Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles have earned a spot in Super Bowl LIX after defeating Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders 55-23 in the NFC Championship Game.
Daniels and the Commanders were the Cinderella story of this postseason. In the wild-card round, they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 thanks to a Zane Gonzalez walk-off field goal that doinked in.
In the Divisional Round, Washington had a tough task as they traveled to Detroit to face the No. 1 seed Lions. But Daniels and the offense could do whatever they wanted, ending the game with a 45-31 win.
Still, Barkley and the Eagles' rushing attack proved to be too much for the Commanders, ending their season just short of a Super Bowl appearance.
After the game, both Daniels and Barkley linked up for a postgame handshake. On Wednesday, the NFL released a video of Daniels' mic'd up in the conference championship, revealing Barkley's message to the rookie.
"Keep going," Barkley said before the rest of his message was bleeped out.
Daniels went on to greet Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who also had a message for the former Heisman winner out of LSU.
"You one of the baddest (expletive) in the league," Smith added. "
Daniels finished the NFC championship completing 29-of-48 passes for 255 yards, one touchdown and one interception while adding 48 yards and another score on the ground. But it was Barkley who proved to be the best player in the game, tallying 15 carries for 118 yards and three touchdowns.
Daniels has become the clear favorite to win the 2024 NFL Rookie of the Year award. He led the Commanders to a 12-5 record during the regular season, their most wins since 1991. He threw for 3,568 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions while adding 891 rushing yards and six rushing scores.
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 29, 2025SUPERSTAR: EVERY JAYDEN DANIELS TOUCHDOWN FROM HIS HISTORIC ROOKIE SEASON.
• Most TDs by a rookie ever
• Led to their first playoff win in almost 20 years & first conference championship game in 30 years
• 4,390 pass yards
• 1,026 rush yards
LEGEND pic.twitter.com/KQnR4No0aV
Barkley and the Eagles will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, a rematch of the championship game from two seasons ago.
