Lions safety Brian Branch knows to slow the Washington Commanders on Saturday, Detroit’s defense must constrict life for sensational rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Joining NFL Network’s *The Insiders* on Thursday, Branch said condensing the pocket will be key to the Divisional Round matchup.
“You got to shrink the pocket,” Branch said. “Jayden Daniels, I played him in college. He’s an exceptional quarterback. He kind of reminds me of Lamar (Jackson). Just how he moves and stuff, but to me that’s really the game plan. Just, you know, shrinking the pocket on him and make him make those throws.”
The presumptive Offensive Rookie of the Year has played beyond his years, leading the Commanders from the cellar of the NFC East into the second round of the playoffs. He’s been unflappable, finding ways to dig his club out of bad spots throughout the campaign.
During the Commanders’ 12-5 season, Daniels set an all-time rookie record for completion percentage (69.0%), threw for 3,568 yards with 25 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions for a 100.1 passer rating. He also added 891 rush yards, the most for a rookie in NFL history. He finished with the fourth-most yards by a rookie in history (4,459).
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Sunday, Daniels faces a Lions club that steamrolled its way through the regular season, going 15-2, and even outplayed outsized preseason expectations. A defense decimated by injury has played sensationally, thanks to talents like Branch on the back end.
Branch finished with 109 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four INTs, 16 passes defensed, one forced fumble, six QB hits, and one sack. He became the only DB since at least 2010 with 100-plus tackles, 15-plus passes defensed and 5-plus TFLs in a season.
“The vibes are immaculate,” Branch said. “I feel like everybody is on the same page here. We are hungry more than ever. We have been in this moment before, this time we are trying to finish it.”
Branch is, of course, referring to last year’s NFC Championship Game collapse against San Francisco. Detroit enters Saturday’s tilt a heavy favorite to return to the NFC’s biggest game.
However, when asked about the attention surrounding his club, the former Alabama defensive back cited one of Nick Saban’s favorite sayings.
“We know it’s all rat poison,” Branch said. “We don’t really pay attention to the outside noise. We know what we are capable of doing. We just want to prove it to ourselves that, who we are, that’s who we are. I feel like we don’t pay attention to the outside noise at all.”