NFC Championship takeaways: Eagles dominate on the ground, take advantage of turnover-prone Commanders

The Eagles are the first team in NFL history with seven rushing TDs in a playoff game since the 1940 Chicago Bears. Philadelphia had 229 yards on the ground and averaged 6.4 yards per rush.

Here are three takeaways from the NFC Championship game:

Knee-jerk reaction: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is just fine

Despite injuring his left knee in the divisional-round win over the Los Angeles Rams, Hurts returned to form in Sunday's NFC title game.

The Eagles signal-caller was 20-of-28 for 246 yards and a TD. Hurts added three more TDs on the ground, which tied his previous mark that was set in Super Bowl LVII. 

With this one-yard rush early in the fourth quarter, Hurts set the record for the most rushing TDs in the playoffs by a QB in NFL history with nine.

As a team, the Eagles had eight TDs and an NFL-record seven rushing TDs in the NFC Championship game. According to StatMuse, the Eagles set the record for the most points (55) in the NFC title game, surpassing the Carolina Panthers, who had 49 against the Arizona Cardinals in 2016.

Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni become the first QB and coach in franchise history to reach multiple Super Bowls. While he only averaged 1.6 yards per carry, Hurts reminded us of his talent and what he is capable of, even in spite of the injury concerns.

MVP: Eagles RB Saquon Barkley

It was another sensational performance from the Eagles running back on Sunday.

Barkley had 15 carries for 118 yards and three TDs in the game. This 60-yard TD run on Philadelphia's first play of the game gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead and halted any momentum the Commanders had after an 18-play opening drive.

Barkley followed that up with a four-yard TD run to extend the Eagles' lead to 14-3 with 3:43 left in the opening quarter. If that was not enough, he capped off another unstoppable performance with this four-yard TD run to give the Eagles a 48-23 lead and officially put the game out of reach.

Barkley is tied with Hurts for the most rushing TDs in Eagles playoff history. 

This was Barkley's eighth game of the season with multiple TDs and the second with three scores. As the Eagles prepare for their fourth Super Bowl appearance in 20 years, they will do so with a dominant force on the ground.

Turning point: Commanders RB Austin Ekeler's fumble late in third quarter

Despite falling behind, 34-15, at the 8:58 mark of the third quarter, the Commanders scored a TD, two-point conversion and forced an Eagles punt to gain some much-needed momentum. 

Washington had the ball near midfield until Eagles LB Oren Burks forced a fumble from Ekeler, which set up an Eagles TD almost three minutes later.

That was one of four Commanders turnovers (three fumbles) in the game, which was the complete opposite of a week ago when Washington forced five Detroit Lions' turnovers and did not commit any.

There is no guarantee the Commanders would have scored on that drive, but the momentum seemed to be in their favor and they could not take advantage of it.