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. 

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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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Saturday welcomed the top seeds in the NFL playoffs to their first action this postseason, but hosting duties panned out very differently for the two teams.

The shortage of drama from the wild-card round seemed to extend to the opening of the divisional action when the Kansas City Chiefs separated from the Houston Texans for a 23-14 win. But the Washington Commanders threw the NFC for a loop when they upset the top-seeded Detroit Lions 45-31 and pushed their way into their first conference title game since the 1991 season.

With two more matchups looming Sunday, here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from Saturday’s action:

Winners

Jayden Daniels

For much of his debut season, the No. 2 overall pick could be described as elite for a rookie. It’s probably time to chop off the qualifier to that descriptor. Daniels was truly unflappable against the Lions, throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns. The signal-caller’s rare ability to stay cool and collected in the face of pressure allowed Washington to keep its offense rolling, as the unit punted just once after not needing to use Tress Way at all last week in a wild-card win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When Daniels began outpacing expectations early in the season, it seemed like Washington was playing with house money in a season in which Dan Quinn and Co. were far ahead of schedule in building up a contender. Now, it’s evident that the quarterback – who might already be the best the NFC has to offer – has given the team a winning lottery ticket.

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Travis Kelce

Any question about whether the extended rest actually resulted in some rust certainly didn’t extend to Kelce, whose 117 yards were his highest since last year’s AFC title game. His 49-yard gain was also a season best and a surprising sight in a year in which he has averaged just 8.5 yards per catch. Asked if he’s ‘feeling 25 again,’ Kelce said, ’22, baby, 22.’ Which brings us to …

Taylor Swift

The pop superstar’s only other travel for this season will be a possible trip to New Orleans for Super Bowl 59, as she won’t have to leave Kansas City after heading to Baltimore last year for the AFC title game. And she took in the latest contest while sitting next to WNBA sensation Caitlin Clark. Winning was truly all around at Arrowhead on Saturday.

Steve Spagnuolo’s pass rush

Any threat of a Texans comeback was quickly extinguished by Spagnuolo’s fearsome front, which produced eight sacks against C.J. Stroud. Defensive end George Karlaftis led the way with three, including one on a fourth-and-10 in the fourth quarter. With cornerback Jaylen Watson back as the critical missing piece to the Chiefs’ coverage puzzle, Spagnuolo should only be able to unleash further havoc moving forward.

Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams

The host site of the NFC championship game is now up for grabs. The Eagles and Rams still have to settle business on Sunday, but the path to a Super Bowl looks significantly less imposing for each than it did 24 hours ago. Philadelphia did fall to Washington in Week 16, but Jalen Hurts was sidelined with a concussion after just a few minutes. The Rams, meanwhile, manage to avoid the team that ended their season last year and dealt them an overtime loss in Week 1. But above all, neither organization likely would have expected to be playing at home with a Super Bowl trip on the line, and now that possibility is within reach.

Teams with coaching openings

Good news for the six remaining squads with vacancies: You won’t have to wait on a couple of the top candidates as long as you probably expected. With the Lions bowing out of the playoffs, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn could be hired at any time, with their window to interview in person opening on Monday. Both have been staples of the candidate circuit and could have multiple teams vying for their services. Now, the various franchises that have already run expansive searches can put on the full-court press.

Kliff Kingsbury

Hiring the former Arizona Cardinals coach to lead Daniels’ development initially drew derision from all corners, with many believing that Kingsbury would prove inflexible with an attack that looked static and stale by the end of his time in the NFC West. No matter how much one attributes Washington’s success to Daniels, Kingsbury surely isn’t a punchline anymore after a night in which his attack racked up 481 yards. Kingsbury has slow-played the interview process, scheduling meetings with the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints while insisting he’s not in a rush to make a move. If he doesn’t end up elsewhere after this season, he should enter the 2025 campaign at the front of the line for a top job.

Commanders’ opportunistic defense

Daniels will get the, uh, lion’s share of attention for the Commanders’ win – and rightfully so. There’s also reason to have some pause about a unit that conceded 521 total yards, including 201 on the ground. But Washington managed to nab five turnovers and only allowed Detroit to convert three of its nine third-down attempts. When the Commanders were able to generate pressure (two sacks and seven QB hits) and force Jared Goff into bad decisions, a young secondary stepped up in a major way, with rookie cornerback Mike Sainristil securing two interceptions and second-year safety Quan Martin grabbing another for a 41-yard pick-six. The total product was far from perfect, but Quinn already has left his big-play imprint on this group in his first year.

