Eagles Glad To Have Home Crowd On Their Side Again For NFC Title Game

The Philadelphia Eagles will host their second NFC Championship Game in three years, this time against their NFC East rival Washington Commanders.

Jan 19, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Fans look on in the snow during a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams in a 2025 NFC divisional round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – Homefield advantage helps, but it guarantees nothing, except a crowd on your side. Until you make a mistake, or make a bad play call, or fall behind. Then get ready to duck.

Nevertheless, home has been sweet for the Eagles. Their one and only loss at Lincoln Financial Field came in Week 2, on Sept. 16, when Saquon Barkley dropped a wide-open pass that would have iced the win against the Falcons. Instead, Atlanta drove the length of the field to win a 22-21 game in the closing seconds.

Since then, they have won all nine games at the Linc. That could matter when the Washington Commanders visit on Sunday with the winner moving on to Super Bowl LIX in currently snowbound New Orleans, where more than seven inches fell on Tuesday.

Washington has already lost at the Linc this season, falling 26-18 in a Thursday night primetime game on Nov. 14. The Commanders were 5-3 on the road during the regular season, but are 2-0 in both playoff victories, winning in Tampa then in front of a raucous indoor throng of Lions fans in Detroit.

Jan 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni reacts after the game against the Green Bay Packers in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Still, Nick Sirianni is happy to be home instead of playing in Detroit or anywhere else.

“I think it’s the obvious advantages,” said the head coach. “It’s the atmosphere, it’s the crowd, it’s the noise. When the parity is so close, which in the NFL it is and that’s week to week but even more so in the playoffs.

“The parity is so close, everything matters. Being able to communicate or not being able to communicate on offense is a huge deal. I know how rowdy it will be. I know how rowdy the fans will be, and we love playing in front of them, especially in this atmosphere. We love playing in front of them regardless of what game it is. I know the last time we were in this setting, when I was here in (20)22, it was an electric crowd.”

Sirianni recalled the team’s last trip to the NFC Championship Game just two years ago when they hosted and steamrolled the 49ers. It was prior to that game when then-defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon was sitting in traffic and rolled his window down to tell Eagles fans: “We're gonna (bleeping) gut these guys.” He was right.

“I always remember Jonathan Gannon before we played in that game – not when he rolled his window down and what he said to the fans - but I remember what Jonathan Gannon said, before we got here about 2017 when he was an opposing coach for the Vikings and he’s like Oh, my gosh, this place was rocking and I can’t wait for it to be like that while we’re coaching here,’ It’s an amazing fan base, it’s an amazing crowd, the atmosphere is like no other. We’re excited to play.”

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