Soaring, Flying
The Eagles and Washington Commanders will now play for the third time this season in what should be a great NFC championship game. (The Eagles were an early line 4.5 favorite).
With Jayden Daniels at quarterback, the Commanders are a dangerous team, but they simply don’t have as many good players as the Eagles.
The difference should be Saquon Barkley and the Eagles offensive line. And if teams fall asleep on the passing game, then Jalen Hurts can carve up an improving, but still inconsistent Washington defense.
On defense, nobody has been able to block Eagles Pro Bowler Jalen Carter all season and he was the major disruptive force in last week’s 28-22 NFC semifinal win over the Los Angeles Rams with two sacks and three quarterback hits.
Sure, the Commanders caused four turnovers in dispatching the top-seeded Detroit Lions, 45-31 in the NFC semifinal, but they still allowed 31 points, albeit to a great offensive team.
The Eagles, with arguably the best offensive line in the NFL, should have their way on offense. (Against the Rams, the Eagles allowed seven sacks and will have to clean that up).
In the playoff win over Detroit, Washington still allowed 201 yards rushing (8.7 avg.) and three touchdowns.
Granted, Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs (105 yards rushing 7.5 avg. and 2 TDs against Washington) is among the top backs in the NFL, but the Lions were shredding the Commanders’ run defense.
Barkley is where the Eagles have a major advantage against the Commanders or just about any team. Against the Rams he rushed for 205 yards and two long touchdowns on 26 carries, averaging 7.9 yards per carry. In the opening 22-10 playoff win over Green Bay, he rushed for 119 yards on 25 carries (4.8 avg.).
The Eagles should not only be able to run the ball, but they should be able to stop the run as well.
The biggest obstacle will be containing Daniels, who has followed up his Heisman Trophy season last year at LSU, with an even more impressive first season in the NFL.
Against Detroit, Daniels was sensational. He completed 22 of 31 for 299 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 122.9 passer rating. He also rushed for 51 yards on 16 carries. Detroit did a decent job when he ran, limiting Daniels to 3.2 yards per carry.
The Eagles and Washington split during the regular season.
In the first game, the Eagles earned a 26-18 victory at Lincoln Financial Field on Nov. 14.
During that game, Daniels was contained as a passer. He completed 22 of 32 for 191 yards, one touchdown and one interception and an 81.6 passer rating. He was limited to 18 yards on seven carries. If the Eagles limit him to similar statistics, they will win going away.
Washington returned the favor with a 36-33 home win on Dec. 22 at Fed Ex Field.
It was amazing that the Commanders won since they committed five turnovers, including two interceptions by Daniels.
Still, he completed 24 of 39 for 258 yards, five touchdowns and a 99.1 passer rating. He was sacked just once and rushed for 81 yards on nine carries.
He led the Commanders on a game-winning drive, capped by a 9-yard scoring pass to Jamison Crowder with six seconds left.
Of course, that was the game Hurts suffered a concussion in the first quarter and missed the rest of the game.
Daniels is so cool in the heat of the moment and has been sensational in the postseason, with wins over Tampa Bay and Detroit on the road.
The Commanders are not a one-man team. Pro Bowl receiver Terry McLaurin is a potential game-breaker. He had five receptions for 60 yards and 32-yard scoring pass in the win over the Eagles.
Like Daniels, he has been a monster in the playoffs. In the win over Detroit, he had four receptions for 87 yards and a 58-yard touchdown. In the opening 23-20 playoff win at Tampa Bay, he had seven receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown.
What favors the Eagles is that Washington hasn’t faced a defense in the playoffs that is anything close to what they will see Sunday.
Another key is the turnover issue. In the two playoff wins, the Eagles have caused six turnovers and committed none.
The Eagles will benefit greatly from the home field advantage and as good as he has been, Daniels is still a rookie. This should be a hard-fought game, but the Eagles should prevail and earn their second Super Bowl berth in the last three seasons.
Photo: Saquon Barkley / Courtesy of Philadelphia Eagles
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Author: Marc Narducci
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