TV networks

Not that there was any way for CBS or Fox to lose with their conference championship game setups, but things sure seem to be breaking nicely for each. The former will enjoy all that comes with the Chiefs and their transcendent popularity, with a leading MVP candidate and plenty of revenge story lines on the other end regardless of who emerges as their opponent. Meanwhile, the latter gets the benefit of being dealt the league’s biggest rising star in Daniels and a fan base starved for a return to the Super Bowl stage.

Losers

NFL officiating

Lions’ defensive resilience

Credit Aaron Glenn with carrying a group that entered Sunday accounting for 12 of the 16 players on injured reserve for Detroit. But with everything on the line, the Lions ran out of tricks to keep things together. Blitzing didn’t save the day the way it did in the Week 18 finale against Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings, as the ever-cool Daniels repeatedly delivered in the face of pressure. Detroit couldn’t get consistent stops in the run game, either, giving up 182 yards on 42 carries. Most disappointing of all, however, was the lack of composure, most critically on a fourth-and-2 in which the unit was flagged for having 12 men on the field, leading to yet another Washington touchdown and devastating blow for any hopes for a rally.

Dan Campbell

After the Lions squandered a 17-point lead in last year’s NFC title game to the San Francisco 49ers, Campbell acknowledged it would be ‘twice as hard to get back to this point next year.’ That notion might still apply in 2025, with Detroit seemingly on track to lose both Johnson and Glenn, with key players such as cornerback Carlton Davis and offensive guard Kevin Zeitler hitting free agency. The NFC is wide open, and the Lions have a solid core to count on. But Campbell knows how easily what once seemed like a perennial contender can fall apart, with the fall of the 49ers this season underscoring that point.

Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills

Whoever prevails in Sunday’s frigid fight will be rewarded at a date at Arrowhead Stadium against a Chiefs team that hasn’t had to break much of a sweat in the last month. Neither side should have counted on the Texans pulling the upset, but this setup doesn’t exactly inspire confidence for anyone mounting a challenge to the throne.

Kris Boyd

There were more pressing issues from a unit that included typically reliable kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn missing two kicks and having another blocked. But there’s no denying that the cornerback set the wrong tone early when he celebrated a forced fumble on a kickoff by throwing his helmet, which earned him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and shoving Texans special teams coordinator Frank Ross. Boyd apologized after the game, saying he was ‘too excited’ and that there’s no issue between him and Ross. But even though DeMeco Ryans didn’t see the shove, the head coach chastised the six-year veteran’s ‘silly’ penalty. Not the best note for a player to enter free agency on.

Texans’ trajectory

Houston didn’t inspire much confidence with how it closed out the regular season, so maybe rolling the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round and challenging the Chiefs should be viewed as this outfit reaching its ceiling. Still, given all the optimism around the franchise just a year ago after C.J. Stroud’s incredible star turn as a rookie, it has to be a bit of a letdown to be reminded that this group is still a good bit off from joining the elite tier consisting of the Chiefs, Bills and Ravens. Fixing the protection problems seems like a good starting point, but for a franchise that is now 0-8 in divisional playoff games, there doesn’t appear to be a clear path to reaching that next level.

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It’s tempting to say Ichiro Suzuki, with his detached sense of cool, record-breaking hitting prowess and 28 seasons of excellence on both sides of the globe, was made for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Probably more accurate to say the Hall of Fame was made for him.

Cooperstown will get what amounts to its perfect inductee this summer when Suzuki, the batsman nonpareil whose greatness was cemented largely through 14 fantastic seasons with the Seattle Mariners, earns induction into the game’s ultimate shrine.

Oh, we can bat around, as a matter of course, the probability that he gets in, and perhaps more germanely compare how he stacks up to previous honorees. Yet Suzuki is incomparable in so many ways. No, not that he’s necessarily “better” than Babe Ruth or Willie Mays or Roberto Clemente.

He’s simply singular, as his Cooperstown dossier shows.

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The case for Ichiro Suzuki

Hall of Fame regulations state a player “must have played in at least 10 Major League championship seasons,” along with the five-year wait after retirement, to qualify for consideration.

Suzuki the major leaguer blows away that requirement: He spent 19 years in the big leagues.

Yet consider this: Suzuki did not make his major league debut until he was 27, almost absurdly long in the tooth for a player just beginning what would become a Hall of Fame career stateside.

There are anomalies in the Hall, to be sure, such as pitcher Satchel Paige, who was believed to be 42 when he first pitched in the major leagues for Cleveland in 1948 after two decades in the Negro Leagues.

Suzuki? He already had a career even before he set foot in Safeco Field: Seven seasons of dominance in Japan’s top league, where over nine seasons with Orix he produced a .353 batting average, a .421 on-base percentage and a .943 OPS.

