Dan Quinn's club entered Saturday night's Divisional Round tilt a heavy underdog. Afterward, the team's simply a dawg, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports.

Music bumped in the visitor locker room deep in the bowels of Ford Field after the Washington Commanders thwarted the No. 1 seeded Detroit Lions resoundingly, 45-31. It was a message from a nationally dismissed No. 6 seed.

"DJ Khaled said, 'They didn't believe in us but God did,'" rookie cornerback Mike Sainristil said after the contest. "All the belief we need is the belief within the team, the belief in each other, the brotherhood that we have here... That's what led us here: the brotherhood, the bond, the camaraderie. We're just playing for each other."

Washington didn't just walk into the No. 1 seed's building -- a place where the Lions had trounced opponent after opponent en route to a 15-2 season -- to compete. No, the Commanders sought to make a statement.

"If we're going to be heavy hitters, we've got to prove that we're going to be heavy hitters," running back Austin Ekeler said. "You got to beat heavy hitters to be a heavy hitter. So that was (Quinn's) message today."

After the victory, D.C. heavy hitters milled around as players celebrated a Divisional Round victory inside the locker room. Magic Johnson wore a wry smile. Josh Harris beamed ear-to-ear. Joe Gibbs smirked knowingly, talking to former Lions GM Martin Mayhew. Kevin Durant glowed, towering over the crowd. The exuberant expressions each echoed the same thought: We've got something more than a flash-in-the-pan.

They've got a superstar quarterback in the making.

Daniels was unstoppable Saturday night. The rookie went 22-of-31 passing for 299 yards with two TD passes and added a career-high 16 carries for 51 yards. He finished with a 122.9 passer rating and took zero sacks.

In the face of a 15-win opponent with the backing of a raucous crowd, Jayden Daniels didn't flinch. Heck, he might not have even blinked all game. All night, the 24-year-old made the correct read, avoided any pressure, never put his club in a bad spot and dropped big plays when needed.

Every time the Lions threatened to get back in the game, Daniels thwarted it. He wouldn't let his upstart team lose.

"I always believe," Daniels said of being an underdog. "I always believe that we could achieve more than what people give us credit for, but you gotta go out there putting in work, you gotta go out there and work daily, get better each and every day. Just put your head down and grind, and by the time of the season, you look up and you might be in a position like this."

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