Washington visits Philadelphia in NFC East showdown for the conference title

Washington (14-5) at Philadelphia (16-3)

Sunday, 3 p.m. EST, Fox

BetMGM NFL Odds: Eagles by 6

Against the spread: Washington 12-6-1; Philadelphia 12-6-1

Series record: Washington leads 90-85-5, including a win in the longtime NFC East Division rivals’ only previous playoff meeting in January 1991.

Last meeting: Jayden Daniels threw for five touchdown passes as the Commanders beat the Eagles 36-33 on Dec. 22 at Washington to end Philadelphia’s winning streak at 10 games.

Last week: Commanders defeated Detroit 45-31; Eagles beat the Rams 28-22.

Commanders offense: overall (7), rush (3), pass (17), scoring (5)

Commanders defense: overall (13), rush (30), pass (3), scoring (18)

Eagles offense: overall (8), rush (2), pass (29), scoring (7)

Eagles defense: overall (1), rush (10), pass (1), scoring (2)

Turnover differential: Commanders: plus-1; Eagles: plus-11

Eagles players to watch

RB Saquon Barkley. Barkley finished with a club-record 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season, 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984. Philadelphia’s star running back was held out of the team’s meaningless regular-season finale against the Giants as a precaution by coach Nick Sirianni. Barkley ran for 119 yards in his return to the field against the Packers in the opening round of the playoffs before following it up with a franchise playoff record of 205 rushing yards against the Rams on Sunday.

Not PARSE.LY: Saquon Barkley

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AP NFL Award finalists

 

The AP NFL MVP finalists are Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff and Lamar Jackson

 

Commanders player to watch

Daniels. The rookie quarterback lit up the Eagles defense in the previous matchup in late December, accounting for 339 yards between nine carries and 24 completions. The No. 2 overall pick out of LSU passed for 299 yards and two TDs and ran for 51 yards in the win at Detroit on Saturday night.

Key matchup

Washington’s defense against Barkley. The Commanders were 30th in the regular season defending the run, allowing an average of 137.5 yards per game. That doesn’t bode well for stopping Barkley. In the regular season, Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000-plus yards, helping the Eagles average 179.3 yards on the ground, good for second in the league. And he has continued rolling in the playoffs, breaking Steve van Buren’s franchise record for rushing yards in a playoff game by running all over the Rams. The second of Barkley’s two rushing TDs against Los Angeles, a 78-yard scamper through the snow, instantly became one of the highlights of the season and one of the best plays in recent Eagles history.

Key injuries

Commanders: RG Sam Cosmi suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in the second quarter against Detroit and is out for the playoffs. Trent Scott replaced Cosmi for the remainder of the game against the Lions. … Neither DT Daron Payne (knee/finger) nor LB Bobby Wagner (ankle) practiced on Wednesday, though they are expected to play.

Eagles: Hurts limped off the field following Sunday’s win after appearing to injure his left knee late in the game. ... The Eagles held a walkthrough on Wednesday. If it was a full practice, Hurts would have been a limited participant. He said his knee was “progressing” and indicated that he could play on Sunday. … Rookie CB Quinyon Mitchell injured a shoulder against the Rams. He participated in Wednesday’s walkthrough but would have been a limited participant for a regular practice. Mitchell told reporters he expects to play Sunday. … TE Dallas Goedert (ankle) and C Cam Jurgens (back) would have been sidelined on Wednesday had it been a regular practice. … LB Nakobe Dean was lost for the remainder of the playoffs after injuring his left knee in the second quarter against the Packers.

Series notes

Mark Rypien passed for 206 yards and tossed touchdown passes to Gary Clark and Art Monk in the only playoff matchup between the teams, a 20-6 win by Washington in the wild-card round at Philadelphia on Jan. 5, 1991. ... Washington is 5-1 in franchise history in the NFC title game. ... The Eagles are hosting their fifth NFC title game at Lincoln Financial Field since it opened in 2003. They most recently played it at home two years ago when they beat San Francisco.

Stats and stuff

Only five current Commanders were alive the previous time the organization reached the NFC title game 33 years ago: Wagner, LB Nick Bellore, TE Zach Ertz, OL Cornelius Lucas and P Tress Way. … The wild-card win at Tampa Bay was Washington’s first in the playoffs in 19 years. … Washington forced five turnovers against Detroit, including a pair of interceptions by rookie CB Mike Sainristil. S Quan Martin had a 40-yard interception return for a TD. The Commanders also committed zero turnovers against Detroit. … Washington ranked 30th in the regular season in rushing defense and allowed 105 yards and 2 TDs on the ground to Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs last week. … Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler combined to rush for 124 yards and two TDs against the Lions. ... Philadelphia has won 14 of 15 overall and 25 of its past 30 at home, including the playoffs. … Hurts threw for 131 yards and rushed for 36 in the playoff-opening win over Green Bay and passed for 128 yards and ran for 70 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown, against the Rams, who sacked him seven times. ... DT Jalen Carter had a stellar game against the Rams, with a forced fumble, two sacks and five tackles. … WR A.J. Brown had 1,079 receiving yards in the regular season but has made just three catches for 24 yards in Philadelphia’s two playoff wins. … K Jake Elliott missed a pair of extra points against the Rams after missing one against Green Bay the previous week. Elliott also made three field goals against Los Angeles, including two in the fourth quarter. The normally reliable kicker went 28 of 36 in the regular season, missing 6 of 7 from 50-plus yards. … Philadelphia’s defense, led by veteran coordinator Vic Fangio, finished the regular season ranked first overall (278.4 yards per game) and tops in passing defense (174.2 yards per game). It is the seventh time in club history the Eagles have led the league in total defense, also doing it in 1991, 1981, 1953, 1949, 1945 and 1944.

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