As the Philadelphia Eagles headed into their bye week, they were 2-2. They got blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4. At the end of September, there was more talk about head coach Nick Sirianni possibly being fired and what was wrong with the Eagles than any hope of a special season.
Since the end of September, the Eagles have lost just once and are on their way to Super Bowl LIX.
The Eagles’ 15th win in their past 16 tries was a 55-23 victory over the Washington Commanders in the NFC championship game, the record for most points ever scored in a conference title game.
Jayden Daniels did his best, completing 29 of 48 passes for 255 yards and two total touchdowns, but fell just short of becoming the first rookie quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl. Instead, the Commanders self-destructed with ill-timed penalties and also four turnovers that led to four Eagles touchdowns. Give Philadelphia credit for taking advantage.
It was a complete Eagles performance that showed why they’re heading to the Super Bowl. Jalen Hurts had his best game of the postseason, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for more than 200 yards for the first time this postseason, finishing 20-of-28 for 246 yards. Saquon Barkley was great again, with a big 60-yard touchdown on his first touch and 118 yards rushing with three scores total.
Philadelphia's defense gave up some yards and points, but made enough big plays to help out the offense. It was the first time since the 1940 NFL championship game, won 73-0 by the Chicago Bears, in which Washington allowed six rushing touchdowns in a game.
The Eagles have one Super Bowl championship, which came seven years ago over the New England Patriots. Two seasons ago they were tied in the final minutes against the Kansas City Chiefs before losing. The way the Eagles have played over the past four months, they have a good shot at making up for that loss to the Chiefs, and getting that second Lombardi Trophy.
Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Commanders have pair of huge fumbles
The Commanders couldn’t afford huge mistakes with turnovers in Philadelphia. In the first half, they made two.
After Barkley broke a 60-yard touchdown run on the Eagles’ first offensive play, Commanders receiver Dyami Brown had the ball punched out by Eagles All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun. The Eagles recovered in Washington territory and had a short drive capped by Barkley’s second touchdown run to take a 14-3 lead.
The Commanders stuck in the game, getting a touchdown from Terry McLaurin to cut Philly’s lead to 14-12. But the Eagles drove for a touchdown in the final two minutes of the half and then it really got bad. Washington's Jeremy McNichols fumbled away the kickoff return, an unnecessary roughness penalty on cornerback Mike Sainristil for hitting Barkley out of bounds kept Philadelphia’s drive alive and with 39 seconds left in the half A.J. Brown scored. That put the Eagles ahead 27-12.
The Commanders hadn’t played that poorly. They were keeping drives alive with key third- and fourth-down conversions. Other than Barkley’s first run they did a good job containing him in the first half. A field goal in the final seconds of the half helped. But giving up touchdown drives of 48 and 24 yards off turnovers was a brutal turn of events. Without those two mistakes, they probably wouldn’t have trailed 27-15 at halftime.
Eagles take over in 2nd half
The Commanders are still an offseason or two away from having a roster like the other three teams in the conference championship round. They still had a chance Sunday because of Daniels. But Daniels’ teammates weren’t up to the task.
Another fumble, from Austin Ekeler late in the third quarter at about midfield, led to another short field for an Eagles touchdown drive. Hurts got in on a Tush Push and the Eagles led 41-23. That score came after multiple offsides penalties on Washington at the goal line that caused the referee to warn the Commanders that if it continued the officials could award the Eagles a touchdown.
The Eagles are too good to give points to. The Commanders gave them three touchdowns off of fumbles. As much as Daniels tried to keep his team in the game, he couldn’t overcome that big of a hole. The Eagles eventually turned it into a blowout in the fourth quarter. Barkley’s third touchdown of the game, which put the Eagles ahead 48-23 allowed Eagles fans to start their celebration early. Will Shipley scored the final touchdown on a 2-yard run with a little over three minutes left.
The Eagles started the season slowly, and it looked like a continuation of last season’s collapse. But they always had the talent to get on a long winning streak and look like the best team in the NFL. If they can play one more game like they did Sunday, this season that started with so many questions could end up with a championship.
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Ian Casselberry
Magic Johnson post-game thoughts
Magic Johnson, who owns a 4% stake in the Commanders, chimed in on his team's loss
I hate losing so I’m mad that my Commanders lost but congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles for advancing to the Super Bowl. My Commanders hurt our chances of winning the game today with 3 fumbles and too many penalties.
I want to thank all the Commanders players, coaching…
Jayden Daniels' deep throw to Terry McLaurin is picked off in the end zone by Quinyon Mitchell. This game was probably already decided, but with 4:57 remaining, the interception essentially clinches the Eagles' win.
