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Rookie QB Jayden Daniels leads Commanders to upset of top-seeded Lions

DETROIT -- The Washington Commanders no longer are just a feel-good story. They're now a threat to win a title in one of the most unlikely seasons in franchise history.
The Commanders earned a spot in the NFC Championship Game with a 45-31 victory over the Detroit Lions on Saturday. Washington (14-5) will play the winner of Sunday's game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams (3 p.m. ET, NBC).
It's the first time the organization has reached the NFC Championship Game since the 1991 season. Last week, it won its first playoff game since the 2005 season.
The Commanders did it with an offense that punted only once and gained 482 total yards against a team that had gone 15-2 in the regular season.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels, once more, starred. He threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 52 yards. The offense scored 38 points and received another seven thanks to a pick-six by safety Quan Martin.
The Commanders accomplished this feat one year after going 4-13 and making massive changes to its front office, coaching staff and roster. From 1992 -- the year after Washington won its last Super Bowl -- until 2023, the organization posted the NFL's fourth-worst winning percentage.
Before this season, the franchise had not posted a winning record since 2016. But the Commanders have exorcised one ghost after another.
Here are the most important things to know from Saturday night for both teams:
Washington Commanders (14-5)
QB breakdown: Rookie or not, Daniels does not get flustered. Playing in his most hostile environment as a pro, and facing numerous blitzes, he stayed composed -- as he has all season. Daniels threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns. His best work came under pressure. In the first half, Daniels threw for 160 yards against the blitz, completing 7-of-9 throws. His season high in a game vs. the blitz was 177 yards against the Eagles in a Week 16 win. On Saturday, Daniels also completed two passes on fourth down for 19 yards and two first downs.
Surprising performance: Washington's defense. The Commanders allowed 31 points and 521 yards, but they made plays on defense. Washington intercepted four passes and had a strip-sack that led to a touchdown. Safety Quan Martin had a pick-six in the first half while corner Mike Sainristil intercepted a pass in the end zone late in the first half with Detroit in field goal range.
Promising trend: Receiver Dyami Brown has been huge in the postseason. On Saturday, Brown caught six passes for 98 yards after catching five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown in the wild-card win over Tampa Bay. His speed mattered Saturday as he caught passes for 42 and 38 yards to set up scores. During the regular season, Brown caught 30 passes for 308 yards and a touchdown. -- John Keim
Next game: NFC Championship Game vs. Eagles or Rams (3 p.m. ET, Sunday, Jan. 26)
Detroit Lions (15-3)
Fans at Ford Field were stunned after a season with such great promise ended with a five-turnover performance in the loss to Washington. The teams combined for 52 points at halftime, which matched the highest-scoring first half of any game since the 2019 divisional playoffs between the Chiefs and Texans, per ESPN Research. But that number largely reflected on Detroit's defense, which struggled badly to contain rookie Daniels and the Washington offense all game.
Detroit starting cornerback Amik Robertson suffered an elbow injury on the defense's second play of the game and didn't return, compounding the unit's issues.
QB breakdown: Jared Goff threw three interceptions, including his first pick-six this season, and lost a fumble. He also briefly exited the game in the second quarter to be evaluated for a concussion after absorbing a big hit during Martin's interception return for a TD. Goff finished 23-for-40 for 313 yards with a touchdown, 3 interceptions and the fumble.
Silver lining: Second-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs continued his ascent into NFL superstardom. He finished with 14 carries for 105 rushing yards as well as six catches for 70 receiving yards. He scored two touchdowns and flashed the moves and burst that made Commanders defenders miss throughout the game. He set franchise marks with five career postseason TDs and 22 total this season.
Describe the game in two words: Big letdown. After a record-setting regular season in which they set a franchise mark for wins (15) and secured the 1-seed, the Lions got outplayed by Washington. Injuries to key defensive players finally appeared to catch up to them. The Lions couldn't seem to overcome the losses of CB Carlton Davis, DT Alim McNeill, DE Aidan Hutchinson and LB Malcolm Rodriguez -- all starters -- against Washington's high-powered offense. -- Eric Woodyard
UFC 311: Live results and analysis for Makhachev vs. Moicano

The first UFC pay-per-view event of the year will be headlined by ESPN's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, as Islam Makhachev puts the UFC lightweight title on the line in a rematch against Renato Moicano at UFC 311 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
Makhachev has been nearly perfect in the Octagon, winning 15 of his 16 UFC fights. His lone loss was against Adriano Martins at UFC 192 in October 2015. Most recently, Makhachev beat Dustin Poirier by fifth-round submission to retain the belt at UFC 302 last June.
Moicano took the fight on late notice, after Arman Tsarukyan withdrew due to injury.
In the co-main event Umar Nurmagomedov, Makhachev's training partner, challenges Merab Dvalishvili for the men's bantamweight title.
Also on the card, former light heavyweight champions Jiří Procházka and Jamahal Hill faceoff in what could be No. 1 contender fight and Kevin Holland squares off with former One Championship title holder Reinier de Ridder.
Brett Okamoto, Andreas Hale, Jeff Wagenheim, and Dre Waters highlight everything happening in and around the UFC pay-per-view event.
Draymond injures calf in return, to have MRI

