Saquon Barkley and Eagles charge to the Super Bowl by steamrolling hapless Commanders in NFC title game
Saquon Barkley and Eagles charge to the Super Bowl by steamrolling hapless Commanders in NFC title game
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If their dominant NFC Championship victory is anything to go by, the Philadelphia Eagles are either an overwhelming juggernaut heading into Super Bowl LIX, or the hapless Washington Commanders simply made them look that way on Sunday. Yes, Nick Sirianni & Co. are returning to the NFL's biggest stage for the second time in three seasons thanks to their emphatic 55-23 win over their division rivals at Lincoln Financial Field.
![[A dejected Jayden Daniels exits the field in Philadelphia after his rookie season came to an end]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/27/00/94544219-14304999-image-a-11_1737939298444.jpg)
But unlike last week's hard-fought 28-22 Divisional Round win over the visiting Los Angeles Rams, the Eagles breezed to an easy victory on Sunday. And all Sirianni had to do was trust the game's premiere back, Saquon Barkley, against one of the NFL's worst run defenses.
![[Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun continued his brilliant season on Sunday]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/27/00/94544209-14304999-image-a-12_1737939333690.jpg)
Philadelphia's biggest star obliged by gaining 118 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 carries, including a 60-yard scoring run on his first touch of the game. And for their part, the Commanders did nearly everything they could to spoil rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels' desperate attempts to engineer a comeback. Three lost fumbles, untimely penalties and Washington's continued problems defending the run were more than enough to doom the upstart Commanders, who clearly have a ways to go before joining the NFL's elite.
![[Head coach Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts after their 55-23 win]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/27/00/94544213-14304999-image-a-13_1737939393636.jpg)
'It was a different kind of season coming in,' All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson said, contrasting the Eagles' 2024 with a disastrous 2023 campaign that ended with losses in six of their final seven games. 'I feel like the expectations were high, but we had a lot of motivation about how the season ended [last year].
![[Jalen Hurts entered the game with a knee issue, but still managed to lead the Eagles to a win]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/27/00/94544215-14304999-image-a-14_1737939406887.jpg)