Next stop: The Seattle Mariners. And sitting here, in the year 2025, it’s easy to surmise that what happened next over Suzuki’s next lifetime in the major leagues wasn’t too surprising.

Yet in 2001, Japanese impact players in the bigs were entirely pitchers, with Hideo Nomo shooting to superstardom a few years earlier. But hitters? Ichiro was MLB’s first Japanese-born position player.

Hideki Matsui wouldn’t arrive in the Bronx for another two years. Shohei Ohtani was nearly two decades away from his fairly regular 40-homer campaigns, to go along with his pitching. Suzuki, perhaps generously listed at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, might just have the bat knocked out of his hands by those big, bad (and, at the time, PED-ingesting) American pitchers.

Yeah, about that.

Suzuki’s 2001 season remains one of the most marvelous campaigns in baseball history, as he banged out a majors-best 242 hits, also led all comers with 56 steals and won the AL batting title with a .350 average.

Any questions?

Suzuki was both Rookie of the Year and MVP that season, the start of a 10-year streak of 200-hit seasons. In 2004, he’d paint his masterpiece, smacking 262 hits to break George Sisler’s 84-year major league record. Suzuki would bat a career-best .372, leading all of baseball, and post a career-high 9.2 Wins Above Replacement, leading the AL during a juiced offensive environment.

His final total? A lifetime .311/.355/.402 line, and 3,089 hits – even after that late start. Sure, there’s no trophy for this distinction, but Suzuki’s 4,367 hits between Japan and the big leagues give him a plausible claim as the game’s true Hit King.

The case against

As Suzuki wielded his bat like a wand, the scuttlebutt around the game was always that he could convert his left-handed stroke into a more vertical, power-driven approach and easily tally 25 to 30 home runs a year, maybe win a Home Run Derby. Tony Gwynn, similarly statured at 5-foot-11 and 200ish pounds, spoke of conversations with Ted Williams where his predecessor beseeched him to pull the ball more often.

Gwynn applied that concept later in his career and, at 37, combined a .372 average with a career-best 17 home runs. Suzuki never took the wraps off any real or imagined power game, hitting a career-best 15 home runs in 2005 and landing on single-digit dinger totals in nine of his first 12 big league seasons.

That resulted in relatively pedestrian adjusted OPS numbers for a player with such a sublime batting average. By 2008, when Suzuki batted .310 and again led the major leagues with 213 hits, his picayune power numbers – 20 doubles, seven triples, six home runs – left him with a near league-average 102 adjusted OPS.

While only the most cynical analyst might consider Suzuki’s lifetime .311 batting average as “empty” due to the massive amount of singles comprising his diet, his career adjusted OPS ended up just 107, although it was a more solid 113 during his first dozen major league seasons.

X factors

Just how does one weigh Suzuki’s Japanese service? Again, it’s a question largely immaterial to Suzuki’s Hall case, but it’s worth exploring for the purpose of contextualizing his greatness. Certainly, there was a drop down in competition, but consider that Suzuki posted five seasons of 179 to 210 hits while playing 130 to 135 games in the NPB’s shorter season.

Such analysis might become moot in the future, what with young Japanese stars exploring earlier leaps to Major League Baseball, such as Rōki Sasaki’s agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers, or Japanese high school home run king Rintaro Sasaki enrolling at Stanford one year ago.

Voting trends

Suzuki has been named on all 167 ballots made public and caught by Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame voting tracker in this, his first year on the ballot.

Outlook

Suzuki is virtually guaranteed election on his first ballot. And clearly, he has a strong chance to become the first position player elected unanimously.

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Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers will have disciplinary hearings with the NHL Player Safety department Monday afternoon for their actions in the Canucks’ 3-2 win over the Oilers on Saturday.

Both players are facing potential suspensions after drawing match penalties during the chaotic closing seconds of the game in Vancouver.

Multiple scrums erupted and McDavid was penalized for cross-checking Vancouver’s Conor Garland, while Myers was penalized for cross-checking Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard.

McDavid, 28, has 65 points (20 goals, 45 assists) through 43 games. The three-time Hart Trophy winner earned 15 penalty minutes on Saturday after entering the night with only 14 on the season.

‘Connor gets frustrated, and he gets his stick up,’ Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. ‘He’s frustrated because we’re down one goal, and the best player in the league is getting held for 15 seconds.’

McDavid’s only suspension so far in his 10-year career was a two-game ban in February 2019 after an illegal check to the head against New York Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy.

Myers, 34, has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) and 54 penalty minutes – including 17 on Saturday – through 45 games.