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green both limped off the floor in a 122-114 win over Washington, and Green's status is in doubt moving forward as he will undergo an MRI on Sunday.
Curry suffered a left ankle injury in the final 1:05 and left the game to head back to the locker room before the final buzzer sounded. Curry, who had 26 points, says he plans on playing against the Boston Celtics on Monday.
"Feels great," Curry said of his ankle in the locker room. "See you on Monday."
Green's status for Monday appears doubtful. He left the game just three minutes into the first quarter and was shortly ruled out for the game after that with left calf tightness. He would return to the bench but could be seen walking with a noticeable limp.
Coach Steve Kerr said Green will undergo an MRI to see the severity of the injury.
"Steph told me he doesn't think it's serious," Kerr said. "They will both be day-to-day for now.
"We don't really know [with Green]. We will have to wait and see what the MRI shows tomorrow. Just kind of assess him the next couple of days and figure out what's next."
The Warriors (21-20) have been banged up. Curry has been playing with an injured thumb on his shooting hand and has had to manage pain in his knees for much of the season.
Green just returned from a three-game absence due to illness and a back issue and now could be looking at missing more time. Green, the team's defensive leader and connector on offense, averaged 8.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists entering Saturday's game.
Golden State is already without Jonathan Kuminga, who has been out with an ankle injury since Jan. 4. Guard Brandin Podziemski has been out with an abdominal injury and Kyle Anderson did not play on Saturday with a glute injury as well.
Since opening the season with a 12-3 start, the Warriors have been in a slump. Saturday's win was their second in a row but only their ninth victory in the last 26 games.
The Warriors face Boston on Monday afternoon before playing at Sacramento on Wednesday. They return home to face the Bulls on Thursday and the Lakers on Saturday.
C's blow lead late; Hawks win heated OT period

BOSTON -- Dyson Daniels hit a short jumper in the lane with just over a minute left in overtime and Onyeka Okongwu made two free throws with 11 seconds left, lifting the Atlanta Hawks to a 119-115 victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
Trae Young led Atlanta with 28 points and 12 assists, and Daniels finished with 23 points. Jaylen Brown had 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Boston, who was missing centers Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.
The Celtics had a 90.3% chance to win, per ESPN Analytics, when they were leading 103-100 with 20.1 seconds to go after a technical free throw from Jayson Tatum. But a Jrue Holiday turnover followed by a pair of costly fouls on Young helped send the game to overtime.
After the game, Holiday took responsibility for the loss, saying his "execution needs to be better."
In the extra frame, things got heated between the two teams after Tatum and De'Andre Hunter got into a tussle going for a rebound. The pair had to be separated. Officials didn't issue any technicals, which was important because Tatum had received one in the second quarter.
Tatum finished with 23 points after coming into the game listed as questionable with a left shoulder strain. He shot 7 of 21 overall and missed two shots late in regulation and overtime.
The shooting struggles extended to the entire team, as Boston finished 15 of 52 on 3-pointers. The Celtics are 1-7 in their last eight games when shooting 30% or worse on 3-pointers; four of those games have come in January.
The Hawks, meanwhile, improved to 4-1 against the Celtics and Cavaliers this season.
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this story.
'Can't please everybody' - unfazed Collins booed in loss

Collins became Melbourne Park's pantomime villain on Thursday when she said fans who heckled her were contributing towards "the Danielle Collins fund" and she would use her prize money on a trip to the Bahamas.
Against Keys, there were cheers when Collins made her first double fault and, at the end of the first set, the chair umpire reminded fans to respect both players.
But Collins, who was also hampered by a knee injury and had to take a medical timeout, said it is important to "bring some entertainment" to the sport.
"I don't have a big ego when it comes to this stuff, I don't care what some guy sitting in his basement is writing about me," she added. "I'm just trying to enjoy my life and have fun.
"You can't please everybody. Earlier in my career I was more concerned about what people think and I was much more guarded about my personality.
"Maybe with age comes an attitude of being yourself and accepting who you are. I'm proud of myself, I've gotten to the point where I really don't care anymore about what people who aren't important to me think."
Collins will now be taking that trip to the Bahamas and added "a lot of my friends have asked if they're going to be invited on the yacht".
From packing her bags to making history - lucky loser Lys through to fourth round

Lucky losers are players who lose in qualifying at a tournament but receive a place in the main draw if someone withdraws through injury or illness.
Lys had her bags packed and a flight booked after losing in the final round of qualifying, but a place in the draw opened up when Russia's Kalinskaya pulled out on Monday before her first-round match.
Lys was on site receiving treatment from the physio when the withdrawal was announced and was given 10 minutes' notice before she took to court to face Australian Kimberly Birrell.
Despite being worried about the lack of preparation time, she came through 6-2 6-2 - and moved her flight to Sunday.
That flight will have to change again, with Sunday spent preparing for a match against five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek on Monday.
"Right now I think after the press conference we're going to go and try to change it a little bit further," Lys said.
"It's actually really funny. We just picked a date. We're like: 'OK, Sunday's six days away. We're just going to pick Sunday.'
"I'm glad we have to change it now."
When she does eventually fly home, she will be doing so at least A$420,000 (210,342) richer - a marked difference on the A$50,000 (25,300) Lys thought she would be taking away after losing in qualifying, and a boost to her career earnings of $798,163 (655,413).
Lys has competed in all four majors but her best performance at a Slam before this was a US Open second-round appearance in 2023.
She is the sixth lucky loser to make the last-16 of a Grand Slam in the Open era but the first to do so in Melbourne. None have ever gone past the fourth round.
"Obviously I'm very happy to be making it to second week. I feel like second week was always such a dream for me," Lys added.
How breathing change helped 'zen-like' Draper set up Alcaraz tie

