Thanks to Commanders, Eagles will host NFC Championship Game with win over Rams – NBC Sports Philadelphia

On January 19, 2025By Littum

Thanks to the Washington Commanders, the Eagles are one win away from hosting the NFC Championship Game for the third time in eight years.

The Commanders stunned the top-seeded, 15-win Lions at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday night, 45-31, in their conference semifinal, leaving the 2.^n.d-seeded Eagles as the top remaining seed in the NFC.

That means if they beat the Rams on Sunday afternoon in the other NFC semifinal, they will host the Commanders at 3:00 PM next Sunday in the NFC Championship Game at the Linc.

The Eagles beat the Vikings 38-7 in the 2017 NFC title game at the Linc and topped the 49ers 31-7 in the 2022 NFC Championship Game.

They also hosted NFC title games in 1980, 2002, 2003 and 2004, beating Dallas in 1980, losing to the Buccaneers in 2002, losing to the Panthers in 2003 and beating the Falcons in 2004.

The Eagles and Commanders split two games this year, the Eagles won 26-18 at the Linc in November and Washington won 36-33 in Landover, Md., in December in a game Jalen Hurts was knocked out after 12 snaps.

The Commanders have now won seven straight games since a loss to the Cowboys in Week 12, their third straight loss.

Washington’s 45 points are the most against the Lions in a playoff game since the Eagles beat them 58-37 in a 1995 wild-card game at the Vet.

Rookie Jayden Daniels, who threw five touchdowns against the Eagles in Washington’s win last month, is 46-for-66 for 567 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 116.2 passer rating in the Commanders’ two postseason wins, on the road at Tampa and Detroit.

The Eagles enter their game against the Rams Sunday having won 13 of their last 14 games, including 13 straight that Jalen Hurts has started and finished. They have won eight home games in a row.

If the Eagles lose Sunday, the Rams would host the Commanders, even though Washington won more games during the regular season. Since the 10-win Rams won the NFC West and the 12-win Commanders were second to the Eagles in the NFC East, the Rams are the higher seed.

The Commanders have not played in an NFC Championship game since 1991, when they went on to beat the Bills in Super Bowl XXVI in Minneapolis. Only five teams have reached a Super Bowl by winning three straight road games: The 1985 Patriots, 2005 Steelers, 2007 Giants, 2010 Packers and 2020 Buccaneers.