Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles will host Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in the NFC championship game.
Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs wait to find out if the Buffalo Bills or Baltimore Ravens are coming to Arrowhead Stadium for the AFC title game.
The Eagles advanced with a 28-22 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. They’ll be home next week because the sixth-seeded Commanders upset the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions 45-31 on Saturday night.
Barkley ran for 205 yards, including touchdown runs of 62 and 78 yards and Philadelphia’s defense held on the final drive with Jalen Carter sacking Matthew Stafford for a 9-yard loss to the 22. Stafford then fired an incomplete pass on fourth-and-11.
The Chiefs (16-2) are in the AFC championship game for the seventh straight season. They’ve gone 4-2 with Mahomes and coach Andy Reid, and have won three Super Bowls, including two in a row. Kansas City is aiming to become the first team in NFL history to three-peat in the Super Bowl era.
It’ll be the third time the NFC East rival Eagles and Commanders meet this season with each team winning at home. The Eagles beat Washington 26-18 in a Thursday night game on Nov. 14. The Commanders rallied for a 36-33 victory on Dec. 22 in a game where Hurts sustained a concussion in the first quarter.
Backup quarterback Kenny Pickett had Philadelphia in position to win that game, but DeVonta Smith dropped a third down pass that would’ve allowed the Eagles to run out the clock. Instead, Jake Elliott kicked a field goal for a 33-28 lead and Daniels led another impressive comeback in the final two minutes, tossing a 9-yard TD pass to Jamison Crowder with 6 seconds remaining.
The Eagles (16-3) are going to the NFC title game for the second time in three years and ninth time in franchise history. They’re 4-4 and won the Super Bowl once.
The Commanders (14-5) are in the conference championship game for the first time in 33 years and seventh time in franchise history. Washington is 5-1 in the NFC title game and has won three Super Bowls. Rookie QBs are 0-5 in conference championship games so Daniels will try to break that streak.
The Chiefs advanced on Saturday with a 23-14 victory over the Houston Texans. Mahomes threw for 177 yards and a touchdown to Travis Kelce, who had seven catches for 117 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching alongside WNBA star Caitlin Clark from a suite.
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