as the first seed, had a bye week and has home-field advantage.

RGIII wrote a long post on X/Twitter, highlighting how he thinks his former team should approach this game. He started by saying that the running backs did not do well against the Buccaneers in their Wild Card round victory, noting,

"The Washington Commanders have to FIND A RUNNING GAME OUTSIDE OF JAYDEN DANIELS if they are going to beat the juggernaut that is the Detroit Lions... Ekeler and Robinson had 18 carries for 43 yards. 2.3 yards a carry against the Buccaneers last week."

He added that most defensive coordinators would need to keep an eye on Jayden Daniels on designed quarterback runs, and that could be exploited by running backs using the space that opens up to rush downfield. Robert Griffin III commented,

"Using more zone read and zone read looking run schemes that don’t have a read like the Ravens do with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry would force the defense to fit gaps to stop the RB or flow over the top to stop the QB... Most defensive coordinators HATE giving up big runs to the QB, so they dedicate more eyes to the QB and give the RB bigger holes and less aggressive downhill defenders to deal with."

RGIII says running game will aid Jayden Daniels by limiting Lions' explosive offense

Robert Griffin III finally concluded that the Lions are allowing less than 100 yards per game on the ground despite being 22nd in yards per carry given up because they force the opposition to throw the ball to keep up with their explosive offense. The former Washington quarterback highlighted that if the running game can be established early, Jared Goff and company could be limited from seeing the field for a longer time, which can stop Detroit from running away with the game.

"The Lions are 22nd in the NFL in yards per carry given up, but 4th in rushing yards per game because they have the #1 offense in the NFL and force teams to abandon the run... Washington can’t abandon the run and become one dimensional... Get the running backs going early and keep that other Offense on the sideline for long periods of time."

The Commanders are the lowest-seeded team left in the playoffs. Jayden Daniels and his teammates will need to elevate their game further to defeat the top-seeded Lions.