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Early Storylines For Lions Playoff Matchup Against Commanders

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Early Storylines For Lions Playoff Matchup Against Commanders


The Detroit Lions (15-2) will welcome a Washington Commanders (13-5) team riding high after their first playoff victory in decades.

New head coach Dan Quinn has rebuilt the culture and has a young signal-caller that earned the respect of his teammates.

After defeating the Buccaneers, 23-20, a whole new challenge awaits the upstart NFC East squad.

Detroit is now rested and will be fully prepared to win in front of their home fans at Ford Field.

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Dan Campbell has his team and the entire organization pulling in the same direction. In a season that is “Super Bowl or bust,” the back-to-back NFC North division champs are as primed as ever to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl that takes place in New Orleans.

Here are some early storylines Lions OnSI is following this week.

How Lions will handle rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels?

Washington’s rookie quarterback is the favorite to win NFL Rookie of the Year after an exceptional season. He completed 69 percent of his passes in the regular season and threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdown passes.

Daniels also is a dangerous rushing threat, as he rushed for 891 yards and six touchdowns. The Lions have struggled against mobile quarterbacks at points this season, as Buffalo’s Josh Allen gave them fits.

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The Lions are 2-1 this season against mobile quarterbacks. Allen handed them a loss in Week 15, but the defense was able to contain Kyler Murray in Week 3 and Anthony Richardson in Week 12. Allen rushed for 68 yards, while Richardson ran for 61 and Murray notched 45.

Though it will be the first time the Lions have faced off against Daniels, it won’t be the first time he’s seen Detroit rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold. The two players matched up against each other in the SEC for two seasons, with Arnold recording an interception for his Alabama team against Daniels and LSU.

Can Commanders stop Lions rushing attack?

The Lions’ offense has been one of the league’s best this season, and the run game has been a huge part of that success. Detroit’s offense stands to get a boost this week as well, as David Montgomery is expected to return for Saturday’s game.

Jahmyr Gibbs earned NFC Offensive Player of the Month honors in Montgomery’s absence and will still get plenty of touches. Against the 30th-ranked Commanders rushing defense, both Gibbs and Montgomery could stand to have big days.

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Will Aaron Glenn blitz at a high rate still?

With all the injuries to Detroit’s defense, the game plan for defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has involved plenty of blitzing. Against the Vikings in Week 18, the defense utilized a number of different blitz packages to get after Sam Darnold.

Daniels has had plenty of success against the blitz, posting an ESPN QBR of 90.3 which ranked third in the league. If the Lions are not disciplined in their rush lanes, then they will also risk giving up long scrambles as Daniels can evade defenders.

The rookie passer has proven his abilities to handle blitzes, so whether or not Aaron Glenn continues to do so could be a deciding factor in Saturday’s game.

Lions injuries to monitor

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The Lions, like most weeks, have some injuries to monitor heading into the Divisional Round. Both cornerback Terrion Arnold and offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler suffered injuries in Week 18, and the bye week gave them an extra week to recover.

Arnold has been reported as day-to-day with a foot injury, while Zeitler was given an optimistic prognosis by Campbell last week. Things didn’t sound as good for defensive lineman Pat O’Connor.

We should learn more about the availability of all these players on Monday, as Dan Campbell is scheduled to speak with the media.

Odds: Lions Are 8.5-Point Favorite Against Commanders

Commanders have familiar faces on their staff

Part of the reason the Commanders had success this season is the staff Quinn assembled.

Offensive coordinator Kilff Kingsbury is a respected play-caller and will again see his name surface for available head coaching jobs.

Former Lions quarterback David Blough, who reportedly aided in the game-winning touchdown call against the Eagles, is currently serving as the Commanders assistant quarterbacks coach.

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Former Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn was eventually demoted by Campbell before being let go.

Lance Newmark is now in his first season as assistant general manager of the Commanders.

Newmark joined the Commanders with nearly three decades of NFL experience, including 26 seasons with the Detroit Lions. In Detroit, he most recently served as the senior director of player personnel.





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Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say

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Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say


Charging documents reveal the U.S. Park Police officer who was shot Monday in Southeast D.C. had arrested one of the suspects the day before and was following that suspect at the time.

The suspects are brothers, 22-year-old Asheile Foster and 21-year-old Darren Foster, of Southeast. They appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon.

Court documents state the Park Police officer who was shot had arrested Asheile Foster on Sunday on suspicion of dealing drugs. The officer said he followed Foster after he was released from jail on Monday and came to Park Police headquarters to get his personal belongings.

According to prosecutors, Foster told police he knew he was being followed by a white Tesla, and he confronted the officer on Queens Stroll Place SE, jumping out in front of the Tesla before the officer swerved around him.

