The Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders have been NFL rivals for a long time. With the Commanders making their way to the NFC Championship for the first time in ages, they are expected to give Philly a run for their money.
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There’s no love lost between the two franchises on the eve of their NFC Championship showdown. In fact, a Philadelphia legend ruffled the feathers of Washington’s entire fanbase on Thursday.
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce joined Philadelphia’s Sports Radio 94 WIP to discuss the NFC Championship game. Kelce seemingly shed his ESPN analyst tag and bluntly showed where his allegiances lie during the radio hit.
“I have not expected the Commanders to be at this point all season long… they have a tremendous quarterback… their coaches have done a phenomenal job… they have good players… [but] I’ll be very candid. I think the Eagles are better at every position. I don’t know that there’s one position, if you put the two depth charts together, that [I’d] take the [Commander] over the Eagle.”
Kelce tried clarifying his comments on Twitter/X. Despite praising the Commanders’ scheme and complimenting them on playing fundamentally sound football, the damage was already done. Most neutral fans and analysts expressed skepticism over Kelce’s opinion. However, 10-year NFL veteran Marcellus Wiley backed Kelce’s claim on ‘Dat Dude TV’:
“It sounded disrespectful… it wasn’t a hot take, but the take came out hot… linebackers is the closest… this is tough, y’all. Are you trying to really tell me that that hot take that wasn’t trying to be hot is real? It looks that way.”
It’s important to note that Kelce said he “wasn’t really talking about the QBs” with his quote. Wiley addressed quarterback on its own as well and gave the edge there to Washington.
“If you asked me who I want this weekend, I would say Jayden Daniels. Does that mean he’s better? He’s playing better. ‘He doesn’t have enough in the reservoir; he doesn’t have enough in terms of experience.’ Now we’re just saying, ‘you ain’t been better long enough, but you’re better.’ I think he’s better.”
Daniels posted a slightly higher completion percentage (69.0%) than Hurts (68.7%) this year. He also recorded roughly 16 more passing yards and 10 additional rushing yards per game. Hurts, though, ended the season with the better passer rating (103.7 to 100.1).
Do any of these statistics definitively prove one player is better than the other? Of course not. The two men are technically 1-1 against each other, but Hurts’ loss came after he suffered a concussion in the first quarter of their Week 16 contest.
Sunday’s meeting, with a Super Bowl LIX berth on the line, is the ultimate battleground for them to prove who’s better. Kickoff is at 3:00 p.m. E.T. on FOX.
