For the second time in three seasons, the Philadelphia Eagles stand atop the NFC mountain and have advanced to the Super Bowl to face the Kansas City Chiefs.
They began and ended their NFC play with suffocating wins against the Green Bay Packers and Washington Commanders while surviving a snowy, divisional round bout with the Los Angeles Rams. While the loaded Eagles expectedly lead the way with 12 top NFC playoff performers, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and the surprising Commanders showed off their talent across the board as well.
Here is our 2025 All-NFC playoff team:
Offense
Daniels helped power the Washington Commanders from having the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to their first NFC Championship game appearance since 1991. He led the NFL postseason with five passing touchdowns and 822 pass yards while also leading all quarterback with 135 rushing yards. Daniels also didn’t give away the game in their conference title game loss to the Eagles. His 36-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin cut the Philadelphia lead to 14-12 and the next time he touched the football, Washington was trailing 27-12 thanks to a kickoff return fumble.
No player has been more dominant this postseason than Barkley. His three touchdowns of 60 or more yards this postseason are the most of any player in NFL history. Barkley also became the first player with a touchdown of 60-plus yards on his team’s first offensive play of a playoff game since 2009 when Arizona Cardinals running back Tim Hightower had a 70-yard rushing touchdown in the NFC divisional round against the Saints. Barkley also led the entire postseason with 442 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. He is now a king in Philadelphia.
“Scary Terry” led the postseason with three receiving touchdowns while ranking second in receiving yards (227) for the sixth-seeded Commanders who became the NFC runner-up after stunning the top-seeded Lions in Detroit. Stellar run.
Washington No. 2 wide receiver led the postseason with 229 receiving yards, which outweighs his ill-timed fumble in the NFC Championship game.
Even though he only played in one playoff game, St. Brown balled out. He racked up 137 yards receiving, the fourth-most in the postseason among NFC wide receiver, and he averaged 17.1 yards per catch, fourth-most in the postseason, on only eight catches.
The Eagles tight end’s 188 yards receiving, led all NFL tight ends in the postseason as he came up with clutch, chain-moving catches over the middle of the field at just the right time for the NFC champions.
The Eagles left tackle surrendered only three quarterback pressures and one sack in three games on 184 snaps, tied for the fifth-most among NFC offensive linemen. He and many other Philadelphia offensive linemen are a key factor in the Eagles’ return to the Super Bowl.
Dickerson allowed three pressures and no sacks in three games played, and he even started the NFC title game at center for an injured Cam Jurgens.
Yes, he only played in one game, but he surrendered just one pressure and no sacks on 68 offensive snaps. Tough way to see a a perennial Pro Bowler’s season end.
Scott, a journeyman on his fourth team, admirably filled in for an injured Sam Cosmi at guard against the Eagles. Scott only surrendered one quarterback pressure and no sacks in three games played this postseason. Job well done.
After being upset about not being named a First Team All-Pro, Johnson dominated in the playoffs with just one quarterback pressure allowed and no sacks surrendered.
Defense
Smith is breaking out before our very eyes. He only has 7.5 career regular-season sacks, but he totaled an NFC-most four sacks this postseason. Smith’s 15 quarterback pressures are the second-most in the NFC behind only teammate Jalen Carter.
Verse only played in two games, but he produced two sacks and 12 quarterback pressures. He made both Sam Darnold and Jalen Hurts fold when dropping back to pass, especially Darnold who absorbed a single-game, playoff-high nine sacks against Los Angeles.
Carter has been the most dominant defensive lineman this postseason with a postseason-leading 20 quarterback pressures to go along with two sacks. His sack and subsequent quarterback pressure of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford on Los Angeles’ final drive of its season clinched the Eagles’ divisional round playoff game.
Gallimore registered 2.5 sacks, fourth-most in the NFC, one of which went for a safety of Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia. He picked a great time to play the best ball of his career.
Baun earned a First Team All-Pro selection in the regular season, and he backed up that performance in the postseason with 25 tackles, tied for the second-most in the playoffs with Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner. Baun was also a ball magnet, forcing a fumble while recovering a league-leading two.
Wagner put up a vintage postseason performance with 25 tackles, tied for the second-most in the playoffs with Baun. Wagner also recovered a fumble, added a half-sack and helped change Washington’s culture.
Burks kicked off Philadelphia’s postseason with a bang, forcing a fumble by Packers All-Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon on the opening kickoff of the wild-card round. Burks finished the conference playoffs with 19 tackles, the fifth-most in the NFC and three tackles for loss.
The first-round pick co-led the NFL playoffs with two interceptions with one off of Jordan Love in the wild-card round and another off of Jayden Daniels in the conference championship game. He didn’t have any in the regular season, so the rookie is heating up in terms of takeaways at just the right time.
The second-round pick is another rookie corner who co-led the NFL playoffs with two interceptions, both of which came against Lions quarterback Jared Goff in the divisional round. The future is bright in Washington.
Chinn was flying around this postseason, leading all players with 26 tackles while also intercepting Goff in the divisional round. The Commanders’ secondary was an underrated piece of their playoff success.
Blankenship put the hit stick on Packers Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs in the opening round and recovered one of the numerous fumbles the Commanders had in the NFC title game. Blankenship’s four tackles were also the fourth-most this postseason.
Special Teams
Gonzalez led the postseason with seven made field goals on eight tries, hitting his only field goal attempt from 50-plus yards. Also doinked in the game-winning field goal in the wild-card round vs. the Buccaneers as time expired.
Evans led the NFC in net yards per punt (48.3) on the second-biggest sample size this postseason (10 punts). His leg helped keep the Rams in the game at Philadelphia in the divisional round.
Gainwell’s longest return was a 44-yarder in the Eagles’ divisional round win vs. the Rams, but he was steady on all four of his returns, giving him a 27.5 average.
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Author: Garrett Podell
January 28, 2025 | 10:15 am
