By Zachary McMahon-
The no. 2 Philadelphia Eagles hosted the NFC Divisional round matchup against the no. 4 Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Sunday afternoon in the snow.
Both teams are coming off Wild Card victories at home last week, with the Rams winning against the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings in Glendale, due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area. The Eagles won against Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers 22-10 on Wild Card weekend.
The teams battled it out in the snowstorm that is sweeping through the Northeast on Sunday night, which is reminiscent of the 2013 snow battle between Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles, in which Stafford was quarterbacking for the Rams in this game.
It was a lot of dashing through the snow for the Eagles, as Saquon Barkley had 205 rushing yards, which included rushes of 78 and 62 yards, and Jalen Hurts had a touchdown run of 44 yards, which is the fourth-longest rush by a quarterback in NFL Playoff history. Barkley is the first running back to have at least three touchdown runs of 60+ yards against one team in a single season since Jamal Lewis did it in 2003 against the Cleveland Browns, as he also had touchdown runs of 72 and 70 yards in the Week 12 Sunday Night Football matchup at SoFi Stadium. Barkley had six 60+ rushing yard rushing touchdowns in the season, which is the most in a season.
In total, the Eagles had 285 rushing yards, which was the most in team playoff history, and also they’re the first time to have 285+ rushing yards and three or more rushing touchdowns in the same playoff game since the San Francisco did it in the 2020 NFC Divisional Round against the Green Bay Packers, where Raheem Mostert ran for four touchdowns with 220 rushing yards.
Philadelphia is also the first team to have two or more 40+ rushing yards in the same postseason game since the Rams did it against the Dallas Cowboys in 1986, and the first time it’s happened in the first quarter since the 1963 AFL Championship between the San Diego Chargers and the then-Boston Patriots.
Stafford threw through the snow, as he had 324 passing yards with two passing touchdowns to tight ends Tyler Higbee and Colby Parkinson. Hurts only threw for 124 yards, and got sacked seven times, including one for a safety in the third quarter, which cut the lead to one point for the Eagles.
The Eagles will get to host their fifth NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field since it opened in 2003, and will face the no. 6 seeded Washington Commanders next Sunday as Washington knocked out the no. 1 Detroit Lions on Saturday, in which they will try to get to their second Super Bowl appearance in the last three years.
Sports Insider Daily 