Following a 45-31 win over the top-seeded Detroit Lions on Saturday night, the Washington Commanders are on their way to their first NFC Championship Game in 33 years. Though Washington has officially punched their ticket to the NFL's final four, the Commanders won't know where they're heading next weekend until the conclusion of Sunday's matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles.

From the sounds of it, though, the Commanders do already know that they'll be without a crucial piece along their offensive line in what is without question the franchise's biggest game since they won Super Bowl XXVI. After NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday morning that guard Sam Cosmi's knee injury that knocked him out of the win over the Lions was “potentially serious,” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn revealed that Cosmi is done for the rest of the playoffs with an ACL injury. Cosmi will likely miss part of next season as well.

Cosmi was injured on a Brian Robinson Jr. touchdown run in the second quarter that gave Washington a 10-7 lead. It was the Commanders' first score in a second quarter in which they put 28 points on the board, taking a 31-21 lead into the halftime locker room. Despite the fact that Cosmi missed the final two and a half quarters of the game, the Commanders offense continued to hum, finishing the game with 481 yards of total offense. Maybe more impressively, rookie QB Jayden Daniels wasn't sacked once.

Cosmi, who was the 23rd-highest graded guard in the NFL this season according to Pro Football Focus, had started 36 straight games for the Commanders dating back to last year. Before the 2024 season began, the Commanders rewarded the 25-year-old former second-round pick with a four-year, $74 million contract extension.

Without Cosmi, the Commanders will once again be forced to turn to journeyman lineman Trenton Scott, who appeared in all 17 games this season and earned one start back in November.