Eagles Punch Super Bowl Ticket For Second Time In Three Years

The facts tell us the Philadelphia Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years because, well, they just won the NFC Championship Game against the Washington Commanders and they'll be in New Orleans in a week to play on the NFL's biggest stage.

But this ain't the same Eagles as the 2023 squad that lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.

This is a humbled, rebuilt, restructured, and much more experienced crew.

This Eagles squad and coaching staff that just punched its ticket to Super Bowl LIX is really an odd bunch of castoffs that turned survival into success.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 26: Head coach Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts while playing against the Washington Commanders during the second quarter in the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 26, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The Castoffs Head To New Orleans

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley? The New York Giants opted not to re-sign him in the offseason.

"Giant mistake by letting him go," FOX game analyst Tom Brady quipped.

Barkley rushed for 118 yards on only 15 runs and scored three touchdowns this game. 

Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore? He was fired last offseason by the Chargers when they moved on to Jim Harbaugh.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio? He was miserable in Miami in 2023 and saw the opportunity to escape a group of players who didn't really believe in him all the time.

And, of course, they're all playing and coaching for head coach Nick Sirianni, who had to engineer a major staff reset after last season basically to save his own job.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 26: Saquon Barkley #26 of the Philadelphia Eagles scores a 4 yard touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the first quarter in the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 26, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Eagles Overwhelm Commanders

And now?  

Eagles 55.

Commanders 23.

And how did this happen?

The Eagles scored seven rushing touchdowns this game. Seven!

In a league fascinated with, and indeed engineering the success of the passing game, the Eagles scored on runs of 60, 4, 1, 9, 1, 4, and 2 yards in totaling 229 rushing yards.

Barkley had those three rushing touchdowns but he set the tone for this game by scoring on a 60-yard run  on the first play offensive play of the game for the Eagles.

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Commanders Will Have To Wait 

It was a total domination because the Eagles also forced three turnovers against Washington. So they didn't just produce but created opportunities.

The Commanders are something of an upstart team. Their story for 2024 ends here but there should be more to chronicle with this team because this was supposed to merely be the first chapter.

You'll recall they got to this game improbably. By shocking folks, including the Detroit Lions last week in a divisional game.

They are a team with a new owner, a new coach, a new general manager and a new roster led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. So they are a still incomplete product that overachieved this season.

The Commanders themselves knew this before the game.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 26: Head coach Dan Quinn of the Washington Commanders looks on as they play the Philadelphia Eagles during the third quarter in the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 26, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Dan Quinn Gambled To Compete

Coach Dan Quinn realized he needed to do unorthodox things to tilt the game to his team's benefit. That's why he went for it on fourth down twice on the first possession. And why he called a fake punt pass by Tress Way that led to a 23-yard completion.

And it was the reason Quinn chased points when he didn't need to, going for two-point conversions multiple times, including early in the second quarter.

Some of the gambles worked. None could overcome the obvious advantage in experience and sheer talent the Eagles held.

Even with Daniels throwing a touchdown pass and running for another, it was just too much for the Commanders.

Daniels, an offensive rookie of the year shoe-in, will have to look to another day. Kind of the way the Eagles had to do the last couple of years.