The Washington Commanders played Sunday like it was their first NFC Championship Game appearance in 33 years, being nervous and error-prone right from the outset and never really totally recovering.

The Philadelphia Eagles played with the cool, calm and confidence of a team in familiar surroundings.

And they were.

The result was a resounding 55-23 victory for the Eagles, sending them to the Suoer Bowl for the second time in three years.

And with that comes the end to a great story as rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Commanders came out of absolutely nowhere to get to the doorstep of pro sports’ biggest game.

Also, though, there is the continuation of a great story of a local guy, Eagles head coach and former University of Mount Union wide receiver Nick Sirianni. When the Eagles had some ups and downs this season and last, the heat got turned up on him. Instead of melting, he gritted his teeth, dug in his heels and guided the team through it to earn another chance at winning the Super Bowl.

As for the local team, the Browns seem so far removed from simply getting to a conference title game, let alone winning it and advancing to the Super Bowl and winning there, too, that it’s almost beyond comprehension.

About as ubsurd, really, as head coach Kevin Stefanski hiring a new offensive coordinator but retaining the play-calling duties for himself and then refusing to field questions from the media about it.

But perhaps Stefanski and the Browns can learn something from
Sirianni and the Eagles. We can only hope, and pray, right?

Steve King