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Eagles soar to Super Bowl spot! | 02:18
The Philadelphia Eagles have booked their ticket to Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans after demolishing fierce rivals the Washington Commanders 55-23.
Watch the Eagles v Commanders Conference Championship Game live with ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
Aussie Jordan Mailata and the league-leading Eagles offensive line continued their dominant season, setting the table for running back Saquon Barkley and QB Jalen Hurts, who both recorded three rushing touchdowns in the win.
The Eagles will now contest their second Super Bowl in three seasons where they will play the winner of the Buffalo Bills-Kansas City Chiefs AFC Championship game. It was the Chiefs who beat the Eagles in Super Bowl 57 two years ago.
It was a scoreline that didn’t reflect the game, as Washington were brave in defeat but ultimately, turnovers killed them.
The Commanders lost three fumbles, with the Eagles turning those into three touchdowns (21 points) and swinging the momentum back in their favour each time.
Despite the heavy loss, the Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels lost no admirers.
Daniels accounted for 303 total yards and two touchdowns.
He led his team on a season-high 18-play drive that resulted in an opening drive field goal.
That would be the only time the Commanders led all game, as Barkley set the tone for what would be a dominant offensive performance with a 60-yard touchdown run with the Eagles’ first offensive play.
It’s Barkley’s seventh such TD of the season of at least 60 yards, breaking Jerry Rice’s previous record of six.
The Eagles went ahead 14-3 when Barkley scored his second on the back of Washington’s first fumble.
After the teams exchanged field goals, Washington scored their second when Daniels found Terry McLaurin for a 36-yard touchdown.
Philadelphia took the wind out of Washington’s sails on their very next drive though, with Eagles scoring from a yard out via their famous ‘tush push’ play.
That’s when tempers started to flare with Eagles star AJ Brown involved in a scuffle with Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Lattimore and Brown got into it during Hurts’ one-yard touchdown run, with Lattimore’s helmet coming off.
When play resumed, the Eagles forced their second fumble on the ensuing kick-off.
That would be a backbreaker for Washington as the Eagles scored again to extend the lead to 27-12.
A late field goal from the Commanders trimmed the margin to 12 at half time.
Any momentum Washington may have got from that field goal was erased when the Eagles crossed the end zone for the fifth time to make it a 34-15 ball game.
Like he’s done all season though during his impressive rookie campaign, Daniels stayed tough and led his team on a touchdown drive, finishing it off with a 10 yard scamper.
The Commanders forced an Eagles three and out and were driving up the field in what was a two-score game, but their third and probably most costly fumble curtailed any comeback plans.
When running back Austin Ekeler spilt it, the Eagles recovered and then made the Commanders pay with another touchdown drive.
Philly would run up the score in the final quarter with two more touchdowns to put the result in doubt, although the 32-point margin wasn’t indicative of Washington’s performance.
Mailata was sensational for Philly, who did have to deal with a banged up offensive line.
One cool moment occurred in the second quarter, when Mailata charged over the top and knocked down a Washington defender in a brutal pancake block.
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