PHILADELPHIA — Enemies clad in burgundy and gold bespeckled a buzzing sea of green at Lincoln Financial Field, here after schlepping up I-95 to support their unlikely Washington Commanders, the Eagles’ would-be saboteur whom nobody predicted to be in this spot when the season began. After suffering 18 years without a playoff win, Washington, with a brand new coaching staff and a strategic smattering of veterans signed to short-term deals, rode the right arm and the legs of wunderkind rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels all the way to the NFC Championship Game. But for a never-say-die team that spun six fourth-quarter comebacks this year, the magic finally ran out for the Commanders on Sunday with a 55-23 shellacking at the hands of the Birds, who get to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 on Feb. 9. The Eagles, given their loaded roster and unfulfilled aspirations from a year ago, were expected to be here — despite Terry Bradshaw’s puzzling question to owner Jeffrey Lurie on the trophy podium. “How unexpected is this?” Bradshaw asked. Lurie: “Well, it’s kind of expected, I think.” It absolutely was, and in winning the conference crown and clinching a trip to the Super Bowl, the Eagles showed why. They were simply better. They were better than Washington at running. They were better than Washington at throwing and catching. They were better than Washington at defending. They rang up 229 yards on the ground, including bursts of 60 and 57 yards, and scored a modern postseason record of seven rushing touchdowns. Their 55 points were a conference title game record. And they never let the Comeback Commanders come back. In fact, the Eagles have been better than the rest of the NFC for the last four months, and they’ve won the conference for the third time in eight years, which is quite a standard to set. This is exactly what Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman and the Eagles expected when they talked about the “new standard” in 2017-18. Yet, despite those high expectations, the Birds’ journey to Super Bowl 59 didn’t start smoothly. With a pair of new assistants in offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, with quarterback Jalen Hurts needing to learn his fourth offense in five years as a pro, and with a slew of early injuries at key positions, the Eagles went 2-2 during a rocky September before their Week 5 bye. “This game is about overcoming adversity,” head coach Nick Sirianni said Sunday night. “There are going to be good plays in the game and there are going to be bad plays in the game. There will be good moments in a season and bad moments in a season. “It’s about overcoming and embracing the adversity, because really what we’ve talked about as a team is, like, adversity — we’ve all had to have adversity to be in this moment where we are right now, so adversity is what makes you who you are. “It’s been the story of the 2023 to the 2024 Eagles,” he added. “As bad of a feeling as we had about how last year ended, I think it makes you who you are. These guys are hungry, and we’ve got one more to go.” Through the first month of this season, after collapsing at the end of their previous campaign, the Birds were minus-4 in turnover differential. Now, they’re plus-21 (including plus-4 against Washington on Sunday). It helps that their defense is sixth in the league in takeaways. It also helps that Hurts, who had a 10-game turnover streak dating back to last season, takes better care of the ball now. Even if he doesn’t always put up gaudy passing numbers, he has dramatically cut down on interceptions and fumbles. “It’s a journey, and there’s no point where you will arrive in that journey,” said Hurts, who finished 20-of-28 for 246 yards and a touchdown against Washington, finding A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert a combined 17 times. He also scored three times on the ground. “I think for us and how we attack people, it’s just a matter of being on the same page with that, and going out there and playing clean football.” After the bye, the Eagles rattled off 10 straight victories and won 12 of their final 13 regular-season games (and 15 of their last 16 overall). They’re on a five-game roll. And in just four seasons, the tandem of Sirianni and Hurts has already doubled the one Super Bowl berth that Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb accomplished together. Now, with the biggest of expectations, the Eagles’ journey has them arriving in the Big Easy with one more game to play. —— Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.