Miami (AFP) – Quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley rushed in three touchdowns each as the Philadelphia Eagles reached the Super Bowl with a 55-23 win over the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game on Sunday. The Eagles’ powerful running game proved too much for the Commanders as Philadelphia reached the NFL’s championship showpiece for the second time in three years.
Philadelphia’s 55 points, with seven rushing touchdowns, was the highest total scored in a conference championship game, beating the previous best of 51 points set by the Buffalo Bills in 1991. In New Orleans on February 9, the Eagles could face a rematch of the 2023 Super Bowl, which they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, who face Buffalo later on Sunday in the AFC title game.
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Washington’s Jayden Daniels was looking to become the first rookie quarterback to reach the Super Bowl, but while he was his composed self again, the Commanders defense was no match for Philadelphia’s awesome power on the ground. After Zane Gonzalez opened the scoring with a field goal for the Commanders, Barkley displayed his incredible power and speed once again as he sprinted home for a 60-yard score. Barkley then put the Eagles 14-3 up late in the first quarter, bursting into the end zone from four yards out.
The Commanders got themselves back into the game when another Gonzalez field goal was followed up by Daniels connecting with Terry McLaurin on a 36-yard touchdown pass. But the final minutes of the opening half were a mess for the Commanders. On fourth-and-5 from near midfield, Eagles receiver A.J. Brown was able to get behind cornerback Marshon Lattimore for a crucial 31-yard completion. Then, Lattimore got called for pass interference in the end zone after a third-down incompletion, which left Hurts with just a yard to rush in for a score.
A disastrous turnover followed when Jeremy McNichols was stripped off the ball on the kickoff return, allowing the Eagles to have the ball again. Hurts made the most of it, finding Brown with a 4-yard pass as Philadelphia opened up a 15-point lead. Gonzalez’s field goal reduced the gap before the interval, but the Eagles were in no mood to open the door to their divisional rivals, with Hurts showing his prowess with his feet as he ran in from 9 yards out.
Daniels then showed his rushing ability, wrong-footing the Eagles defense with a sharp change of direction for a 10-yard score and then he provided a successful two-point conversion to reduce the deficit to 11 points. But Hurts started the fourth quarter with a quarterback sneak that got him over the line for his fourth overall touchdown. After another Barkley touchdown, rookie running back Will Shipley joined the party, with a 2-yard rush in the final minutes.
Barkley had spent the week repeating the mantra that the clash with Washington was just another game, but as he celebrated victory, he conceded this was anything but an ordinary Sunday’s work. “I ain’t gonna lie — I tried to downplay it in my head, but it’s just amazing, man. It’s amazing. We’re here, the Super Bowl,” he said. “But the goal wasn’t just getting there. The goal is to win. And we’re going to celebrate and enjoy this and get right back to work,” he added.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni made sure that Hurts took his share of the glory during the trophy ceremony. “How about our quarterback? He’s a stud,” Sirianni said. “I knew he was going to play that way. I knew it, don’t doubt him — all he does is win.” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said he had told his team to remember all they had achieved in their unexpected run to the conference championship game. “They’ve created something together, this brotherhood, that is second to none,” Quinn said. “Hopefully that is the type of style and energy that we can play for years to come.”
© 2024 AFP
