By Mike Jones, Brooks Kubena and Ben Standig
PHILADELPHIA — Two years after they blew a third-quarter lead and lost Super Bowl LVII to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles will receive their long-awaited shot at redemption.
Powered by three touchdown runs by Saquon Barkley, three rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown from quarterback Jalen Hurts and four forced turnovers (three by the defense and one on special teams), the Eagles defeated NFC East rival Washington 55-23 to secure the NFC championship Sunday evening at Lincoln Financial Field. With that, Nick Sirianni and his team punched their ticket to New Orleans, where on Feb. 9, they will try to resolve unfinished business. They will face the winner of Sunday night’s AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
Sunday’s victory marked the continuation of the dominance that Barkley has delivered in his first season with the Eagles. Following up a regular season in which he rushed for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns, and two playoff games with a combined 324 rushing yards, Barkley gashed the Commanders for 118 yards and the three touchdowns on just 15 carries — his lightest workload since Week 9.
Hurts, meanwhile, delivered his most productive outing of the postseason, passing for 246 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 16 yards and three touchdowns.
Hobbled by a knee injury late in the divisional round victory over the Los Angeles Rams, Hurts missed practice time this week. However, he displayed no ill effects of the injury Sunday while recording the fourth three-touchdown game of his career.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s defense forced three turnovers in containing Daniels and the Commanders offense. The last time the divisional foes met (Week 16), Daniels passed for five touchdowns, including the strike with six seconds left to lift his team 36-33. This time around, Daniels managed just one passing touchdown while completing 29 of 48 passes for 255 yards and also threw an interception. Daniels did score on a 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
It took no time for the Eagles to assert their authority Sunday afternoon. After an 18-play, 54-yard scoring drive that ended with Washington settling for a 34-yard field goal, Philadelphia’s starting offense took the field midway through the first quarter, and Barkley promptly delivered a 60-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage.
SAQUON BARKLEY ON THE FIRST OFFENSIVE PLAY FOR PHILLY 🤯
The Eagles are leading. The Linc is rocking.
🎥 @NFLpic.twitter.com/G6P2kU1bWZ
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 26, 2025
The Eagles defense forced a Dyami Brown fumble near midfield on the next Washington possession and six plays later, Barkley found the end zone again on a 4-yard run to give his team a 14-3 lead with 3:43 left in the first quarter.
Washington pulled within 14-12 with a Zane Gonzalez field goal and 36-yard catch-and-run by Terry McLaurin, but then the first half ended poorly for the Commanders. A defensive pass interference call in the end zone on cornerback Marshon Lattimore set up the Eagles for a 1-yard Hurts touchdown on the sneak. On that play, Lattimore got into a scuffle with Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown and drew an unnecessary roughness call. On the ensuing kickoff, Washington return man Jeremy McNichols fumbled on the return and Philadelphia recovered at the Commanders’ 24.
Seven plays later, Hurts connected with Brown for a 4-yard touchdown strike, and Jake Elliott nailed the PAT to complete a 13-0 swing for the Eagles. Washington scored a 42-yard field goal with two seconds left in the quarter and the teams entered the locker rooms with the Eagles enjoying a 27-15 lead.
Hurts extended the Eagles’ lead to 34-15 with the 9-yard run, which capped the opening possession of the second half. Daniels and the Commanders responded with a scoring drive of their own as the rookie slipped through the line for a 10-yard run. But from there, the Eagles scored three unanswered touchdowns, the third coming from their backups with 3:03 left on the clock.
“Super Bowl. The goal wasn’t just getting there. The goal is to win.” pic.twitter.com/2pRkzFUD0O
— NFL (@NFL) January 26, 2025
Nick Sirianni’s quick course corrections pay off
Two years ago, after losing 38-35 in the final seconds of Super Bowl LVII, Sirianni noticed a piece of red and yellow confetti stuck to his shirt. “I have to do everything I can to help our guys get back to this moment,” the head coach thought. He’d share that gutting moment days later, along with the agonizing words that tore at the fabric of a franchise that thought its era of suffering was over: “We were close.”
The Philadelphia Eagles are back in the Super Bowl after defeating division-rival Washington. It took them two years — a swift return if viewed through the lens of the NFL’s long-languishing teams. But this is an organization that expected to fully capitalize on its talent-laden roster. An 11-win season and playoff berth in 2023 was considered a massive failure due to its cataclysmic collapse. Sirianni, publicly cornered and questioned, underwent his first-ever staff overhaul to ensure he wouldn’t again underserve his players with stale schemes.
