Two games with two very different outcomes, and now the Eagles host the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, hoping the third meeting provides the key for entrance to Super Bowl LIX.
In a span of five weeks in the regular season, the Eagles played their NFC East rival, a Washington team that has exceeded all preseason expectations. Riding the talent and leadership and playmaking ability of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the Commanders enter Lincoln Financial Field having won two games in the NFC postseason – a thriller won on a last-play field goal in Tampa against the Buccaneers and a back-and-forth offensive explosion on Saturday at Detroit against the top-seeded Lions.
Washington is a team that has high-scoring capabilities on offense and a physical, take-the-ball-away defense. What have the Eagles learned about the Commanders in two games? Let’s take a look back at the meetings and review …
Week 11, November 14, Lincoln Financial Field
In this Thursday night game, the Eagles played against a banged-up Jayden Daniels, who had taken some shots to the ribs in earlier weeks and who clearly had lost some of his steam. He had, in the games since being injured (October 6 against Carolina) not been the same player. His numbers dropped. The offense struggled. Washington fell behind the Eagles in the NFC East.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that this game was decided. Washington led, 7-3, at the half as the Eagles failed to mount consistency on offense and Jake Elliott missed a pair of field goals. The Commanders had the lead despite gaining just 124 total yards and converting 1-of-6 third-down opportunities.
Things changed in the second half, but not before Washington took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and drove 42 yards on eight plays, upping the lead to 10-3 on a Zane Gonzalez 45-yard field goal. The Eagles got it going offensively, driving 74 yards on its first possession of the second half before the drive stalled in the red zone. Elliott kicked a 31-yard field goal to make it 10-6.
Philadelphia’s defense held and then the Eagles drove 76 yards late in the third quarter and into the fourth, ending with a Jalen Hurts Brotherly Shove touchdown plunge as the Eagles jumped into the lead.
The game changed on the next possession. Philadelphia’s defense made the play of the game, as Washington went for it on fourth-and-2 at the…
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