Jayden Daniels and the underdog Washington Commanders are one win away from the Super Bowl with a familiar roadblock standing in the way.
The NFC East division rivals meet in Philadelphia on Sunday (January 26) to decide the NFC in the third meeting between the teams since the Eagles posted a 26-18 win on Nov. 14 with a 20-point fourth quarter. The Commanders have two road playoff wins in the same postseason for the first time in history, including a 45-31 dismantling of the Lions at Detroit last week.
Washington pulled the upset of the Eagles five weeks after their first meeting. The Commanders claimed the 36-33 nailbiter after Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts left with a concussion five minutes into the game.
Kenny Pickett replaced Hurts on the fifth play of the second offensive possession and gave the Eagles a 14-0 lead on a 4-yard toss to A.J. Brown as part of Philadelphia's 21-point opening quarter at Washington. The Commanders shifted into rally mode to hand Philadelphia its only loss since September.
Daniels and the top-down regime change in Washington has changed the fortunes of the franchise, now sitting on a 10-win improvement over their 4-13 record in 2023. The No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft was 6 years old when the franchise last won a playoff game (at Tampa Bay in January 2006) before the current postseason. They're appearing in a conference championship game for the first time since 1991 and sixth overall (5-1).
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Quinn again puts trust in a player he calls "a rare dude" as the No. 6 seed in the NFC attempts to storm all the way to New Orleans with a third upset in these playoffs. Daniels can become the first rookie quarterback to win three postseason games and surpass Ben Roethlisberger (14 wins, 2004 Steelers) to claim the record for wins in a season, including playoffs.
The Eagles intercepted Daniels three times in two games in the regular season.
Washington was forced to make a change at right guard after Sam Cosmi left the win at Detroit with a torn ACL and Trent Scott, a 30-year-old on his fifth NFL team, will get the start against All-Pro defensive tackle Jalen Carter on Sunday. Carter had two sacks, five QB pressures, forced a fumble and batted a pass in a game-altering performance against the Rams last week.
The recipe for winning two road games to open the playoffs has been simple for Washington. They have zero turnovers, six takeaways and outscored Tampa Bay and No. 1 seed Detroit by a combined 17 points with eight touchdowns in two games. The Commanders lead all teams in the playoffs, averaging 34 points, and are hogging the ball with a playoff-leading 142 offensive plays.
Philadelphia is hosting three playoff rounds for the first time in team history. The Eagles own a 4-4 record in conference championships since 1970 and won the NFC title game in 2017 and 2022.
(Production: David Grip)