Commanders lock in on Eagles' Barkley ahead of NFC championship - ESPN

ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders know what they have to do against the Philadelphia Eagles. It's the same thing they wanted to do in their first two meetings: stop Saquon Barkley. It's also what they and every other team has failed to do all season.

«He does it against everybody,» Washington defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said Thursday.

But for the Commanders (14-5) to beat the favored Eagles (15-3) at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, controlling Barkley will be a must.

In two games versus Washington, Barkley ran for a combined 296 yards and four touchdowns. But there was a wide disparity in his runs: Of his 55 runs, 26 gained 2 yards or fewer. But he also added three carries for 130 yards and three touchdowns.

Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards during the regular season and was in MVP consideration all year. Then, in a 28-22 win over the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs, Barkley rushed 26 times for 205 yards and two touchdowns.

«You just try to contain him,» Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner said. «That's going to be our challenge, to be disciplined the whole game. He has the talent to break a run at any given point, and we need to make sure that doesn't happen.»

Washington's defense ranked 30th in rushing yards allowed per game and 28th in yards per carry. The Commanders allowed 206 yards in a 26-18 loss at Philadelphia on Nov. 10 and 211 in a 36-33 win over the Eagles on Dec. 22.

«It's hard to stop,» Washington coach Dan Quinn said.

The Commanders made it clear, too, that the Eagles' offense is dangerous because of more than just Barkley. Quarterback Jalen Hurts rushed 13 times for 80 yards in five quarters against Washington (he sustained a concussion in the first quarter of the second meeting and