Dawgs By Nature
Can the rookie Jayden Daniels guide his team to a Super Bowl?
The NFC Championship today features a rubber match between the Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles. The game begins at 3:00 pm ET and will air on FOX, with Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhardt calling the action. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Eagles are 6.5 point favorites over the Commanders.
It’s a battle in the NFC East to decide who represents the conference in this year’s Super Bowl. What happened in the first two match-ups? Back on November 14, the Eagles won on the road by a score of 26-18. Washington was held to 264 yards of offense, and the final score was slightly inflated by the Commanders getting 8 points with 28 seconds left in the game. Saquon Barkley ran 26 times for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Kenneth Gainwell added 4 carries for 43 yards. Jalen Hurts also ran 10 times for 39 yards and 1 touchdown.
In the re-match on December 22, Hurts suffered an early injury, which forced Kenny Pickett into action. The Commanders came out on top 36-33, with a much stronger performance by Daniels. He threw for 5 touchdowns (and 2 interceptions) and also ran 9 times for 81 yards. The Eagles’ ground game remained strong, though. Barkley had 29 carries for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Hurts (before the injury) had 3 rushes for 41 yards.
The Commanders are a team I love to watch, and yet I picked against them the past two games vs. the Buccaneers and Lions. It’s not because I was against Washington; I just thought the other two teams would edge them out. The other big storyline in this game is the health of Hurts, who sprained his MCL in last week’s victory over the Los Angeles Rams. That allowed Los Angeles to rally and nearly forge a comeback, including when they took him down for a safety. However, Hurts has had time to practice and test his limitations. He’s also expected to wear a brace.
Barkley remains unstoppable, and the Eagles’ defense has been stout in containing Washington on the ground. I’m sticking with the Eagles’ ground game thriving, but Philadelphia needs to find some answer for the calm-and-collected Daniels. Eagles 31, Commanders 23
