The Birds will fly on the biggest stage in sports for the second time in three years. The best moments from a classic Philly night:
Posted Mon, Jan 27, 2025 at 12:54 pm ET
PHILADELPHIA, PA — As the Eagles put on a masterclass on Sunday afternoon in South Philadelphia, obliterating arguably the hottest team in the NFL over the past month, it was easy to overlook the long road they've been traveling to New Orleans and Super Bowl 59.
Two years ago they came a few feet and few friendlier calls away from dethroning the heavily favored Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 57. But by this time last year, they'd watched early season dominance fizzle and fade into nothingness, and a suddenly toothless offense was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
Fans, analysts, and the rest of the league doubted, but the Birds didn't: they ran it back with the same core, and added to it a handful of stars that have formed perhaps the greatest Eagles team of all time.
Of course they have one last big test to go before they can claim rights to that mantle: a rematch with Kansas City in two weeks. But the fruits of the past year's suffering and labor were bore out on Sunday for the world to see. Here are five of the best moments, scenes, stats, and plays from the big win:
Saquon on the first play of the game
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Washington ate up about half of the first quarter with a stellar, calculated drive that resulted in a field goal. It was impressive work from Jayden Daniels and crew, and it showed early that the Commanders were no fluke.
Then, on the opening play of the Eagles drive, Jalen Hurts pitched the ball back to Saquon Barkley, who is the single most potent weapon on the gridiron in the world right now. And while Washington actually kept things close until the fourth quarter, the game, from that point on, was basically over. The Commanders never had real control again.
Barkely burst through the first row of defenders to get fifteen or so yards and then executed an absurd spin move to throw off two more Commanders simultaneously. He was then reasonably free to outsprint the baffled secondary all the way to the end zone.
One play. Sixty yards for Barkley. The Linc shaking. 7-3 Eagles.
Roll of the dice at first half's close
Another decisive moment came late in the first half, with just over two minutes left and the Birds leading a close contest, 20-12.
The Eagles had the ball on Washington's 45 yard line, and were in an awkward position. It was 4th down, but they needed five yards for a first. Going for it and not getting it would have given Washington excellent field position with plenty of time on the clock.
Punting it away would've been the conservative, safe move, but the best case scenario would've been an 8 point lead at the half.
Instead, Nick Sirianni decided to go for it, with characteristic immoderation. Hurts fired it 30 yards downfield to AJ Brown, who caught it on the 15 yard line.
Not only did the Eagles wind up scoring, giving them a 27-15 lead at halftime, but it was perhaps the defining play of what some saw as a statement game from Hurts. The architect of the Birds offense was firing on all cylinders on Sunday, and complimenting a fully healthy and well-throwing Hurts with Barkley is more than any defense can handle in the NFL.
An epic fourth quarter makes NFL history
Going into the fourth quarter, the Eagles were clearly in charge, but the game was actually much closer than it seemed: the Birds held an 11 point, 34-23 lead.
Had things ended like that, it would've been loosely in line with what many predicted headed into the game: a hard fought game from the Commanders, and a flawed but still superior Eagles team sneaking by them.
Instead, the Eagles went insane, racking up three touchdowns in the final three minutes of the game. The 55 points scored by the Birds is the most ever in the history of the NFC Championship.
When all was said and done, the stat lines were a bit cartoonish: Hurts and Barkley rushed for three touchdowns each, while Hurts connected on 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards. Barkley ran for 118 yards on 15 carries. Will Shipley ran for 77 yards.
Characteristic chaos
Eyes of fanatics in the stands and the streets started to glaze over like Gritty as the fourth quarter progressed.
When the game ended, the stadium exploded in confetti and roars. Hurts, Sirianni, Barkley, and others took turns holding the conference championship trophy with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, for the more decorous part of the festivities.
Out on Broad Street and Oregon Avenue — and all over the city — Bird gangs took to the pavement. One group of fans held up the Washington team bus as it tried to escape city limits. Elsewhere, Commanders fans who had perhaps prematurely celebrated by making brief incursions into the city on Saturday, including a "takeover" of the Hard Rock Cafe, attempted to make hasty exits.
"It never ends well"
Someone, somewhere, decided to dress up the Rocky statute at the foot of the Art Museum steps in Washington gold and maroon. Maybe it was Josh Harris. It's sort of a cultural vandalism, like an opposing army raising a flag on home soil, another city draping its colors over a Philadelphia symbol.
Historically, this is a low percentage move.
As the Eagles own social media accounts pointed out, it's been attempted before, and "it never ends well."
In fact, it's been attempted before all three of the NFC Championship games the Birds have been in over the past eight years.
Minnesota Vikings fans covered it in 2018, and the Eagles won in dramatic fashion, 38-7.
San Francisco 49ers fans did the same in 2023. The Birds won, 31-7.
Washington fans did it a few days ago, and they actually made out a bit better. The Birds only won 55-23.
The combined score of the Eagles three recent NFC Championship games: 124-37.