The NFC Championship Game is set.
After the Philadelphia Eagles‘ 28-22 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, next week’s conference title game will officially be played at Lincoln Financial Field with the Washington Commanders visiting.
Sunday’s snowy contest was tightly-contested from start to finish, with the Eagles holding on to a six-point win after stopping the Rams on fourth down in the final minute.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
That’s it. That’s the takeaway.
As if his 2,000 rushing yards in the regular season wasn’t enough, Barkley continued his rampage — pun intended — against Los Angeles.
In partnership with NBC Sports Philadelphia
The potential Offensive Player of the Year rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-deciding score on a 78-yard burst late in the fourth quarter. That was after he had 255 yards and two touchdowns against the Rams in Week 12. All four of his touchdowns against Los Angeles this season were at least 60-yard rushes.
Barkley, who haunts New York Giants fans every week after leaving in free agency, has completely transformed the Eagles’ offense. They were already a dynamic unit on the ground with how strong their offensive line is, but Barkley unlocked another level.
Vic Fangio’s unit absolutely wrecked this game.
After a shaky start, the Eagles finished with five sacks, six QB hits, 10 tackles for loss and two fumbles recovered. Jalen Carter’s sack on the Rams’ final drive — his second of the day — put the Eagles in position to clinch the win on the following play. Even with star rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell ruled out early due to injury, the secondary held Matthew Stafford to just 26 of 44 completions.
While the snow typically helps defenses, this performance was still noteworthy. The Rams’ offense had been rolling coming into this game, and now they’ll face another strong offense with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
A little break from the actual analysis to talk about how awesome the environment was.
Snow games are always fun to watch from the comfort of your couch. Players slipping and sliding across the field. Coaches bundled up on the sidelines. Fans screaming and shivering in the stands. Sunday’s game had all of the above, plus the added stakes of a home NFC title game on the line.
The weather certainly had an impact on the field, with the Rams fumbling twice as the snow picked up in the second half. Part of what makes football — and specifically player football — so great is what we saw Sunday in Philly.
The Eagles will get all the praise, and rightfully so, but the Rams’ rookies did not shrink on the big stage.
Jared Verse, after calling out Philly fans earlier in the week, had two sacks, two QB hits and three tackles for loss while constantly disrupting Hurts and taunting the crowd. Braden Fiske added a sack before leaving with a knee injury. Omar Speights (one sack), Jaylen McCollough (one sack) and Joshua Karty (2 for 2 on field goals, 2 for 2 on extra points) all made a huge difference for Los Angeles, too.
On the Philly side, third-round rusher Jalyx Hunt had a sack and second-round corner Cooper DeJean had five total tackles. Mitchell, as aforementioned, left with an injury after his standout rookie season. His status for next week will be closely monitored with the Eagles one game away from the Super Bowl.
Only one division is left standing in the NFC: the East.
The No. 6 Commanders punched the first ticket with their upset win over the No. 1 Detroit Lions, as Jayden Daniels continued to make things look easy. The expected Offensive Rookie of the Year is 2-0 in his first playoff run with four touchdowns and no turnovers. After going 4-13 last season and not winning a playoff game in 19 years, the Commanders are seeking their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1991 season.
The Eagles, meanwhile, are no strangers to the NFC title game. Philly has now made it this far twice in the last four seasons, with their Super Bowl loss two years ago still stinging. Hurts and Co. will have the experience edge in this divisional battle, but the teams showed in the regular season that they are relatively even. The Eagles beat the Commanders in Philly on Nov. 14, while the result flipped when the game was played in Maryland on Dec. 22.
