Texans, Commanders to knock off No. 1 seeds

The Commanders will come up just short against the Lions this weekend, but they — especially Jayden Daniels — will be impressive enough in defeat that they enter the offseason much like the Texans did a year ago, fairly or not: branded as a team many believe can graduate to title-contender status. That remains to be seen for Washington, but it speaks to the Year 1 progress made with Dan Quinn, Adam Peters, Daniels and a healthily revamped roster.