The Washington Commanders will face the Philadelphia Eagles in what will be their first conference final in 34 years, following the 1991 NFL season in which they won the Super Bowl. In this case, concentration will be a key to face the team of Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley.
The Commanders pulled off an upset in the divisional round, beating the best team in the NFC, the Detroit Lions, 45-31. Rookie Jayden Daniels is the star quarterback for Washington, who will also need their defensive players to stop the Eagles from unleashing their full power at home.
In that sense, stopping running back Barkley has to be a priority for the Commanders if they want to make another run at the Super Bowl. Linebacker Bobby Wagner talked about what Washington’s defense needs to do against the MVP candidate.
Wagner’s warning about defending Barkley
“You just try to contain him. This is gonna be a game of discipline. The last game (against the Los Angeles Rams), they did a pretty decent job for the most part but he’s waiting for that one person to pop out of the gap. To be disciplined the whole time, the whole game. That’s going to be our challenge. He’s waiting for that one person to be undisciplined,” Wagner said about the challenge of defending the Eagles, especially Barkley.
“He has the ability and the talent to break a run at any given point, and we need to make sure that don’t happen,” sentenced Wagner. Saquon Barkley had an outstanding performance in the divisional game against the Los Angeles Rams. He rushed 26 times for 205 yards and two touchdowns, with runs of 62 and 78 yards.
Commanders close to historic achievement
It is clear that beating the Eagles in Philadelphia is no easy task. However, the Commanders are dreaming big. If they win, Washington can become the third No. 6 team to beat the top three seeds and reach the Super Bowl. Quarterback Daniels’ team would share that distinction with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2005) and Green Bay Packers (2010).