DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions are riding high, elevated to a status they've never had as Super Bowl favorites.
Now they'll host the Washington Commanders on Saturday (8 p.m. on Fox) in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, doing so as the conference's No. 1 seed for the first time in franchise history, an advantage earned by setting a team record for single-season wins.
The Lions (15-2) are favored to beat sixth-seeded Washington (13-5) by more than a touchdown, according to BetMGM Sportsbook's line, in the first step toward ending an NFL championship drought that dates to 1957.
Said third-year Detroit safety Joseph Kerby, an All-Pro first-team selection this season: "We were the hunters, and now we're the hunted in the lions' den."
Well, at Ford Field at least.
NFC North Division champion Detroit has the best odds to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, according to BetMGM, ahead of the two-time reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs -- the AFC's top seed -- the Baltimore Ravens, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills.
Dan Campbell, though, knows this is just the latest take on his team, which got to rest last weekend with its first-round bye.
"We've been so good, we've been so bad, we're a laughingstock, now we're great," said Detroit's coach, who was 4-18-1 more than a year into what is now a four-season tenure. "It's just been this roller coaster of ups and downs. This is nothing new for me, for the coaches, for the players.
"We're in the middle of the circus, man, and it's about time to perform."
The Lions are 11-2 in prime time under Campbell, another metric that favors the home team Saturday night.
"We thrive in this," he said.
Washington, meanwhile, has nothing to lose. With a new quarterback, coach and general manager, the Commanders were predicted to win in the neighborhood of six of their 17 regular-season games.
Jayden Daniels had other ideas.
The rookie has the most comeback wins in the regular season and playoffs when trailing in the fourth quarter by an NFL quarterback since the start of the 1950 season, helping his team rally from late deficits to win six times, including last week's wild-card victory against the third-seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Washington's first playoff triumph in 19 years was the end of the line for the four-time reigning NFC South champions.
Daniels became the first rookie in NFL history to lead his team in yards rushing and passing in a playoff win, and the first rookie quarterback to throw at least two touchdown passes in a postseason road win since Washington's Sammy Baugh threw three against the Chicago Bears in the 1937 NFL title game.
The Commanders believe it would be foolish to count them out now.
"Even before the season, they wrote us out, and they counted us out over and over again throughout the season," running back Brian Robinson Jr. said. "We see that. We feel that energy. We just want to continue to leave no doubt that we are who we say we are and prove people wrong."
This isn't a matchup of teams that back down from challenges.
Campbell and Commanders counterpart Dan Quinn, in his first season leading Washington, are two of the league's most aggressive and effective coaches on fourth down.
Detroit converted 22 of 33 attempts on fourth down during the regular season, when Washington was 20-of-23 for an 87% rate that was the best in the NFL since since 2000.
The Lions have kept their offense on the field, instead of attempting field goals or punting, a league-high 151 times on fourth down over the past four seasons. Campbell is the only NFL coach to go for it that many times in a four-year span since at least 1991.
Washington went for it on fourth down five times against the Bucs and was successful three times, including a late touchdown pass from Daniels to Terry McLaurin.
"They're excellent at it, we're excellent at it," Quinn said. "Obviously big parts of the game to go through."
The Commanders are also on a five-game streak of winning on the final play from scrimmage, including the game-ending field goal against Tampa Bay.
"That's what you kind of play the sport for: When it's time, to go out there and make plays," Daniels said. "You're going to see who rises to the occasion and makes plays."
Detroit's ground attack is built around two such players, and the Lions' determination to run the ball should get a boost with the return of David Montgomery from a knee injury that kept him out of the lineup for a month. He rejoins Jahmyr Gibbs in the backfield.
The dynamic and powerful duo combined to average 138.5 rushing yards per game during the regular season, while Washington was among the worst against the run, allowing an average of 137.5 yards per game on the ground to rank 30th in the league.
In his sixth NFL season, Montgomery rushed for 775 yards and 12 touchdowns before getting hurt in the 14th game.
In his second season, Gibbs led the league with a franchise-record 20 touchdowns and ranked fifth with 1,412 yards on the ground. A former Dalton High School standout who played at Georgia Tech and Alabama before being drafted seventh overall by Detroit in 2023, Gibbs also had 517 receiving yards and four touchdown catches this season.
"Jah is special. He's a generational talent," said Montgomery, who hasn't forgotten the big guys up front either.
"We've got the best O-line in the world. I don't think they get enough credit," said Montgomery, adding that without the line, "There's no 1,000-yard scrimmage for me, there's no almost 2,000 yards scrimmage for Jah."