NFC Championship Game 2025: Winner, Box Score Predictions for Commanders vs. Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders are set to lock horns for the third time during this NFL season.
The stakes just happen to be a tad bit higher this time around.
Those previous meetings, which occurred in November and December, were merely for regular-season win totals and NFC East bragging rights. This contest, however, will reward the ultimate prize to the victor: a spot in Super Bowl LIX.
This year's NFC Championship shapes up to be a potentially epic one, and we're here to help build the hype by laying out the scheduling particulars and then providing a statistical prediction for a player from each team.
NFC Championship Schedule, Score Prediction
Who: Commanders vs. Eagles
When: Sunday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. ET
Where: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
TV: Fox
Prediction: Eagles 24, Commanders 20
Prediction: Terry McLaurin Has 80+ Receiving Yards and a TD
While rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has added different dimensions to Washington's overall offense, the narrative around this passing attack hasn't changed much. It's all about Terry McLaurin, the Commanders' only pass-catcher to clear 700 receiving yards (and only wide receiver with more than three touchdown catches).
Washington stops short of force-feeding him targets—he's only tallied double-digit targets four times—but it looks to involve him early and often. As it should. Outside of tight end Zach Ertz (654 receiving yards, seven touchdown catches), no one comes close to matching McLaurin's production (1,096 yards and 13 touchdown receptions, not including the postseason).
Fourth-year receiver Dyami Brown has perked up in the playoffs (11 receptions for 187 yards and a score), but this very much remains the McLaurin show. He has seen a team-high 16 targets in the postseason and converted those chances into 11 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
So far, he has topped 80 receiving yards and snagged a touchdown catch in each of Washington's first two playoff tilts. If he doesn't make it three-for-three on Sunday, the Commanders could be in for a long game.
Prediction: Jalen Hurts Throws for a TD, Runs for Another
The biggest postseason story going in Philadelphia is electric running back Saquon Barkley, who racked up 355 scrimmage yards and two scores in the first two rounds. Next is probably the defense, which held the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams to a combined 32 points.
Having said all of that, this is the NFL, so the quarterback position is kind of always the headline. And folks are certainly talking about Jalen Hurts, whether that's the state of his left knee or the lack of volume in this passing game.
They probably aren't talking enough about his success, though. The Eagles are 14-2 with a healthy Hurts this season (playoffs included), and their only two defeats—not counting the Week 16 loss to Washington he exited early—came back in September.
He is your proverbial playmaker, and he just so happens to be adept at making plays with his arm or his legs. He had 18 passing touchdowns and 14 rushing touchdowns in the regular season. He's at two and one, respectively, in the playoffs. As long as he's upright and not overly limited by his left knee on Sunday, he'll add to both columns.