Bleeding Green Nation
Opposing player to stop, NFC Championship Game edition.
The last time the Eagles saw Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, he torched the NFL’s No. 1 defense for 258 yards passing and five touchdowns, completing 24 of 39 passes in Washington’s walk-off 36-33 victory at Northwest Stadium in Week 16 on Nov. 22. Jalen Hurts was injured early in that game, but Hurts was not playing defense when Washington came back from 14-0 and 21-7 deficits to score 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Hurts was not on the field when Daniels hit Olamide Zaccheaus and Jamison Crowder for two touchdowns each, when they had entered the game without catching a TD pass all season. It was Eagles’ starters Zack Baun and Reed Blankenship that lost Crowder in the back of the end zone for the game-winning score with six seconds left.
On Sunday in the NFC Championship at 3 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field, the Commanders will be without starting right guard Sam Cosmi, who tore his ACL in the Commanders’ divisional round victory over Detroit last week, leaving open the possibility of Commanders’ coach Dan Quinn doing some offensive line shuffling, possibly moving down right tackle Andrew Wylie to right guard, and moving back-up left tackle Cornelius Lucas in at right guard. The other option is to go with Trent Scott, who played well in place of Cosmi against Detroit over 45 snaps.
Whoever Quinn puts there will have to contend with Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who made the play of the game in the Eagles’ divisional round victory over the Los Angeles Rams with a nine-yard sack on third-and-two at the Eagles’ 13 with less than a minute to play. The following play Matt Stafford overthrew Puka Nacua after being pressured by Carter up the middle, guaranteeing an NFC Championship for the Eagles. Earlier in the game, it was Carter who punched the ball free from Kyren Williams on a second-and-two at the Rams’ 43 for the first turnover of the game on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Want a good way to stop the streaking Daniels, who has a passer rating of 93.0 with 449 yards, with six touchdowns and three interceptions in his two games against the Eagles, have Carter in his face all day.
“He’s grown,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said about Carter this week. “You play as much as he plays and he gets practice, he’s growing, you know. He’s a second-year player. He’s getting a lot of playing time. He should improve.”
And as for Daniels, who has guided an offense that has produced 68 points in two playoff games, while completing 46 of 66 passes for 567 yards and four touchdowns against no interceptions, averaging 8.6 yards a pass, Fangio has high praise. In comparison, Jalen Hurts is 2-0 in the playoffs, producing an offense that has scored 40 points, completing 28 of 41 passes for 259 yards and an average of 6.3 yards a completion.
“[Daniels]...
