The Eagles Heading Back to The Super Bowl

Photo Courtesy: @NFL/X

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The Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship. It was the first time since 1986 that two NFC East teams faced off in the NFC Championship game.

This was the second appearance in the conference championship for the Eagles in two years. This was the first appearance for the Commanders since 1991, making the Cowboys the only team in the NFC to not have a conference game appearance this century.

Despite injuries to Quinyon Mitchell and Jalen Hurts, they were both active for the Eagles. Cam Juergens was also active but demoted to the emergency center after dealing with a back injury all week. Lander Dickerson was moved to center, and Tyler Sheen was named the starting guard.

The Commanders were without defensive tackle Daron Payne and guard Sam Cosmi. Linebacker Bobby Wagner was active despite dealing with a nagging ankle injury.

The Commanders got the ball first and wasted no time making a statement. They got into Philly’s territory after converting on fourth down twice. They were one of the most efficient teams on fourth down, so it was no surprise that they converted them into first downs.

It was an 18-play drive that lasted seven minutes. Even though they ended up settling for the field goal, Washington showed that they were there to compete. They were not going to make things easy for the Eagles. But when you have a guy like Saquon Barkley on the other side, the easiest thing to do is not get stiff armed.

On the Eagles’ first play of the game, they handed it off to Barkley. He ran 60 yards to the end zone for the touchdown, breaking two tackles along the way. It only took 18 seconds for the Eagles to score.  

Washington’s offense was right back on the field trying to answer back. Unlike their first drive, the second drive did not last long after Zach Baun forced a fumble on Dyami Brown. It was recovered by Reed Blankenship, and the Eagles took over at the Commanders 48-yard line.

The Eagles’ second drive is where they got the passing game going. Jalen Hurts found DeVonta Smith for a 20-yard gain. Two plays later, he found AJ Brown for an 11-yard gain to set up 1st and goal. Once again, they handed it off to Saquon who ran it in for the touchdown.

The Commanders got the ball and faced a fourth down. It was converted to a 23-yard gain for a first down to get into Eagles territory thanks to a fake punt. Two plays later, Jayden Daniels found Dyami Brown for another huge gain. But they would end up taking three points again after not getting in the red zone.

It felt like the Eagles had all the momentum on their side, but the defense made a couple plays to keep it a one-possession game. On 3rd and 6 at the Commanders’ 27-yard line, Hurts was sacked for a huge loss. It made the field goal attempt longer than they wanted, and the kicker missed it wide right.

Washington took advantage and finally got a touchdown thanks to a catch by Terry McClaurin. He broke a tackle and took it all the way to the endzone for a 36-yard touchdown. They attempted the two-point conversion to tie the game, but it was unsuccessful.

Philadelphia got the ball back looking to bounce back after not scoring on the previous drive. They faced a 4th and 5 at the Commanders’ 45-yard line. In most situations, the team would punt the ball. But the Eagles knew they needed points, so they went for it. Hurts found AJ Brown for a 31-yard gain to put them deep in their opponents territory.

They got all the way to the one-yard line after Marshon Lattimore was called for defensive pass interference in the endzone. The Eagles did the infamous tush push, and were in for the touchdown. They attempted the two point conversion to make it a two-possession game. They did the tush push, but it was stopped by the Commanders.

With a rare unsuccessful tush push, it remained a one-possession game. But they caught a break after the Commanders fumbled on the kickoff and Kenneth Gainwell recovered the ball. They quickly got in the red zone and eventually Hurts found AJ Brown for the touchdown. It was the second turnover of the game that led to points for Philadelphia.

Despite having just 40 seconds remaining with no timeouts, Daniels was able to orchestrate a drive to get points on the board. Zach Ertz made some big catches on the drive. Daniels also used his legs to make it a manageable field goal attempt. The kick was good, and that was the end of the first half.

The Eagles got the ball to start the second half, but the drive stalled which led to the first punt of the game. The Commanders tried to add more points, but Daniels took a sack for a huge loss which led to them punting as well. The Eagles got good field position thanks to a nice return and quickly got into Washington territory.

Hurts found Dallas Goedert wide open for a 23-yard gain to set up 1st and goal. Hurts then proceeded to run it for the touchdown. The Commanders answered with a touchdown of their own after moving the ball into their opponent’s territory. They got in the red zone and Daniels ran it in for the touchdown. It was his first rushing touchdown in the postseason.

They attempted the two-point conversion again, and it was successful the second time around. But that would be the last time they scored as the Eagles took over and never looked back. The next drive was a three and out, which was the last punt of the game. Washington got the ball, but turned it over for the third time after Oren Burks forced the fumble.

Zack Baun recovered the fumble, and the Eagles capitalized on it with a touchdown. They proceeded to score a touchdown on their next two drives, increasing their lead. The Commanders could not answer back, and the Eagles would run away with the win.

They put up 55 points, which is the most points in a conference championship game in NFL history. The previous was 49 by the Carolina Panthers in 2015 with Cam Newton leading the way. They had seven rushing touchdowns, which tied for the most all-time in a postseason game.

Jalen Hurts finished with 20 completions out of 28 attempts for 246 yards and four touchdowns (three rushing). He passed Steve Young for the most career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NFL postseason history.

Saquon Barkley finished with 15 carries for 118 yards and three touchdowns. AJ Brown finished with six receptions for 96 yards and one touchdown. Will Shipley finished with four carries for 77 yards and one touchdown.

Jayden Daniels finished with 29 completions out of 48 attempts for 255 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing). He set a new NFL record for the most postseason passing yards by a rookie with 822. Zach Ertz finished with 11 receptions for 104 yards. Terry McLaurin finished with three receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown.

The Eagles will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. It is the 2022 Super Bowl rematch. The Chiefs are looking to become the first team in NFL history to three-peat, while the Eagles look to avenge the 2022 loss.

The Super Bowl will take place on February 9, 2025. Coincidentally, that is also Saquon Barkley and Cooper DeJean’s birthdays. The game will air on Fox and start at 6:30 p.m. EST.

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