Hurts, Barkley each rush for 3 TDs to help Eagles reach Super Bowl with 55-23 win over Washington
Philadelphia - Saquon Barkley scored a 60-yard touchdown on the Eagles' opening play and ended the day with 118 yards and three touchdowns. Jalen Hurts ran for three touchdowns, leading the Eagles to a 55-23 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
The Philadelphia Eagles, led by Hurts, are returning to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years, with Barkley now part of the team. The Eagles will face either their potential opponents - either the Buffalo Bills or the Kansas City Chiefs, who are coached by former Eagles coach Andy Reid.
I'm not going to sugarcoat it - I was trying not to think about it too much, but it's truly incredible. We're actually here, playing in the Super Bowl. Of course, the ultimate goal wasn't just making it to the big game, though - we're aiming to take home the championship. We'll definitely enjoy this moment and celebrate, but we'll get back to work right away.
The 55 points scored by a team in a conference championship game is a record in the post-1970 merger era.
Hurts, wearing a knee brace on his left knee, also threw for 246 yards and a touchdown, and the Eagles had a towel-waving crowd in a frenzy for the NFC championship game at Lincoln Financial Field.
“Have you seen our quarterback? Oh, have you seen our quarterback! He's an exceptional player,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “I had a good feeling he was going to play that way. I was confident about it. I trusted him completely. All he seems to do is win.”
AJ Brown grabbed six receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles set a new high in points this season, propelling the team to the franchise's fifth Super Bowl appearance.
The Commanders helped secure a spot in the NFC title game in Philadelphia by winning two consecutive road games, including a major upset last week over the #1 seeded Detroit team, setting up the stage for the #2 seeded Eagles to host.
Jayden Daniels threw for 255 yards, netting one touchdown and one interception. His effort fell short of a historic achievement: becoming only the first rookie quarterback to lead his team to the Super Bowl. The Commanders suffered a fourth loss due to turnovers, with Austin Ekeler fumbling on a snap in the third quarter, ultimately giving the other team a 34-23 lead.
They felt like they fit in," said Daniels. "It was just another normal game for me, that's how I approached it.
The Eagles secured their lone Super Bowl victory in the 2017 season, and Nick Foles, their quarterback in that game against New England, served as the honorary captain.
The Eagles showed players who were at the key game on the big screen and now - two years after they lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl - the franchise is getting a chance to win its second championship.
Barkley led the Eagles as he has all season.
The Commanders started the game with an 18-play drive, which ended in a field goal, momentarily quieting the energetic crowd. That was quickly followed by star player Barkley exciting the audience, which included actor Bradley Cooper, with a thrilling run on the Eagles' first play from scrimmage. Barkley became the ninth running back in the league's history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season, as he took the handoff from Hurts, spun around two defenders and took off for the touchdown.
The Eagles regained possession on the next series and scored when Barkley ran for a 4-yard touchdown, giving them a 14-3 lead and improving his record to 2-0 in carries and touchdowns.
Barkley set an NFL record, becoming the modern era's record holder with his seventh rushing touchdown from 60 yards or longer in a single season during a game on Sunday, including the playoffs.
In lead of the Commanders in a string of six consecutive victories, Daniels made several key plays, including a 36-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin, which narrowed the deficit to 14-12.
"We had a lot of faith in what we would accomplish and how we'd execute our game plan," Commanders coach Dan Quinn said.
Hurts, who was injured last week when he was sacked by the Rams, had an exceptional game while the Eagles played their home games in the postseason. He ended the first half with a powerful 1-yard touchdown run and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brown, giving the Eagles a 27-15 lead at halftime.
Hurts secured a Super Bowl spot with a touchdown run in the fourth quarter - after a comical moment when an official said the Eagles would be given a touchdown if Washington didn't stop jumping offside - and his ninth postseason rushing touchdown gave them a 41-23 lead.
Small handfuls of green confetti began to fall from the upper deck at that moment, and the countdown to the Super Bowl officially started.
The Commanders' final desperate attempt at making a comeback ended abruptly with a Nolan Smith sack on fourth down in the fourth quarter. Will Shipley gave the Eagle's offense a much-needed break with a breeze in the blowout, punching in a 2-yard touchdown run to give his team a 55-23 lead. The "E-A-G-L-E-S! Eagles!" chants started in earnest and will surely echo through New Orleans.
Injuries
Eagles: Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens played through a back injury, while center G Landon Dickerson was hurt and center RB Kenneth Gainwell was checked for a concussion that occurred in the third quarter.
Up next
The Eagles travel to New Orleans on February 9 for a match against the AFC champion.
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