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Then, dozens of gunshots went off, the officer told police. He said in charging documents he was shot in the shoulder as he kept driving several blocks to the intersection of Benning Road and Southern Avenue SE, where police found him. A helicopter then took him to a hospital. According to charging documents, the officer was treated and released the same night as the shooting.

A U.S. Park Police officer who was shot in Southeast D.C. on Monday is recovering from what authorities say was likely a targeted attack. Multiple law enforcement sources tell News4’s Mark Segraves that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday.

Photos in the charging documents show the brothers firing at the officer’s Tesla, according to prosecutors.

The shooting drew a massive police presence to the Southeast neighborhood near the D.C-Maryland border Monday night.

Shell casings littered the middle of the street. Police said they recovered two weapons: a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and an AR-15.

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Prosecutors said that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday. No one was injured in that shooting.

Darren Foster was located and stopped shortly after the shooting, D.C. police said. Asheile Foster was found on Tuesday.

The brothers were charged with assault on a federal officer, assault with intent to kill and weapons charges. They could face up to 60 years in prison if they’re convicted.



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Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors

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Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors


Washington just became the latest state to regulate artificial intelligence.

Under a pair of bills signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson Tuesday, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic will have to include new disclosures in their popular chatbots for Washington users.

Ferguson asked legislators to craft House Bill 1170 to crack down on AI-generated misinformation. When content is substantially modified using generative AI, that information will now have to be traceable using watermarks or metadata. The new law applies to large AI companies more than 1 million monthly subscribers.

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“ I’m confident I’m not the only Washingtonian who often sees something on my phone and wondering to myself, ‘Is that AI or is it real?’ And I feel like I’m a reasonably discerning person,” Ferguson said during the bill signing. “It is virtually impossible these days.”

RELATED: WA Gov. Bob Ferguson calls for regulations on AI chatbot companions

House Bill 2225 establishes new guard rails for AI chatbots that act like friends or companions. It applies to services like ChatGPT and Claude, but excludes more narrowly tailored chatbots, like the customer service windows that pop up when visiting a corporate website.

Chatbots that fit the bill will have to disclose to users that they are not human at the start of every conversation, and every three hours in an ongoing chat. The tools will also be barred from pretending to be human in conversation with users.

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The rules go further if the user is a minor. Companies that operate chatbots will have to disclose that the tools are not human every hour, rather than every three hours, if the user is under 18. The bill forbids AI companions from having sexually explicit conversations with underage users. It also bans “manipulative engagement techniques.” For example, a chatbot is not allowed to guilt or pressure a minor into staying in a conversation or keeping information from parents.

“AI has incredible potential to transform society,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, of course, there are risks that we must mitigate as a state, especially to young people. So I speak partly as a governor, but also as the father of teenage twins who grapple with this as a lot of parents do every single day.”

Under the law, AI chatbots will not be allowed to encourage or provide information on suicide or self-harm, including eating disorders. The companies behind these tools will be required to come up with a protocol for flagging conversations that reference self-harm and connecting users with mental health services.

The regulations come in the wake of several high-profile instances of teenage suicide following prolonged interactions with AI companions that showed warning signs. Many more AI users of all ages have reported mental health issues and psychosis after heavy use of the technology.

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Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid

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Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid


Washington Wizards (16-55, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (21-51, 14th in the Western Conference)

Salt Lake City; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Washington heads into the matchup with Utah after losing 16 in a row.

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The Jazz have gone 13-24 in home games. Utah ranks second in the Western Conference with 16.6 fast break points per game led by Lauri Markkanen averaging 3.3.

The Wizards are 5-29 in road games. Washington is 9-10 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 15.3 turnovers per game.

The Jazz score 117.4 points per game, 6.7 fewer points than the 124.1 the Wizards give up. The Wizards’ 46.1% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.9 percentage points lower than the Jazz have allowed to their opponents (49.0%).

The teams square off for the second time this season. The Jazz won the last meeting 122-112 on March 6, with Ace Bailey scoring 32 points in the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Filipowski is averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Jazz. Brice Sensabaugh is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.

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Alex Sarr is averaging 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and two blocks for the Wizards. Will Riley is averaging 14.4 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 3-7, averaging 116.4 points, 43.3 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.7 points per game.

Wizards: 0-10, averaging 114.3 points, 37.4 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 130.6 points.

INJURIES: Jazz: Lauri Markkanen: out (hip), Isaiah Collier: out (hamstring), Keyonte George: out (leg), Cody Williams: out (shoulder), Walker Kessler: out for season (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (nose), Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (knee).

Wizards: Anthony Davis: out (finger), Tristan Vukcevic: day to day (back), Cam Whitmore: out for season (shoulder), Alex Sarr: day to day (toe), Tre Johnson: day to day (foot), Kyshawn George: out (elbow), D’Angelo Russell: out (not injury related), Trae Young: out (quad).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.



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