Eagles-Commanders Game Preview: 6 questions and answers with the NFC Championship Game enemy

Opponent perspective on Philadelphia’s gigantic division matchup.

Sunday’s NFC Championship Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field is a rubber match with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

In order to preview this massive NFC East battle, I reached out to our enemies over at Hogs Haven. The awesome Andrew York kindly kindly took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming tilt. Let’s take a look at the answers. [For my answers about the Eagles, stay tuned to HH.]

1) Washington no longer has the longest NFC Championship Game drought in the NFL; that distinct honor now belongs to Dallas (lol Cowboys). I imagine Commanders must feel like they’re on cloud nine. How does it feel for Washington to be here?

Yes, it absolutely feels amazing. This is what we thought might be possible in year 2 or 3 of the rebuild if everything went right. To achieve it in year 1 almost feels unreal. The last time we went to the NFC Championship was for the 1991 season, so there is an entire generation of Washington fans that have never known this much success. And for those who do remember the ‘91 season, it’s awakening fond memories of what it was like to have a consistently fun team that fans could celebrate and be confident in. Under the Dan Snyder years I genuinely debated if I were to have kids, would I share this fandom with them knowing it was much more likely to bring them grief than joy? Now I have two children, my oldest is 3 years old - just old enough to start watching the occasional bits of games with me and get excited when I get excited about a big play. It’s been lots of fun sharing those experiences with her and I can’t wait to share more.

2) Commanders starting right guard Sam Cosmi suffered a season-ending injury in Detroit. To what extent is his absence a concern and how will Washington replace him?

Well it is a concern, especially playing against Jalen Carter this week. Cosmi was one of our better offensive linemen (and one of the only Ron Rivera draft picks still on the team). However, Trent Scott came in and filled in pretty well for him against the Lions. Scott has primarily served as a depth offensive tackle for us previously, so it was curious to see him act as the replacement guard, but I think the coaches haven’t been too happy with our depth IOL and thought Scott could do a better job. Scott played well for 3 quarters against the Lions, but that’s less of a fearsome front than the Eagles, so we’ll see how he does in this game or if they use someone else.

3) What else has changed for the Commanders since they last played the Eagles? What’s different about Washington entering this matchup?

*Most of the differences are positive for the Commanders....