After a pass interference penalty places the ball at the Washington 8-yard line, the Eagles get into the end zone on two plays. A 4-yard catch by Dallas Goedert is followed by a 4-yard score by Saquon Barkley, his third TD of the game.
"The defense shall not commit successive or repeated fouls to prevent a score"
The officials threatened to award Philadelphia a touchdown and straight from the NFL rulebook, here's how that could have happened, via ESPN's Jeff Darlington:
I’d never heard of a rule that allowed referees to award a team a score as was suggested by the official in the Commanders-Eagles game, but sure enough, here it is. Rule 12, Section 3, Article 4. pic.twitter.com/wmDHe5s2d2
Here is a compliation of all three of Washington's encroachment penalties, the referee saying a TD could be awarded to the Eagles and Jalen Hurts' score.
Following three encroachment penalties on the Commanders, the Eagles' Brotherly Shove breaks through for a touchdown. Jalen Hurts has his third rushing TD of the game.
After three consecutive encroachment penalties inside the 1-yard line, the Commanders are warned that officials can reward Philadelphia a touchdown if they deem it necessary.
Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu is trying to beat the Brotherly Shove by leaping over the line to get to Jalen Hurts. But he's been called for encroachment on two consecutive plays.
Washington answers the Eagles' score and isn't going away. Jayden Daniels hits Dyami Brown for 12 yards and Zach Ertz for a 21-yard gain before getting into the red zone on an 8-yard completion to Olamide Zaccheaus
Jayden Daniels takes it himself for a rushing touchdown
The Eagles wasted little time getting to the end zone after taking over. Jalen Hurts hits A.J. Brown for a 16-yard gain, followed by two passes to Dallas Goedert covering 33 yards.
Hurts then does the rest himself, running nine yards for a touchdown.
And Washington goes 3-and-out on its first possession of the second half. Philadelphia takes over at its 41-yard line after a 45-yard punt by Tress Way and 10-yard return by Cooper DeJean.
Ian Casselberry
Philadelphia goes 3-and-out on its opening drive of the second half, stalling on a second-and-12 sack by Dorance Armstrong.
Dorance Armstrong quick off the edge for a sack on Hurts 💪
The Commanders begin on their 26-yard line after a 43-yard punt by Braden Mann.
Ian Casselberry
Eagles receiver Henry Gainwell is in the sideline medical tent after a helmet-to-helmet collision on the opening kickoff. And Landon Dickerson is questionable to return, reports Fox's Erin Andrews.
Ian Casselberry
And the Eagles get the ball to start the 2nd half
The 27 points in the first half are most in a first half by the Eagles this season. The 12-pt halftime lead is their third biggest halftime lead of the season.
Key for the Eagles is +2 in turnovers. And those takeaways have led to 14 points.
Commanders aren't making great decisions right now
A flag on the Eagles canceled out a Jalen Hurts touchdown right after the turnover, but an awful decision from CB Mikey Sainristil led to an unnecessary roughness call, which brought the Eagles pretty close to the goal line. Will they get another TD out of it?
Costly penalty on Commanders CB Mikey Sainristil, flagged for late hit out of bounds annd penalized half the distance to the goal.
Eagles score a TD on Brotherly Shove, Marshon Lattimore goes after A.J. Brown
Here's the TD the Eagles scored on the Brotherly Shove, which came about thanks to the refs finally throwing a flag in the Eagles favor — holding on Commanders CB Marshon Lattimore. Then after the TD, Lattimore and a bunch of his teammates got into it with A.J. Brown, but for some reason only Lattimore was flagged for unnecessary roughness.
Hurts scores the TD and some exchanges follow between Commanders and Eagles players pic.twitter.com/yr39PJ9Oer
Some missed protection led to a major Jalen Hurts sack, which then took kicker Jake Elliott out of his comfort zone. What is Elliott's comfort zone? It's hard to know, since he's missed quite a few kicks this season after being lights out for years. But a 54-yard field goal is definitely out of his comfort zone. He missed the kick, and the Eagles got nothing from that possession.
Elliott’s kick is no good. Washington takes over at their own 44.
Fake punt results in just three points for Commanders
The Commanders extended their drive with that amazing fake punt, but they were only able to get a field goal out of it. The Eagles still lead 14-6.
This note about Jayden Daniels is interesting. He may not play like a rookie, but he's still a human quarterback.
Jayden Daniels had the nice tight-window throw to Dyami Brown, but the #Eagles defense has kept him from finding an early rhythm. He's taken a couple inadvisable downfield shots, the latter of which came with Zach Ertz open underneath. He might be getting impatient.
This Saquon Barkley guy may be pretty good. He gets his second TD on his second carry of the game, following a catch from Devonta Smith and A.J. Brown.