Myers previously was suspended three games for boarding in 2012 and three games for a hit to the head in 2014.

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Just a week after clearing concussion protocol, Jalen Hurts is giving Eagles fans a scare again.

On Sunday in the divisional round, the Philadelphia quarterback came up hobbling after a third-quarter sack. He was bent backward by Desjuan Johnson and Jaylen McCollough, who have wreaked havoc on the Eagles’ offense.

The quarterback promptly went to the medical tent after the drive.

Here’s the latest on Hurts.

Jalen Hurts injury update

Hurts returned to the game on the Eagles’ next drive, wearing a knee brace.

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Hurts entered the medical tent after an awkward fall in the third quarter. He has taken a beating from the Rams defense all afternoon.

Who is the Eagles backup QB?

The Eagles backup quarterback is Kenny Pickett. Tanner McKee is the emergency quarterback on Sunday afternoon. He can only enter the game if both Hurts and Pickett leave and do not return.

The Detroit Lions have enjoyed an exhilarating renaissance which has mirrored their city’s. Unfortunately, a return to the football dark ages might be unavoidable.

The Lions just couldn’t stop the bleeding, whether it was trying to contain Washington wunderkind Jayden Daniels and an offense that only punted once to their litany of self-inflicted wounds – namely five turnovers on a night when the Commanders had none.

“We just didn’t play good enough. We never complemented each other – felt that way going into halftime, and it really never got better,” Detroit head coach Dan Campbell said after the searing loss, barely able to suppress his emotions at the conclusion of his postgame news conference.

By the end, a man who unfailingly wears his heart on his sleeve, could barely manage to muster: “It’s my fault.’

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Whether or not that’s true, it’s probably not the worst part.

In the coming days, Detroit’s coordinators – Ben Johnson (offense) and Aaron Glenn (defense) – will almost certainly leave for head coaching jobs in other NFL cities. Johnson, who’s resisted such a move for years, could be the prize of this coaching cycle, packing up his high-flying offense – most of the time, anyway – for wherever he goes next. Glenn’s unit wasn’t able to slow the Commanders, but it’s a testament to his skills as a motivator and tactician that the Lions got this far given the cascade of injuries Detroit suffered defensively – from Aidan Hutchinson in Week 6 to Amik Robertson on Saturday, with so many others in between.

‘I don’t want to see him gone, but he’s one helluva coach,’ Pro Bowl defensive back Brian Branch said Thursday on NFL Network’s ‘The Insiders’ when asked about the likelihood of Glenn’s imminent departure.

And aside from the X’s and O’s, Glenn and Johnson have been intrinsic to what’s become this organization’s touchstone: Its culture. Whether it’s the grit Campbell constantly cites, to the toughness throughout the roster, to the swagger this offense typically plays with, Motown has never relished Lions teams like these.

And it’s not just a qualitative feeling.

Detroit has won the NFC North two years running, having never worn the crown prior to the 2023 season. The team had never been the conference’s No. 1 seed before this season nor won 15 regular-season games (or even 13 for that matter). The Lions never had back-to-back seasons with double-digit victories. And 564 points scored with a differential of 222? Both franchise records.

Simply put, the Lions have never been more captivating nor more fun to watch and root for if you’re a Detroiter.

Campbell and Co. may not exactly be going back to Square One in 2025 – and getting studs like Hutchinson and defensive lineman Alim McNeill back will most definitely help – but they didn’t pass go or collect that long-awaited Lombardi Trophy, either. (Nor did they last year, when Campbell’s decision-making at the end of the 2023 NFC championship game, which the Lions lost to the San Francisco 49ers after blowing a 17-point halftime lead, was roundly criticized.)

Quarterback Jared Goff was especially regretful of his first-half pick-six to Quan Martin that put the Lions into a 10-point hole five minutes before halftime.

‘That was just a poor decision by me,’ he said.

Detroit’s five giveaways led directly to three Washington touchdowns, the other two coming at the end of each half.

Added Goff: ‘Had I played better, do we win? Possibly. And that’s the part that’ll eat me alive for the whole offseason.’

But teams that live by the sword – whether it be the incessant fourth-down attempts or trick plays, like the one that resulted in an interception thrown by Lions wideout Jameson Williams on Saturday – well, ya know.

‘Unfortunate, obviously. Sucks. Sucks. Worst part of this job. You hate it when you feel like you let guys down, and you want to win these type of games at home,’ said Goff, who fumbled and served up three interceptions, one occurring in the end zone when Detroit seemed to be driving for a touchdown that would’ve cut the Commanders’ halftime lead to 31-28.

‘Hard to put into words.’

Yet these may be the toughest words of all: This might have been the zenith for this crew.

