Commanders emphasize stopping Saquon Barkley ahead of NFC championship between familiar foes
Jayden Daniels, Dan Quinn, and more talked about facing the Eagles for the third time on Sunday.
The Washington Commanders head into enemy territory with a red-hot rookie quarterback on the verge of making history. With a Washington win on Sunday, Jayden Daniels would become the first rookie quarterback to ever appear in a Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, the Eagles are led by Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, and a dominant rushing attack — not to mention the No. 1 defense in the NFL.
As both teams prepare to meet again for the third time this season with a Super Bowl trip on the line, let’s check in on what the Commanders are saying about an NFC East rivalry that could define the future of the division …
‘We know them, they know us’
The Eagles and Commanders split their two previous meetings this season. In their last meeting, Dec. 22 in Landover, Md. — a game that saw Hurts leave early after suffering a concussion — the Commanders ended the Eagles’ 10-game win streak with a come-from-behind 36-33 victory.
Daniels believes the familiarity will lead to an exciting matchup.
“I think you put some different wrinkles into the game plan, and I’m pretty sure they will too,” Daniels told reporters. “But at the end of the day, it’s about execution and fundamentals and that’s a very good team that we’re going to face for a third time again. So, they got a lot of good players, obviously we know them, they know us, so it’s going to be a fun matchup going up against them on Sunday.”
» READ MORE: Jayden Daniels grew up a Donovan McNabb fan and wears No. 5 in the former Eagles’ honor
Although this is their third matchup of the season, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn is looking at Sunday’s game with a fresh perspective.
“The easy narrative would be, they know us, we know them, but it’s different than that,” Quinn said. “To me, this is our first time playing them in the postseason. Game 1, what needs to be different, what could be the same? What do we need to start doing? What do we need to stop doing? Same thing in the second game. And so, as you get into the third matchup with somebody, you want to make sure you have fresh eyes for the first two. ‘Hey, did I miss something?’ And was there something there that I didn’t think we had or did?”
The Commanders went 11-5 this season, making it to the NFC championship game for the first time since they won the Super Bowl in 1991-92, and their rookie quarterback has been a huge part of their success. As both teams continue to thrive in the NFC East, they will continue to meet each other twice a year — and could be the next great rivalry in the East.
“Well, you know, it’s a divisional opponent and the NFC East has such a great tradition of just good football and a style of football and a lot of historic franchises in this division,” Washington’s special teams coordinator Larry Izzo told reporters. “So, it’s cool to be a part of and to experience that. We’re excited to go against a team that we’re familiar with and they’re familiar with us, and so it’s time to just go out and play ball.”
Saquon Barkley has ‘been the emphasis’
In their first meeting on Nov. 14, the Commanders had a chance to beat the Birds, whom they led, 10-6, heading into the fourth quarter. The momentum shifted completely in the fourth quarter, with the Eagles rattling off 20 points behind Saquon Barkley’s two fourth-quarter touchdowns to secure a 26-18 win.
Quinn is aware of the impact Barkley has on the Eagles offense.
“Every single time that I’ve coached against him, he’s been the emphasis, and he’s a remarkable player,” Quinn said. “We have faced some excellent running backs through this season, and for him, another one. It’s the explosive plays that he can create. There are some running backs, it’s four, it’s five, but it’s the long ones with that type of speed and the explosive plays and that’s what’s most difficult.”
Barkley’s success has continued into the postseason, rushing for 205 yards and two touchdowns against the Rams in their divisional-round matchup, including a 78-yard fourth-quarter burst in the snow. Washington’s defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. says the defense needs to stay disciplined when competing against someone like Barkley.
“You watch when they played the Rams, they brought him up some and then he knocks one, he does against everybody,” Whitt said. “And so, what we have to do is just make sure we’re disciplined up front, we’re ready to flow at the second level. And then the thing that I think he does better than anybody in the league — nobody talks about his home run ability — but he breaks the middle-field safety off. If you don’t take a confident angle, if you take a touchdown angle, he runs past you.”
When asked why Barkley looks rejuvenated in his first season with the Eagles, Whitt responded, “He’s always looked good to me, maybe it’s the offensive line that’s opened up some things, but I couldn’t answer that.”
The Eagles host to the Washington Commanders on Sunday in the NFC championship game. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.