Saquon Barkley leads Philly to NFC Championship game, Eagles beat Rams 28-22

The NFC Championship game returns to Philadelphia.

With snowy conditions increasing throughout the second half, the Eagles were able to take advantage of home court against the Southern California team to win 28-22.

Los Angeles gave the Eagles all they could handle, going down to the Philadelphia 13-yard line on their final drive. But an interception on third-and-2 put the Rams back on fourth-and-11, and Matthew Stafford’s final pass to Puk Nacua was off target and incomplete.

Running back Saquon Barkley continued his stellar year, rushing for 205 yards to lead his club to victory. After rushing for two long touchdowns in the regular season matchup between the two teams, Barkley had a 62-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 78-yarder in the fourth quarter to cap it.

In two games against the Rams this year, Barkley has totaled 460 yards rushing and 534 yards from scrimmage.

The Los Angeles defense sacked Jalen Hurts for a safety late in the third quarter, making it 16-15, Philadelphia. But on the Rams’ ensuing drive, Kyren Williams was scrambling to stop all the momentum.

Jalen Carter had a forced fumble that time, also finishing with 2.0 sacks in the game.

The Eagles scored on a 23-yard field goal. Then Matthew Stafford was sacked, leading to a 37-yard field goal with 6:18 left, making it 22-15.

But after a three-and-out, Barkley sprinted through the snow for a single that helped put the game out of reach.

Although the Rams scored quickly on a 4-yard pass from Stafford to Colby Parkinson and got the ball back before the two-minute warning, they were unable to get into the end zone again.

The Rams became the first team in postseason history to have at least seven sacks in two consecutive games. After sacking Sam Darnold nine times on Monday night, the Rams sacked Hurts seven times on Sunday.

Jared Verse – who grabbed headlines for his comments about Eagles fans – had 2.0 such sacks on Hurts.

Hurts finished the game 15-of-20 passing for 128 yards. He also had 70 yards rushing with a 44-yard touchdown run to open the scoring.

But as he has been all season, Barkley was the star for the Eagles, as he had 232 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on 30 carries.

On the other hand, Stafford finished 26-of-44 for 324 yards with two touchdowns and a lost fumble. Stafford continued his streak of throwing for at least two TDs in every postseason game he played for Los Angeles.

Puka Nacua caught six passes for 97 yards. Williams had 106 yards on 19 carries with a fumble loss.

The Eagles will host the Commanders for the right to Super Bowl LIX next Sunday at 3:00 PM ET on Fox.