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PHILADELPHIA — Just one touch.
That’s all it took for Saquon Barkley to break free for a sensational first-quarter touchdown run that put the Philadelphia Eagles ahead in the NFC championship game.
One more touch.
That’s all it took for Barkley to increase the lead with another touchdown.
Barkley’s first two early scoring plays Sunday helped the Eagles build an advantage that held up in a 55-23 victory over the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. The 55 points are the most scored in a conference championship game since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger.
In high school track, Saquon Barkley witnessed a girl win a race that had to be rerun. She was disqualified in the rerun, leading Barkley to give his medal to her.
The Eagles advanced to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, where they will play the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, who defeated the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in the AFC championship.
“It was fun to be out there to see the confetti and the things you envision,” Barkley said of the postgame celebration on the field. “The most special thing about it was being out there with my family. ... I know I’ve never been there, but I’ve been there so many times in my head so it’s kind of expected.”
Barkley rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns, quarterback Jalen Hurts rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another and the Eagles forced four turnovers to earn their second Super Bowl berth in three seasons, and their third in the last eight.
“We’re a team,” fourth-year coach Nick Sirianni said. “We’re a freakin’ team, and I’m proud of this team.”
Two years ago, the Eagles fell short in Super Bowl LVII when Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes led his team to a last-second victory in Arizona, the first of two consecutive titles for the Chiefs.
After losing in the wild-card round last season, this Eagles team was built for a Super Bowl run.
Sirianni hired offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
Still, the most notable addition was Barkley, who toiled for the New York Giants for six seasons. He rushed for 2,005 yards during the regular season and did not slow down in playoff victories over the Green Bay Packers and the Rams. The week before Sunday’s victory, Barkley rushed for 205 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 62 and 78 yards against the Rams.
Right tackle Lane Johnson said Barkley’s prowess reminded him of when he played the Madden video game.
“I just tossed to Barry Sanders,” he said, “and a lot of good stuff would happen.”
On Sunday, with movie stars Bradley Cooper and Kevin Hart among others in attendance, the Eagles trailed 3-0 when Barkley took a handoff from Hurts on the Eagles’ first play and ran off the left side for what looked like a long gain that would end at the sideline. Instead, Barkley spun out of two tackles and cut back across the field to the end zone for a 60-yard touchdown.
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“You kind of get the feeling that we were going to get a good chunk play out of it,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said. “But man when you have [No.] 26 running behind you, you never know — that could be a house call and that was special.”
Commanders receiver Dyami Brown then lost a fumble. The Eagles drove 44 yards in five plays without giving the ball to Barkley, but on the sixth he ran four yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead.
The Commanders pulled within 14-12 midway through the second quarter but ultimately could not overcome their mistakes.
The loss ended a magical season for a franchise that after years of chaos under former owner Daniel Snyder thrived under new ownership, a new general manager and coach and, most notably, a star rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels.
Daniels, the former San Bernardino Cajon High star who played at Arizona State and Louisiana State, had led the Commanders to playoff victories over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the top-seeded Detroit Lions. The Heisman Trophy winner was aiming to become the first rookie quarterback to start a Super Bowl and lead the Commanders to their first Super Bowl title since the 1991-92 season.
Daniels asserted himself Sunday, completing 29 of 48 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown, with an interception. He rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown.
“It’s just another game for me,” Daniels said of his poised approach. “That’s how I treated it. That’s how I treat every game. You have to go out there and earn it. You have to prove it. And even though tonight, we didn’t earn it.”
Daniels could not overcome his team’s three lost fumbles and the interception, all of which led to Eagles touchdowns.
The Eagles led 27-15 at halftime on Barkley’s first two touchdown runs, a touchdown sneak by Hurts, and a touchdown catch by receiver A.J. Brown.
Midway through the third quarter, Hurts increased the lead with a nine-yard touchdown run, before Daniels answered with a 10-yard scoring run and a two-point conversion pass to pull the Commanders within 34-23.
Jared Verse had said he hated Eagles fans before an NFC divisional playoff game, but the Philly faithful said they still respect what the Rams’ linebacker did.
The Commanders were driving again late in the third quarter, but Austin Ekeler fumbled after catching a pass. The Eagles converted it into another Hurts touchdown sneak and 41-23 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Barkley continued the rout with a short touchdown run with about eight minutes left.
“I never saw him this happy,” Barkley’s father Alibay said outside the locker room. “The first time I saw him this happy was when he first got introduced to football when he was a young kid.”
Barkley’s mother, Tonya Johnson, noted the date of her son’s achievement Sunday and the date of the Super Bowl.
“It’s a good day,” she said. “It’s the 26th, his number is 26 and his birthday is Feb. 9 and it’s the Super Bowl. Oh yeah, we’re good.”
Hurts completed 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards on a day he said the Eagles “let me out of my straitjacket a little bit.”
Hurts reiterated that he did not care about individual stats.
“The standard is to win,” he said. “That’s my standard.”
Two years ago in the Super Bowl, Hurts rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another in a losing effort.
Now he gets another chance on the sport’s biggest stage.
This time he will have Barkley by his side.
“I’ve always known who I am,” Barkley said, “always known the type of player I would become. ... No timing’s better than God’s timing, so just continue to hold on to that, take advantage of that and use these couple days to take it all in and then switch the gear.”
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