Draper has shown signs of fatigue during previous gruelling matches, but his off-season work is starting to show.
One difference is his breathing.
"I had a lot of problems with my sinuses when I was younger, so I breathe a lot through my mouth," said Draper.
"When you are anxious or you have long points and have to recover quickly, it's not efficient to breathe through your mouth.
"I've been trying to reverse what I do and breathe through my nose better."
Former British number one Annabel Croft has also pointed to Draper keeping better control of his emotions.
"Jack is so much calmer on court than he ever was as a junior. Generally across the board, his calmness is quite zen-like," she told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Lots of great champions like Bjorn Bjorg and Roger Federer have completely controlled their emotions on the court. It makes a massive difference in saving that energy."
Tuipulotu Six Nations injury concern for Scotland

When everybody at Glasgow - and at Murrayfield - talk vaguely, or not at all, when asked about Sione Tuipulotu's injury, you get a feeling that bad news is on the way.
All of Scotland waits with bated breath for the official prognosis.
Tuipulotu is one of the form inside-centres in the world game; a captain, a physical brute, an artist, an inspiration to his team. If he's missing some, or all, of the Six Nations then a chunk of optimism about Scotland's campaign is going to go with him.
His partnership with Huw Jones is a cosmic blend. Now it looks like an alternative is needed.
Jones and Tom Jordan does not pack enough physical punch. Franco Smith never plays them together at 12-13 for Glasgow.
Most likely, it is going to be another Warriors pair, Stafford McDowall and Jones, in the midfield in the championship.
That is still a forceful and dynamic unit, but the potential loss of the big man is a nightmare on many fronts.
As for Tuipulotu's fitness for the Lions, let us just presume that whatever time he misses in the Six Nations he will still have time enough to get himself roaring again for the summer in Australia.
Seabrook hat-trick helps Saints edge Munster in thriller

Tom Seabrook scored a stunning hat-trick as Northampton Saints edged a thriller with Munster to clinch top spot in Pool 3 and a home tie in the Investec Champions Cup last 16.
On only his second consecutive Saints start in over a year, the winger scored the opening try out wide after some neat hands by the hosts.
In a game dominated by wingers with finishing prowess, Munster hit back through Calvin Nash, who sprinted past an unaware Alex Mitchell to claim Conor Murray's box-kick for a fine try.
Nash doubled his tally moments later after Munster threw the ball through the hands and the wing was off his touchline to dive over, before Jack Crowley's penalty stretched the visitors' advantage.
Saints looked to wrestle back momentum before the interval and Munster had to succumb after Gavin Coombes was sent to the sin-bin, allowing Curtis Langdon the opportunity to dot down from the bottom of the rolling maul.
The hosts still trailed by three at the break, but Seabrook collected James Ramm's excellent looping pass to cross for his second try.
Full-back Ramm then turned from provider to finisher as he burst through the Munster defence following Fin Smith's clever tip pass to seal the bonus.
Munster were not done there, however, as winger Diarmuid Kilgallen latched on to a sublime no-look round-the-back pass by Murray to open his account for the Irish province.
With the game finely poised, Saints took command again when Seabrook wrapped up his treble after a first-phase attack from the line-out freed him on the inside.
But Munster retained their belief and Kilgallen doubled his tally down the other end, before Crowley's superb conversion from out on the left dragged the visitors to within just two points.
In search of the victory to leapfrog Northampton in the table and seal home advantage in the last 16 and the quarter-final, should they progress, Munster poured forward in the tense finale and rolled through the phases following a Crowley break as Saints stood firm.
The hosts claimed a crucial turnover inside their own half through Henry Pollock's efforts and there was a huge sigh of relief at a partisan Franklin's Gardens as the ball was kicked dead to confirm a Saints success as pool winners.
Harlequins seal progress with victory over Glasgow

Harlequins: Green; David, Beard, Waghorn, Murley; Smith, Porter; Baxter, Walker, Lamositele, Chisholm, Lewies, Cunningham-South, Kenningham, Dombrandt (capt).
Replacements: Riley, Jones, Kerrod, Launchbury, Lawday, W Evans, Care, J Evans.
Glasgow: McKay, Cancelliere, Jones, McDowall (capt), Rowe, Jordan, Dobie; Sutherland, Matthews, Z Fagerson, Ferrie, Cummings, M Fagerson, Darge, Dempsey.
Replacements: Hiddleston, Bhatti, Talakai, Samuel, Brown, Venter, Afshar, Weir.
Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)