General manager Howie Roseman maintained stability on a roster that experienced a massive transition in leadership. Franchise pillars Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox retired. Their successors, Cam Jurgens and Jalen Carter were both named first-time Pro Bowlers in their first seasons in their new roles. Philadelphia’s front office spent last offseason locking up a young core around a franchise quarterback playing on a max deal. Hurts, 26, will start in his second Super Bowl under a contract that keeps him in Philly deep into this decade, along with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Landon Dickerson and Jordan Mailata.
But it was the new faces that secured this franchise’s fifth run at a Super Bowl. No one influenced this season more than Barkley. Signed from the division-rival New York Giants, set loose within newly hired offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s run-oriented system, Barkley broke multiple team records while becoming the NFL’s ninth player to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a single year. The Eagles leveraged Barkley’s brilliance behind an enviable offensive line against a top-ranked defense that features candidates for Defensive Player of the Year (Zack Baun), Rookie of the Year (Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean) and Assistant Coach of the Year (Vic Fangio).
Some say Sirianni is a snub for Coach of the Year, considering the course corrections the Eagles took after last year’s collapse. Even at the start of this storybook season, the Eagles signaled trouble during their 2-2 start. But now, they’re a win away from the city’s second Super Bowl title. When Sirianni sees confetti again stuck to his shirt in New Orleans, much has been invested to ensure its color is green. — Brooks Kubena, Eagles beat writer
Washington fans can dream big, even after a loss
We know the sports fan instinct after a loss: Some form of anger, bewilderment or shouts to the heavens. Grieve as needed after the Commanders fell to the rival Eagles when a win would have put Washington in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1991 season. But remember what this unexpected joy ride meant. This team exceeded any realistic hopes long ago.
The Commanders went from a 4-13 record last season to reaching the franchise’s first NFC Championship Game in 33 years. After years as a league embarrassment, Washington became an NFL darling.
The sheer number of wins (12-5 in the regular season) and defeating the NFC’s top seed, Detroit, on the road was stunning. Competing against the rival Eagles — for most of Sunday’s game, anyway — for a trip to New Orleans was the cheesesteak on top. Even though the Commanders’ success came way earlier than expected, the vision from the team’s new football thinkers was pure logic.
Washington’s offseason set in motion, as head coach Dan Quinn framed the plan, a “recalibration” to turn the team without a playoff victory since the 2005 season into a perennial contender. Mere competency from the ownership box raised the potential. Managing partner Josh Harris’ faith in GM Adam Peters to handle the needed organizational retooling and Quinn as the culture commander started Washington on the right path.
Peters didn’t break the bank in free agency or solely target NFL combine heroes in the draft. Washington wanted competitive players with leadership traits to help establish a standard and turned over half the roster to get there. Future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner, rookie cornerback Mike Sainristil, tight end Zach Ertz and holdover wide receiver Terry McLaurin are among the many who did that. This isn’t the most talented roster, but an elite sum-of-its-parts group.
Then, there is Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. It’s bizarre to grade a player, rookie or otherwise, and never use the red pen. But what is his flaw? His dual-threat capabilities are deadly. You would need 10 minutes to show all the pinpoint throws and clutch moments. The 24-year-old never gets rattled. After watching him direct five game-winning drives and two playoff road wins, no lies were detected.
Daniels helped McLaurin show the league he is a true No. 1 receiver, and cover up flaws on both sides of the ball. Daniels’ execution of Kliff Kingsbury’s scheme erased questions about the offensive coordinator’s play-calling potency. Daniels’ read-option prowess gave life to Quinn’s aggressiveness on fourth down.
The Pro Bowler directed Washington to wins in blowout fashion, fueled victories on the final play from scrimmage in five consecutive weeks and showed his team that he’s a leader without one look-at-me moment.
And, most of all, he gave hibernating Commanders fans a reason to re-emerge from their hiding places or state of ambivalence. To poke their heads out and not fear ridicule or regret. To believe that the team’s annual QB search is over and to proudly root for the burgundy and gold. Super Bowl appearances are never guaranteed. For the first time in years, the potential to dream big isn’t crazy. And that’s a win, even in a loss. — Ben Standig, Commanders beat writer
Required reading
(Photo: Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)
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