NFC Championship Recap: Eagles Blow Out Commanders to Advance to Super Bowl LIX

• Eagles overwhelm Commanders 55-23 in the NFC Championship Game
• Philly now has the NFL record for most points scored in a Championship Game
• Turnovers and inexperience undid Washington

The Eagles blew out the Commanders for a trip to Super Bowl LIX. It is their second trip to the Big Game in the last three years. This time, they’re hoping for a different result after their loss 38-35 loss to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII.

In many games that end so lopsidedly, the score is misleading with the winner pulling ahead and then taking advantage of a desperate opponent with turnovers and late scores. This is not one of those games. Washington’s inexperience came to the forefront with costly penalties and turnovers. Philadelphia was a 6-point favorite at kickoff and won by 32.

The Week-to-Week Difference for Washington? Turnovers

In the Divisional Round, the Commanders upset the heavily favored Lions in Detroit largely because they forced five turnovers and committed none of their own. Against Philly, however, they turned it over four times to the Eagles’ zero.

One was a late-game interception of Jayden Daniels as Washington desperately tried to mount a comeback. The other three were fumbles, all of which led to Philadelphia touchdowns. No team can win that way.

Daniels was gutsy throughout the year and fought throughout the NFC title game. Unfortunately, his offensive line was overmatched and, despite him only being sacked three times, he was on the run all game, unable to make his reads and go through his progressions before being swarmed. He relied heavily on tight end Zach Ertz who caught 11 balls for 104 yards. But he could not get the ball downfield to Terry McLaurin. Running backs Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr. were bottled up. Robinson ran for 36 yards on 11 carries. Ekeler carried 8 times for 15 yards, caught 5 passes for 17, and gave up a costly fumble.

Defensive tackle Daron Payne was unable to play because of knee and finger injuries. Not only was Washington’s pass rush compromised, but they could not stop the run or the pass. They appeared flustered by the “tush push”, committing multiple fouls as the Eagles were trying to score near the goal line. Hence, they surrendered 55 points.

Nick Sirianni Proves the Eagles Right for Keeping Him

One year ago, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and GM Howie Roseman needed to decide if the team’s late-season collapse was due to head coach Nick Sirianni or if they needed to radically upgrade the roster. The 2023-24 stumble from 10-1 to 11-6 and blowing the NFC East to the Cowboys was bad enough. But Sirianni’s behavior was also an issue as he argued with fans and behaved in an infantile way, definitely not befitting a leader.

Instead of firing Sirianni, they brought in a new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. They had an excellent draft netting defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. And they made brilliant free agent signings of MVP finalist Saquon Barkley and All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun.

Hurts was his usual risk-averse self, letting Barkley gobble up 118 yards on 15 carries including a 60-yard TD run on Philly’s first offensive play.

Hurts completed 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards. A.J. Brown, who had been intellectual off the field (reading a book on the sideline in the Wild Card win over Green Bay) and ineffectual on it (3 catches for 24 yards in the two previous playoff games) caught 6 balls for 96 yards and a touchdown.

The Eagles Head to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX

None other than Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles presented the Eagles with the NFC Championship trophy in the on-field celebration.

Given their offensive firepower and aggressive defense, they are a good bet to win Super Bowl LIX. If they play as well as they did in getting through a tough slate of playoff opponents to get there, they’re going to be tough to beat.

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