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.
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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