Teams like the Lions sometimes catch lightning in a bottle, but then it’s gone in a thunderclap. Remember when the Cleveland Browns reached consecutive AFC title games against the Denver Broncos but lost on “The Drive” and then “The Fumble”? Remember when Rex Ryan, another coach who leveraged culture until he couldn’t, led the New York Jets to successive AFC championship games in 2009 and ’10? (The NYJ haven’t been back to the playoffs since.) Remember when the apparently ascending Jacksonville Jaguars were one win from the Super Bowl with Blake Bortles behind center? Remember when Houston … eh, never mind.

Campbell has been a force of nature with the Lions since his introductory news conference four years ago. If anyone can repair the sizable cracks seemingly forming in the impressive foundation that he’s laid, it’s him.

‘He’s our rock, man, he is,’ Goff said of his coach Saturday, the quarterback clearly stung by his personal belief that he’d let Campbell down.

‘We feed off his emotion and his energy. He believes in us, and he loves us, and he cares for us.’

Luckily for the Lions (and their fans), Campbell isn’t going anywhere. But his club’s continuity – so often such a key and underrated aspect of success in the NFL, whether it be schematically or philosophically – is going to be a huge challenge to maintain when you have to replace trusted lieutenants like Johnson and Glenn simultaneously, particularly in a division that sent two other teams into the playoffs this season. But now the Lions have joined the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, both coalescing into rising powers in their own right, as one-and-done postseason outfits.

“End of the day, man, I didn’t have ‘em ready,” said Campbell.

And that’s likely only to get much harder in the coming months. And maybe even years.

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***

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The Detroit Lions earned the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the 2025 NFL playoffs and the home-field advantage that comes with it. It didn’t take them long to squander it.

The Lions lost their first game of the 2025 NFL playoffs to the No. 6-seed Washington Commanders in the biggest upset of the postseason thus far. Washington’s victory allowed it to get to the NFC championship game for the first time since the 1991 playoffs and also shook up the conference’s playoff bracket.

With the Lions out, the No. 2-seed Philadelphia Eagles now have the conference’s home-field advantage. They will look to retain that and earn the right to host the NFC championship game, but first, they will need to survive their divisional round matchup against a Los Angeles Rams team coming off blowout victory over the 15-win Minnesota Vikings in the wild-card round.

Here’s what to know about the NFC playoff bracket and where the NFC championship game could be played after Detroit’s elimination.

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Who will host the NFC championship game?

The winner of Sunday’s Eagles vs. Rams game will host the NFC championship game in 2025. The two teams are the Nos. 2 and 4 seeds in the conference respectively which guarantees the winner of the game will be seeded better than the No. 6-seeded Commanders.

The only way the Commanders could have hosted the NFC championship game this season would have been to play the No. 7-seed Green Bay Packers in the final matchup before Super Bowl 59. The Eagles eliminated the Packers with a 22-10 win on wild-card weekend, which guaranteed Washington would not host a playoff game in 2025.

Where will the NFC championship game be played?

The NFC championship game will be played at the home stadium of either the Eagles or Rams, depending on which team wins their head-to-head matchup on Sunday.

If the Eagles win, the NFC championship game will be played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The outdoor stadium could bring inclement weather into play for a potential Eagles vs. Commanders matchup.

If the Rams win, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California would be tapped to host the NFC championship game. That said, it isn’t clear whether the venue would be cleared to host the contest. The Rams’ first scheduled home playoff game against the Vikings was relocated to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona because of ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles County.

As such, the NFC championship game’s location could be in flux if the Rams are able to beat the Eagles. Still, a Rams victory would earn them home-team treatment for the contest, even if a change of venue made it more of a neutral-site affair.

The Eagles lasted hosted the NFC championship game during the 2022 NFL playoffs. Philadelphia was the No. 1 seed in the conference and beat the No. 2 seed San Francisco 49ers 31-7 en route to a Super Bowl 57 appearance.

The Rams hosted the NFC championship game the season before. They were the No. 4 seed during that postseason run by drew a matchup with the No. 6-seed 49ers in a matchup that would mirror Los Angeles’ potential clash with Washington. The 2021 NFC championship game (played in 2022) marks the only NFC title game hosted at SoFi Stadium since it opened in 2020.

Updated NFL playoff bracket

Below is a look at the NFL playoff bracket ahead of Sunday’s NFL divisional round action:

AFC playoff bracket

1. Kansas City Chiefs vs. 2. Buffalo Bills OR 3. Baltimore Ravens

NFC playoff bracket

2. Philadelphia Eagles OR 4. Los Angeles Rams vs. 6 Washington Commanders