PHILADELPHIA, PA (WTKR)- It's been a thrilling playoff ride for the Commanders and now only an NFC East rival separates Washington from its first Super Bowl appearance since the 1991 season.
The Eagles punched their ticket to face the burgundy and gold in the NFC Championship game with a 28-22 win over the Rams in Sunday's NFC Divisional playoff. Washington and Philadelphia will meet for the third time this season, after splitting their regular season meetings.
Watch: Dyami Brown postgame interview with Marc Davis
Nick Sirianni's team held off a pesky Los Angeles squad, thanks in large part to Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns. The Rams got the ball back late in the game with a chance to push the winning touchdown across, but Philly's defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs. Oscar Smith grad Josh Sweat tallied a tackle for loss in the winning effort.
The Eagles got the best of the Commanders in the City of Brotherly Love back on November 14, 26-18. Barkley was the biggest factor, rushing for 146 yards and two touchdowns to fuel the Philadelphia win. Washington returned the favor on December 22, overcoming a 21-7 deficit to come back and nip the Eagles, 36-33. Jayden Daniels connected on a touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder with six seconds left to account for the winning score.
The Commanders pulled off the upset of the Lions Saturday night, the NFC's top team, 45-31. Daniels threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns, while Brian Robinson found the endzone twice on the ground and picked up 77 rushing yards. Dyami Brown led the receivers with 98 yards on six receptions, while Terry McLaurin scored a receiving touchdown on a 58-yard catch-and-run and picked up 87 yards through the air.
Watch: Clelin Ferrell postgame interview with Marc Davis
Philadelphia ranked eight in the NFL during the regular season in total offense, racking up 367.2 yards per game and seventh in the league scoring 27.2 points per game. The Eagle defense was a brick wall, allowing just 278.4 yards and 17.8 points per contest, good enough for first and second in the NFL, respectively. That defense picked off Daniels three times in the two games against the Commanders during the regular season.
As of Sunday evening, the Commanders were the only team to win on the road in the playoff so far this season, accomplishing that feat twice, at Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round and Saturday at Detroit.
The Commanders and Eagles will kick off Sunday at 3:00 PM at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field. News 3 will have coverage of Washington throughout the week leading up to Sunday's NFC Championships showdown.
