Eagles freeze out Rams, head to NFC title game showdown vs. Commanders

PHILADELPHIA — Through sleet and snow, the Philadelphia Eagles leaned on their defense and forced two fourth-quarter turnovers to outlast the Los Angeles Rams, 28-22, in a back-and-forth NFC divisional-round contest that concluded with a final, decisive stand.

The Rams had a chance to win in the final two minutes, but their drive stalled out when Matthew Stafford was sacked on third-and-2 at the Philadelphia 13-yard line, and the ensuing fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

Things were seemingly swinging the Rams' way late in the third quarter following a safety against Jalen Hurts that left them trailing by one point. But Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter punched the ball out of the cradle of running back Kyren Williams on the ensuing series. Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers recovered and returned the ball to the Rams 10-yard line.

Following a short field goal from Jake Elliott to make it 19-15, Nolan Smith got to Stafford on a third-and-10 for a strip-sack that once again gave the Eagles the ball in plus territory.

Philadelphia will host the NFC championship game for the second time in three years Sunday. Their opponent will be NFC East foe Washington, who upset the top-seeded Detroit Lions on Saturday.

A sleety mixture started a few minutes after the clock struck noon in the City of Brotherly Love but receded before kickoff. By the first quarter, however, the first flurries reappeared. Soon enough, a driving, wet snow hammered Lincoln Financial Field for the remainder of the game.

The wet conditions were evident from the opening kickoff. Rodgers slipped before a Rams player could make contact with him, ending his 22-yard return prematurely.

But for the second straight game, the Eagles started fast. Hurts had plenty of room to run for a 44-yard touchdown, the longest rushing score of his career, on the game’s sixth play. Left tackle Jordan Mailata, pulling to the other side of the field, didn’t even have anyone to block. Hurts had to shake off one fickle attempt at his legs from Neville Gallimore, but that hardly proved much of an impediment. It marked the second straight week with an early touchdown – Elliott’s woes continued with another missed extra point – as Hurts completed his first three passes before finding the end zone.

Five minutes later, Eagles fans were silenced when Tyler Higbee caught a 4-yard TD that Stafford fit into a small window at the goal line. The extra point gave the Rams a 7-6 advantage.

Barkley, who gashed the Rams for 255 yards on 26 carries during the teams’ regular-season meeting provided an encore with a 62-yard run to the end zone in the first quarter. Right guard Mekhi Becton decleated Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom, and right tackle Lane Johnson did the touchdown celebration point as Barkley crossed midfield.

The running back had words for the pursuant Jared Verse, the Rams rookie defensive lineman who took a shot at Eagles fans midweek and wasn’t shy during pregame warmups either, before he crossed the goal line.

In the fourth quarter, Barkley ignited a snowball fight in the upper-deck of Lincoln Financial Field with another touchdown run – this one from 78 yards out. Barkley finished with 205 rushing yards on 26 rushes.

Barkley now has the most rushing touchdowns of more than 60 yards in a single season (including the postseason) with six.

A deep pass from Stafford to DeMarcus Robinson to end the first quarter should have been picked, but the receiver won the struggle for the slightly underthrown ball against Rodgers, who was in for the injured Mitchell. Los Angeles settled for a field goal from Josh Karty after a holding penalty to make it 13-10.

From there, the scoring slowed down as the snowfall picked up. Rams linebacker Omar Speights forced a fumble by Hurts in the half’s dwindling moments that Kenneth Gainwell fell on. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni called timeout with three seconds left for one more shot at the end zone, but Hurts took another sack.

Verse had two of the Rams’ four first-half sacks. Philadelphia had 171 rushing yards over the first 30 minutes, 116 of which came on three plays (the Hurts touchdown, the Barkley touchdown, and a 10-yard Gainwell rush).

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eagles freeze out Rams, head to NFC title game tilt vs Commanders