PHILADELPHIA — It was early in the fourth quarter when a few rogue flecks of green confetti started catching the light up near the rafters of Lincoln Financial Field.

Premature perhaps, but understandable. For a second time in three seasons, the party started early in a lopsided NFC championship game as the Eagles beat the Washington Commanders, 55-23, to earn their place in Super Bowl LIX.

It was the type of win that allowed for Nick Sirianni to use a timeout to give Jalen Hurts a curtain call, a few plays before Saquon Barkley and Will Shipley celebrated the rookie running back’s touchdown to push the Eagles into a franchise-record scoring total.

It’s the team’s second Super Bowl berth in three years, the third in the last seven years and the fifth in franchise history. Here’s our instant analysis:

Hurts so good

Hurts looked sharp in the early going both operating out of the pocket and on the move, the latter of which answered any questions about his health after suffering a left knee injury against the Los Angeles Rams the week prior.

After two weeks in which the Eagles offense masked a disjointed passing game with solid defense and Barkley’s explosive runs, Hurts & Co. delivered in key moments with regularity as the Eagles built a decisive lead.

Hurts went 12 for 18 for 141 yards and one touchdown in the first half, with several timely completions on third down and in the red zone. He found wide receiver A.J. Brown for a 30-yard completion on fourth-and-5 with a well-placed deep ball down the sideline and hit Brown again one series later for a touchdown when facing third-and-goal from the 4.

Hurts had his share of contributions as a runner as well, extending plays when necessary, keeping the ball on a handful of zone reads, and executing quarterback sneaks without limitation. He scored three rushing touchdowns, two on quarterback sneaks and another off a designed run from 9 yards out early in the third to give the Eagles a decisive lead to protect for the rest of the second half.

The three scores moved his tally to 10 in the playoffs, which broke Steve Young’s record for the most by a quarterback in postseason history.

Overall, Hurts put together one of his most complete games of the season, compiling 20 for 28 for 246 yards, and one touchdown pass along with his three scores on the ground before watching the game’s final minutes from the sideline.

Tale of turnovers

In a way, the Eagles punched their ticket to New Orleans with literal punches.

Between defense and special teams, the Eagles forced and recovered three fumbles and logged one interception to win the turnover differential for a third time in as many playoff games.

The first haymaker came from Zack Baun, who punched the ball free from Dyami Brown in the first quarter after Cooper DeJean wrapped up the Commanders receiver. Eagles safety Reed Blankenship recovered the loose ball, which set up a touchdown drive for the offense a few minutes later.

Will Shipley provided the second forced fumble, this time jarring the ball loose from Washington running back Jeremy McNichols as part of the kickoff coverage unit with running back Kenneth Gainwell recovering possession.

Then, late in the third quarter, with the Commanders threatening to cut the Eagles’ lead to one score, Oren Burks took his turn executing the Peanut punch against Washington running back Austin Ekeler with Baun there to land on the ball. Quinyon Mitchell also got in the turnover column, picking off Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels in the fourth quarter for his second postseason interception.

Going into the game tied with the Commanders for the best turnover differential in the postseason, the Eagles’ path to Super Bowl LIX has been paved largely in part by the team’s ability to force turnovers without committing any themselves.

Saquon sets the tone

Saquon Barkley didn’t waste time picking up where he left off.

The Eagles running back broke off a 60-yard touchdown run on the offense’s first play of the game, getting past a couple Commanders defensive backs to break into the open field for the early lead. After an apparent check at the line of scrimmage from Hurts, Barkley benefited from the left side of the Eagles offensive line creating a wedge despite Washington loading up the line of scrimmage before the snap and got key blocks from A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert on the perimeter as well.

It was Barkley’s third long touchdown of the postseason, with the first two coming one week ago against the Los Angeles Rams. The third was yet another example of how the Eagles’ running game can create explosive plays even when opposing defenses load the box in an effort to slow Barkley down, leaving fewer defenders to contain him if he reaches the second and third level.

Barkley got his second touchdown one drive later, getting the edge on Washington’s front from 4 yards out. He finished with 118 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.

Dropping Daniels

Daniels’ postseason surge shorted out against the Eagles defense.

The rookie at the center of the Commanders’ string of upsets en route to the NFC title game had a quiet evening, finishing 29 for 48 for 255 yards and one touchdown. There were some shaky moments in the early going — Washington reeled off an 18-play drive that ended in a field goal to start the game — but overall the group limited Daniels’ impact by pressuring the 24-year-old and making timely plays on third downs.

The defensive front got to Daniels three times, with Jordan Davis, Burks, and Nolan Smith each logging a sack. Jalyx Hunt had a quarterback hit as well and Jalen Carter posed his usual threat, flushing Daniels from the pocket on a few occasions despite plenty of attention from Washington’s interior offensive line.

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Both pregame and at halftime, the Eagles had some moving pieces along the interior offensive line.

Starting center Cam Jurgens was questionable going into the game with a back injury that held him out of practice earlier in the week and went through pregame warmups, but didn’t start because of the injury. The Eagles instead moved Landon Dickerson to center and put Tyler Steen at Dickerson’s typical left guard position, but had to call on Jurgens at the start of the third quarter after Dickerson suffered a knee injury.

Despite the injury, Jurgens fared reasonably well in his relief stint and Dickerson stayed on the sideline in uniform for the second half.

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