Eagles Set Scoring Record, Rout Commanders, 55-23, To Reach Super Bowl LIX

PHILADELPHIA – Bourbon Street better be snow-free because a flock of Eagles are on their way to Super Bowl LIV in New Orleans after routing the Washington Commanders 48-23 in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field.

The point total set a championship game record, surpassing the 49 put up by the Carolina Panthers in 2015. Philly took a 34-23 lead and scored the final 21 points of the game.

It is the third trip to the Super Bowl in the last eight years for Philly and second in the last three. They are 1-1 on the Big Game, winning their only one in frigid Minnesota in 2018. New Orleans had a 10-inch snowstorm earlier in the week, so cold and the Eagles in a Super Bowl seem to go hand in hand, though temperatures weren’t terrible in Arizona two years ago.

Jalen Hurts and his sprained left knee looked just fine. Despite playing with a brace on it for protection, he scored three rushing touchdowns, two off tush pushes, and threw a 4-yard touchdown strike to A.J. Brown on third down at the end of the second quarter to help the Eagles take a 27-15 advantage into the halftime locker room.

Questioned all week – all playoffs long, actually – Hurts came out firing. He completed 20-of-28 passes for 246 yards, one TD, and a passer rating of 110.1.

Like Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley also scored three rushing touchdowns. His first came on the Eagles’ first possession of the game, racing 60 yards for a score with a nice seal block from Brown. It was Barkley’s seventh touchdown of 60-plus yards this season, which is an NFL record. His output of 118 yards was simply ho-hum but needed just 15 carries to get.

The Eagles ran for 229 yards against the 30th-ranked run defense and became just the fourth team to run for at least seven touchdowns in the NFC championship.

Still, to get back to the Super Bowl his time, the Eagles had to find a way to beat sensational rookie Jayden Daniels. They did by forcing four turnovers, with a defense that got three of them – with two forced fumbles and an interception from rookie Quinyon Mitchell, his second of the playoffs.

The other one came on a big-time special team play by rookie Will Shipley who forced a fumble on a kickoff late in the first half.

The Eagles scored four touchdowns for 28 points off all four turnovers. They are now plus-10 in three playoff games in turnover differential in the playoffs (10 takeaways, 0 giveaways). In their last 14 games, they have a plus-27 turnover differential (34 takeaways, just 7 giveaways).

Daniels finished 29-for-48 for 255 yards, a TD, an interception, and a passer rating of just 72.8.

Jan 26, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) prepares to snap against the Washington Commanders during the second half in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

TURNING POINT

There were many considered, but let’s go this way:

Will Shipley's forced fumble. The rookie separated Jeremy McNichols from the football on the ensuing kickoff after the Eagle went ahead 20-12 on Jalen Hurts’ tush push with 1:45 to play in the first half. Kenny Gainwell recovered it, and that set up another touchdown, this one a 4-yard TD pass to A.J. Brown just 62 seconds after Hurts’ TD to open a 27-12 lead.

STUDS

Will Shipley. The rookie made a huge play on special teams and then, when the blowout was on,he ran four times for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Oren Burks. He had nine tackles with one forced fumble and a sack.

Jordan Davis. Not known for his sack prowess, the defensive tackle had a big one for a 12-yard loss on the Commanders’ first possession of the third quarter to force a three-and-out punt.

Nolan Smith. The second-year player keeps rising. He added sack and now has more sacks than any other Eagles player in postseason history with 4.5.

Zack Baun. The linebacker just keeps on making plays. He had 12 tackles - 10 in the first half. He forced a fumble – his seventh of the season – and recovered a fumble, too.

A.J. Brown. The rece ier had six catches for 96 yards and a TD.

Dallas Goedert. The tight end had seven grabs for 85 yards.

Zach Ertz. The former Eagles tight end had his first 100-yard receiving day this season, catching 11 passes for 104 yards.

Your weekly “wow Saquon is great at football” play 🫡@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/ZIUjItruiN
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 26, 2025

DUD

Washington’s fake punt. You could see it coming, at least some in the press box did. Not the Eagles special teams, though, and from deep in their own territory, Washington executed it, with punter Tress Way completing a 24-yard throw to rookie tight end Ben Sinnott over the middle. The trickery led to a field goal with 14:42 to pull Washington within 14-6. At the very least, the Eagles should have called timeout if they knew the fake was coming.

NOTES

-Remember it was Mike Sainistril flapping his arms at Eagles fans after Washington beat the Eagles in DC earlier this year? He committed a bad personal foul then a couple plays later gave up a third-down touchdown catch to A.J. Brown for a 27-12 lead.

-In a humorous moment, the referee announced that he was advised he could award a touchdown if the Commanders continued to make encroachment penalties when the Eagles to 1-goal from the 1 on a 22-yard Barkley run. The Commanders jumped offsides three times – two from Frankie Luvu and once from Jonathan Allen.

INJURIES

-Center Landon Dickerson (knee) did not start the second half, so the Eagles turned to Cam Jurgens, who didn’t start the game at center due to a back injury but was pressed into action when Dickerson went out. Dickerson did not return.

-Running back Kenny Gainwell left on a second-half kickoff to be evaluated for a concussion and was eventually ruled out.

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