Game ball, three stars, and snap count analysis: NFC Championship Game, Eagles vs. Commanders – PhillyVoice.com
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January 27, 2025
The Eagles’ Bulldogs came to play in the NFC Championship Game.
In their NFC Championship Game win over the Washington Commanders, the Philadelphia Eagles played 71 snaps on offense and 79 on defense. Let’s just get right to the snap counts, and some notes.• 66 snaps: Jalen Hurts• 5 snaps: Kenny PickettNotes: Hurts saved one of his best games of the season for the Eagles’ biggest game of the season (to date). He has 0 INTs in the last 9 games, and 1 in the last 15, but he also opened it up a bit against the Commanders, completing a bunch of passes down the field. He only took one sack that I recall in which he had time to throw, and he did a good job escaping the pocket and throwing the ball away when he didn’t like what he saw down the field. Oh, and he had 3 rushing TDs.• 52 snaps: Saquon Barkley• 12 snaps: Kenny Gainwell• 7 snaps: Will Shipley• 1 snap: Khari BlasingameNotes: The Commanders did a decent enough job defending Barkley for most of the game, but not before he galloped for a 60-yard TD on the Eagles’ first offensive play of the game. That play set the tone for what was to be a long day for the Commanders defense.Gainwell left with a concussion, opening the door for Shipley to get some playing time, and he capitalized on his opportunity:You can see how well the Eagles’ offensive staff has prioritized ball security with the way Shipley covered up the ball with two arms near the end of that run. (I think he’d have scored if he hadn’t, but whatever.)Shipley also forced a fumble on a kickoff, which was recovered by Gainwell. It’s not often that two running backs combine for a takeaway.• 63 snaps: A.J. Brown• 59 snaps: DeVonta Smith• 39 snaps: Jahan Dotson• 17 snaps: Johnny Wilson• 8 snaps: Parris CampbellNotes: Brown had a breakout game after being mostly invisible against the Packers and Rams. He had 6 catches for 96 yards, a TD, and one of the most crucial plays of the game, when he beat Marshon Lattimore for a 31-yard reception on a key 4th and 5 play.Brown also got into a fight with Lattimore, who may be looking to fill the fight void left by Mike Evans, who no longer plays in his division.Smith made a great sideline catch in which he was able to keep two feet in bounds.• 58 snaps: Dallas Goedert• 31 snaps: Grant Calcaterra• 7 snaps: E.J. JenkinsNotes: Goedert has been super efficient throughout the playoffs, catching 15 of 18 targets for 188 yards (10.4 yards per target), and a TD.• 77 snaps each: Jordan Mailata, Mekhi Becton, and Tyler Steen• 64 snaps: Lane Johnson• 39 snaps: Landon Dickerson• 27 snaps: Cam Jurgens• 8 snaps: Fred Johnson• 5 snaps: Brett TothNotes: It was reported that Jurgens would not play against the Commanders prior to the team announcing inactives. However, he was active, but not a starter, and his availability was limited to a potential emergency. Dickerson started, but hurt his knee, and Jurgens had to fill in. Jurgens very much looked like a dude with a hurt back after the game:Jurgens and Dickerson will have two weeks to get their bodies right for the Super Bowl.Kudos to Dickerson for his versatility, and to Jurgens for his toughness.• 63 snaps: Nolan Smith• 42 snaps: Jalyx Hunt• 40 snaps: Josh Sweat• 12 snaps: Bryce HuffNotes: Smith collected his 4th sack of the playoffs. He leads the NFL in playoff sacks this year.The Eagles were able to get Sweat some rest at the end of the game.• 65 snaps: Jalen Carter• 41 snaps: Milton Williams• 35 snaps: Moro Ojomo• 13 snaps: Jordan Davis• 4 snaps: Thomas BookerNotes: We had a Jordan Davis sighting last night!That was his first sack since Week 3.Davis is so big and powerful and athletic, and it’s odd that we don’t see more of that 👆.• 75 snaps: Zack Baun• 71 snaps: Oren Burks• 4 snaps each: Jeremiah Trotter and Nicholas MorrowNotes: Baun and Burks each had Peanut Punch forced fumbles. Baun now has 6 forced fumbles on the season.Burks has been surprisingly good in relief of Nakobe Dean. He has 20 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, a sack, and a fumble recovery in the playoffs.• 75 snaps each: Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Reed Blankenship, and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson• 72 snaps: Darius Slay• 11 snaps: Isaiah Rodgers• 5 snaps: Tristin McCollum• 4 snaps each: Sydney Brown, Kelee Ringo, and Avonte MaddoxNotes: Terry McLaurin had a 36-yard catch and run TD, but whenever he was covered by Mitchell, he was on lockdown:Quinyon Mitchell lined up against Terry McLaurin on 36 of his 48 routes (75%), aligning in press coverage on half of those matchups.Mitchell allowed just one reception for 7 yards on 4 targets against McLaurin, including a fourth quarter interception.#WASvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/umbdPA5yNJ✨: CB Quinyon MitchellAlso, maybe it’s time to address the elephant in the room. All season long a lot of people have pointed out that in hockey the top star of the game gets one star. I think that’s dumb. Three stars is more than one, so I give three stars to the top guy.Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoiceLike us on Facebook: PhillyVoice SportsAdd Jimmy’s RSS feed to your feed reader
Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff
jimmy@phillyvoice.com
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