The Detroit Lions defeated the Washington Commanders 17-13 on Saturday afternoon in their second preseason game of 2026. Obviously, the final score of the game matters little, but there were certainly developments during the game that were positive and negative.
We’ll cover plenty of both over the next few days as we break down the film, advanced statistics, and individual plays, but for now, let’s talk about the big-picture positives.
Today’s Question of the Day is:
What was the most promising thing about the Lions’ win over the Commanders?
My answer: It has to be the continued
strong play of the defensive line.
On Saturday, the Lions saw a ton of great play from their big guys on defense. Derrick Moore provided a sack in his first NFL action. Rookie Skyler Gill-Howard was a total menace as a pass rusher throughout the game. I thought it was a promising game from Levi Onwuzurike, Tyler Lacy, and although his chances were limited to the very end of the game, Eric O’Neill looked disruptive again. And starter DJ Wonnum kicked things off with a solid performance, including a sack.
In total, the Commanders managed just 35 rushing yards on 17 carries, were sacked two times, and endured six quarterback hits from six different players.
Now, all of this needs to come with a pretty big caveat. No team in the NFL has good reserve offensive linemen. There is no more scarce resource in the NFL that good offensive linemen, so we should not overreact to how productive the Lions’ defensive front was. Just consider the opposite situation. Detroit is obviously going through some struggles with their own offensive line depth, and the Commanders put up five sacks on them. Defensive lines tend to look better in the preseason.
Still, it’s hard not to be encouraged by Moore, who is just scratching the surface of what he’s capable now that the second-round pick is finally getting some reps following his groin injury. Gill-Howard is continuing to stack days and play against better competition both in practice and in games. And legit starters like Lacy, Wonnum, and Onwuzurike (in a subpackage role) are playing well, too.
These are players that Detroit is going to rely upon at some point this year, and we haven’t even seen the Lions unleash Alim McNeill or Aidan Hutchinson yet.
What were you most encouraged by from Saturday’s preseason game against the Commanders? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
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