It started with a pitch that split the front and kept going. Saquon Barkley hit the crease, broke one arm tackle, then outran the angle for 60 yards. That first snap told you almost everything about how the night would unfold. By the time the final seconds bled away at Lincoln Financial Field, the scoreboard and the stat sheet said the same thing: the Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles match player stats were a runaway in midnight green, a 55–23 NFC Championship decision that turned red-zone patience and ball security into an avalanche.
Why this box score matters
Searches for Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles match player stats usually zero in on quarterback lines and explosives. This one does, but it is anchored by a ground game that overwhelmed the edges and a defense that cashed every Washington mistake into points. Philadelphia finished with seven rushing touchdowns, a postseason record in the Super Bowl era, and a 7-for-7 clip in the red area, a clean conversion rate that reframed every short field. Washington, electric in spurts behind rookie Jayden Daniels, could not outrun four turnovers and a sequence of special-teams errors that tilted the field and the math.
By the numbers, quickly
Team totals: Philadelphia 459 total yards to Washington’s 350, zero turnovers to four, 28 first downs to 22, and a perfect 7-for-7 in the red zone. Signature lines: Jalen Hurts 20 of 28 for 246 yards with one touchdown through the air and three on the ground; Barkley 15 carries for 118 yards and three scores; A.J. Brown 6 receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. On the other side, Daniels went 29 of 48 for 255 yards with a touchdown and an interception, added 48 rushing yards and a score, and kept Washington in touch until the avalanche of fourth-quarter points ended the argument. Tight end Zach Ertz led Commanders receivers with 11 catches for 104 yards.
Where the game tilted
Short fields. After Washington cut it to 14–12 in the second quarter, a fumbled kickoff set up a short drive that Hurts ended at the goal line. Philadelphia doubled down before halftime when the secondary squeezed a deep shot and returned serve with a crisp, seven-play march capped by a tight-window throw to Brown. This is the actionable part of the Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles match player stats: every Washington mistake was met with a composed four-to-seven play answer that ended in the paint. Philadelphia’s red-zone call sheet kept the seams honest with motion, invited overpursuit with option looks, then won the A gaps with the quarterback’s legs.
The quarterbacking
Hurts did not have to be heroic off platform. He was economical. The ball came out on time, the shot chart favored intermediate crossers and boundary comebacks, and when Washington widened to take away slants, the Eagles leaned into keeper actions that turned second-and-medium into third-and-manageable or better. The three rushing touchdowns tell the story. Each came after a stressor that forced Washington to declare its leverage early, which simplified the read. For a search intent built around Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles match player stats, the lesson is that efficiency under stress is the stat that touches everything else. Daniels’ night was different. He flashed the acceleration that pushed Washington to a 12–5 season and a conference title game. He also pressed throws into bracket looks, and the scramble drill late in the third quarter, while productive, could not erase the hidden yards the Eagles banked with field position.
Skill positions that swung it
Saquon Barkley, patient violence. Fifteen carries, three touchdowns, and a tone-setting home run on the first snap. The yards after contact tell as much as the raw total. The cutback creases were available because Philadelphia widened Washington’s second level with motion and duo looks that threatened both sides of the formation. That forced backside pursuit to hesitate, and Barkley lived in those beats. A.J. Brown punished off-coverage and stayed efficient as a red-zone slant-and-post hammer. Zach Ertz gave Daniels his rhythm outlet, especially when pressure forced quick answers, and his 11 grabs kept Washington on schedule on second downs that could have died.
Trenches and technique
Philadelphia’s front five turned the night into a clinic in posture and footwork. The tackles widened the arc without oversetting, the interior doubled to depth rather than width, and everything synced with backs who trusted the crease. On the other side, Washington’s line had moments of clean pockets early, then wore the cumulative effect of defending short fields. A late goal-line series underlined the stress. Encroachment calls stacked up, and the Eagles stayed poised enough to finish drives with a quarterback sneak and a backside iso. When coaching staff and roster match the situation, the Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles match player stats migrate from exchangeable numbers to fingerprints of control.
Turnover math
Four Washington giveaways became 24 Eagles points, the kind of swing that turns a one-score script into a chase. The interceptions were about timing, but the fumbles were about traffic. Philadelphia’s pursuit closed outside-in, helmet on the ball, and hands on the elbow. Those technical details do not trend, but they decide trophies.
