Eagles’ Offense Shows Full Potential After Explosive Performance In Conference Title Game
Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
55 points. 55. That’s the record for the most points scored in an NFL conference championship game and the most in a playoff game since 2000. That record now belongs to the Philadelphia Eagles who put up an absolute beatdown against the Washington Commanders to win the NFC Championship and advance to Super Bowl LIX.
While this performance was a great one, before this game the Eagles offense was somehow seen as a concern. In the wild-card round matchup against the Green Bay Packers, a turnover on the opening kickoff set up the Eagles in scoring position right away. After that score, they added a field goal after the defense got a quick stop but the remainder of the first half saw multiple three-and-out drives. The offense was unable to move the ball efficiently failing to build on the great start they had to the game.
They scored another touchdown midway through the third and picked up a few field goals to easily win the game, but everyone made it known that the defense was the real reason that the Eagles were able to pick up the win. Saquon Barkley rushed for 119 yards but Jalen Hurts threw for only 131 yards and two touchdowns, but throughout the game, Hurts made questionable decisions on throws while also missing multiple receivers.
During the fourth quarter of that game A.J. Brown, who only had one reception for 10 yards in the game, was seen reading on the sideline. While Brown said he had done this multiple times throughout the season, people criticized the Eagles for not using Brown more, and that Hurts and Kellen Moore needed to get the passing game going.
That didn’t happen the following week, as Hurts threw for even fewer yards than the previous week, and threw no touchdowns, but Barkley was able to rush for 205 yards and two touchdowns leading the Eagles to a close win over the Rams. While it snowed for the majority of the game, Hurts looked even worse in this game taking six sacks and failing to get a consistent passing game going unlike Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense.
The rushing game has obviously not been a problem for the Eagles this year as Barkley rushed for over 2,000 yards in the regular season and was averaging nearly 150 yards in his first two games of the postseason. However, people knew that the Eagles weren’t going to only be able to run the ball and that Hurts and the offense had to step up quickly if the Eagles had any real chance of being a real contender for the Super Bowl.
After this past Sunday’s performance, it seems as though those doubts about the entire offense seem to have quieted down. The Eagles scored eight touchdowns in the win, seven being rushing touchdowns which tied an NFL playoff record. Barkley and Hurts each rushed for three touchdowns, while Will Shipley rushed for his first career touchdown and Brown grabbed a passing touchdown as well.
The strong suit of the offense, the rushing game, was on full display with Barkley opening up the scoring right with a 60-yard rushing touchdown on the first offensive snap. That set the tone for the entire game. Whenever the Eagles went out on offense they consistently moved the ball using all the tools and weapons they had. Hurts started throwing dots to his receivers and knowing when to find his open targets to keep possessions going.
He also was starting to throw the ball away more instead of taking sacks that killed drives. Because of that, they were able to keep distances manageable other than one drive where Jake Elliott missed a field goal. It was an overall fantastic performance that made them look like the most dominant offense in the league.
The difference that this performance showed versus the previous two, is that when the Eagles are clicking on all cylinders, there’s potentially nobody in the league that can stop them. They have stars all over the place, at running back, on the offensive line, out at receiver, and while sometimes he doesn’t show it, at quarterback as well. They stepped up to the challenge and showed that not only do they have an incredible Super Bowl-caliber defense, but that their offense is on the same, if not higher level as a whole.
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Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
