Sunday’s NFC Championship Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field is a rubber match with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
In order to preview this massive NFC East battle, I reached out to our enemies over at Hogs Haven. The awesome Andrew York kindly kindly took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming tilt. Let’s take a look at the answers. [For my answers about the Eagles, stay tuned to HH.]
1) Washington no longer has the longest NFC Championship Game drought in the NFL; that distinct honor now belongs to Dallas (lol Cowboys). I imagine Commanders must feel like they’re on cloud nine. How does it feel for Washington to be here?
Yes, it absolutely feels amazing. This is what we thought might be possible in year 2 or 3 of the rebuild if everything went right. To achieve it in year 1 almost feels unreal. The last time we went to the NFC Championship was for the 1991 season, so there is an entire generation of Washington fans that have never known this much success. And for those who do remember the ‘91 season, it’s awakening fond memories of what it was like to have a consistently fun team that fans could celebrate and be confident in. Under the Dan Snyder years I genuinely debated if I were to have kids, would I share this fandom with them knowing it was much more likely to bring them grief than joy? Now I have two children, my oldest is 3 years old – just old enough to start watching the occasional bits of games with me and get excited when I get excited about a big play. It’s been lots of fun sharing those experiences with her and I can’t wait to share more.
2) Commanders starting right guard Sam Cosmi suffered a season-ending injury in Detroit. To what extent is his absence a concern and how will Washington replace him?
Well it is a concern, especially playing against Jalen Carter this week. Cosmi was one of our better offensive linemen (and one of the only Ron Rivera draft picks still on the team). However, Trent Scott came in and filled in pretty well for him against the Lions. Scott has primarily served as a depth offensive tackle for us previously, so it was curious to see him act as the replacement guard, but I think the coaches haven’t been too happy with our depth IOL and thought Scott could do a better job. Scott played well for 3 quarters against the Lions, but that’s less of a fearsome front than the Eagles, so we’ll see how he does in this game or if they use someone else.
3) What else has changed for the Commanders since they last played the Eagles? What’s different about Washington entering this matchup?
Most of the differences are positive for the Commanders. RB Austin Ekeler has returned from his concussion and provides an explosive element in the running and short-passing game. DT Jonathan Allen has returned from a torn pectoral and seemed to play well against the Lions, generating some pressures and causing 2 QB hits. Although Marshon Lattimore played against the Eagles in our last matchup, he seemed to not be 100% healthy and was taken out of the game after aggravating his hamstring. Last week against the Lions seemed to be the first game where he actually was 100% recovered, allowing no receptions on only a single target.
-4) What’s one thing that makes you feel really good about the Commanders’ chances?
How well we played the Lions, a team that had the highest point differential in the NFL and was the #1 seed in the NFC. It’s not just that we won the game, it’s that we played relatively mistake-free football while capitalizing on the Lions mistakes. I think that’s the formula for winning in the playoffs and one of the lessons from the entire weekend is that the teams with the fewest mistakes won. If we can keep playing that brand of football, I think we have a shot.
5) What’s one thing that really worries you about the Commanders heading into this game?
The Eagles probably have the most overall roster talent of any team in the NFL and most of that roster has been playing together for years, whereas the Commanders have a lot of players that are new to the team and a lot of them are unproven. If I look back at the teams that have beat us (Bucs, Ravens, SteelersEagles, Cowboys), the biggest commonality among those teams is that they have loaded rosters that are mostly homegrown and have played together for years (in the case of the Cowboys it’s primarily true on the defensive side). I think the Commanders are being coached up to a very high level and players are showing tremendous chemistry, but there’s only so much coaching and chemistry that can overcome a big talent and stability differential, so this game will be an uphill battle.
Also, although we beat the Lions, Jahmyr Gibbs gashed us for 105 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs, and 6 receptions for 70 yards. Saquon Barkley is basically a better Jahmyr Gibbs.
6) Who wins this game and why? With the Eagles currently listed as 5.5-point home favorites, what’s your score prediction?
I believe the line opened at 4.5 and has already moved to 6 and 6.5 in some places, so people are betting the Eagles pretty heavily. Objectively, the Eagles should win it something like 27-21 as the Vegas total implies. The Eagles have the more established roster and are used to this kind of postseason success. The Commanders are new to postseason wins, have an unproven roster, a rookie QB, and a “retread” head coach that no other team was willing to hire. The Commanders have been underdogs in every game of the postseason so far and continue to be underdogs here, it’s up to them to prove themselves again.