Third down and the hidden battle
The Eagles finished 5 of 10 on third down and perfect in the red zone. That is the whole story in miniature. They kept the call sheet open with second-down wins, avoided negative plays that force low-percentage throws, and arrived on third down with a page of answers. Washington’s 7 of 17 was workable for a half, then the long-yardage asks mounted. By the fourth quarter, Daniels needed chunk gains to match Philadelphia’s clock-friendly touchdowns. He found some, but not enough to dent a margin born of patience.
Context for Washington’s season
Washington came into January carrying the credibility built in December, when the Commanders handed Philadelphia a rare loss and snapped a long win streak. That shows up in the head-to-head ledger and adds texture to any archive of Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles match player stats. It also frames what came next. The Eagles solved their December problems with cleaner edge fits and better second-level landmarks, and they removed the explosive run lanes that fueled Washington’s earlier upset. The Commanders’ return to a conference title game, driven by a rookie quarterback and a veteran tight end, still reads as a step rather than a ceiling. For continued coverage of Washington’s schedule, injuries, and depth chart moves, see our dedicated page on Washington Commanders games.
How the red zone multiplied everything
Seven trips, seven touchdowns. The variance in play design mattered as much as the result: split-flow action that forced linebackers to hesitate, tight splits that hid releases, and an old answer in short yardage that works because everyone knows it is coming and cannot meet it at the snap. You could feel the difference on Washington’s sideline. Each Eagles red-zone snap condensed the field and the time remaining, cutting the chase down to possessions. The longer Washington chased, the more the risk tolerance crept up, and the more the ball found traffic.
Receiving hierarchies
Brown’s timing with Hurts set the middle-of-field temperature. His six catches almost all carried leverage, in-breaking against off coverage or settling in open seams against two-high shells. DeVonta Smith occupied safety eyes and pulled help. For Washington, Ertz’s volume held the structure together, while Terry McLaurin’s touchdown validated the shot call that kept the game within reach late in the second quarter. The needle never moved away from the ground though. That is the editorial line inside the Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles match player stats: the numbers through the air told you where the safeties were looking; the numbers on the ground told you who controlled the night.
Comparing ceilings across the league
If you are tracking how stat lines translate across styles, put this file next to Detroit’s precision clinic where Jared Goff posted a perfect completion mark, and Seattle still generated big numbers in defeat. That piece on Seahawks vs Detroit Lions match player stats illustrates the same math in a different frame: quarterback efficiency bends everything. Philadelphia found it without chasing explosives, which is why the fourth quarter felt inevitable.
One last lens for Washington
Do not flatten their season into one night. Daniels’ growth under pressure, Ertz’s reliability, and the defensive front’s early violence point to a team that will not be a one-season sports story. The playoff path that included a high-wire act and a comeback underlined a workable template. For readers mapping Washington’s larger statistical arc, our archive on the Washington Commanders vs Detroit Lions match player stats is a useful contrast case. The pattern holds: when Washington protects the ball and compresses the red zone, they look like a January team. When they do not, games get short and cold fast.
What it means, right now
Titles usually compress to a few boring truths. Win the turnover battle, manage third down, finish in the red zone. Philadelphia did all three with a calm that never felt like a risk. They moved the defense with formation and motion, they accepted the five-yard answers, then they trusted a line that won the night. The Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles match player stats read like confirmation rather than revelation. It is what happens when a roster’s strengths meet a plan that does not ask it to be anything else.
Where Philadelphia goes next
Conference titles do not guarantee parades, but they do reveal identities. Philadelphia’s identity is violent on the ground, patient inside the 20, and composed when a mistake dangles momentum. Stack that on a top-five defensive line and a star receiver operating at a ruthless efficiency rate, and you have a profile that scales to February. If you are tracking league form every week, our NFL week 4 rankings file connects how this style holds up against other contenders.
The last word
The stat sheet became the story because the process never blinked. The Eagles ran to contact, trusted their quarterback in the tightest windows on the field, and refused to give away possessions. The Commanders landed clean shots, then lost the exchanges that decide everything. If you came for the Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles match player stats, you leave with an uncomplicated conclusion: efficiency and ball security turn a playoff game into a schedule. Philadelphia kept to the schedule, which is why the night felt inevitable long before the confetti.
