Saquon Barkley ran into the snow-covered open with no one in front of him as Lincoln Financial Field roared. 

It felt like that was the game, but against veteran Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams with a bit of time still left, the Eagles needed one more stop. 

It didn't come easy, but Jalen Carter and what's been a clutch defense all season forced the deciding turnover on downs with only seconds left. 

Jalen Hurts kneeled out the rest for a 28-22 final score on the NFL Playoff's Divisional Round on Sunday. 

The Eagles are on to the NFC Championship Game, and after the No. 1-seeded Detroit Lions lost to the Commanders the night before, they're staying right here at home for it. 

Bring on Washington. 

The pivotal plays from Sunday's new playoff classic...

Run Free

Saquon Barkley was always going to present a constant threat for the Rams, and the Eagles took advantage of that right away. 

They chipped away with the first several plays on their opening drive, then, on a 2nd and 4 from the LA 44, Hurts faked the handoff to Barkley and the Rams bit. 

The QB tucked the ball and took off through his own opening on the opposite side of the line, and he was gone – 44 yards for the game's first touchdown and an immediate roar from the crowd. 

The Eagles were up right away, but only 6-0 after Jake Elliott missed the extra point attempt.

Quick to answer

They weren't about to shed the Rams that soon, though. 

Behind veteran QB Matt Stafford and tight end Tyler Higbee, who quickly established himself Stafford's safety valve, the Rams drove 13 plays and 67 yards for their own touchdown to match, on the back of a third-down Higbee catch that got reversed from an incompletion after review and then the score from go-to-goal distance in a tight window. 

Rams kicker Joshua Karty did hit on the extra point to put them up one, 7-6.

L.A. came equipped for a battle, too. 

But there he goes

The Eagles and Rams traded off punts in the possessions that followed. 

L.A. pass rusher Braden Fiske closed in from around the blindside edge to sack Hurts on third down, then Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith destroyed the line and got right to Stafford to force the Rams to kick the ball away, too. 

Hurts went straight for a shot downfield to DeVonta Smith. A hit to the head on Smith from L.A. cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon had the pass fall incomplete, but still pushed the Eagles 15 yards forward on the unnecessary roughness call that couldn't be ignored. 

The Eagles pushed to a 3rd and 4 with their new set of downs, and then their superstar made his mark. 

Mekhi Becton opened up a huge hole with a vicious block, and Barkley cut through it with no one left in front of him. 

The Eagles took the lead back, 13-7, with the 62-yard run as the snowfall grew heavier – and Elliott made the extra-point kick this time. 

Stuck in the snow

Rams receiver Demarcus Robinson wrestled a loft downfield from Stafford out of the hands of Isaiah Rodgers for a big completion, and L.A. flipped that into a field goal once a holding call and tackles from Reed Blankenship, Cooper DeJean, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson held them there to leave the Eagles up, 13-10, early into the second quarter. 

Then a stalemate followed. 

Barkley came up with a few more chunk plays, while getting his wrist checked in between, but they led nowhere.

A.J. Brown had a couple of ill-timed drops, and Rams defensive end Jared Verse made a couple of sacks of Hurts to further endear himself to the South Philly faithful. 

The Eagles punted, the Rams punted, then the Birds ran out of time with the ball back to end the first half – holding on to a narrow three-point lead and with L.A. set to receive coming back.

MORE: Wild fourth quarter carries Eagles to win in Snow Bowl II

One worry for another

The Rams marched down into the red zone coming back from halftime, but reserve pass rusher Jalyx Hunt made a crucial third-down sack of Stafford to once again keep L.A. to a field goal, though for the tie this time at 13 all. 

The Eagles answered with their own 44-yard march downfield, marked by a big open-field completion to Dallas Goedert for a gain of 31 yards – there could've been another for 19 to the L.A. 3, but an ineligible man downfield call on Becton brought it back.

But the Birds hit a wall, too, with the sudden worry of a 2nd and 15 sack from L.A.'s Jaylen McCollough where Hurts' knees bent back awkwardly.

He laid there in the snow in clear pain for a couple of seconds before getting up to try and shake it off and finish the drive. 

The third-down run to Barkley went three yards to the Rams' 26-yard line, and the Eagles took the 44-yard field goal attempt through the increasing snowfall that, at a bit of ease, Elliott was able to thread through for a 16-13 lead. 

Going backward

The season-long concern over Elliott suddenly shifted to Hurts' health.

He got checked out on the sideline and in the tent by trainers, and the NBC broadcast said he came back with a brace. 

The Eagles' defense forced the Rams into a three-and-out to get the ball right back on a punt, though on one downed at their own 4, and on the second play of that drive, Hurts had the pocket collapse on him as he dropped back into the end zone. 

Defensive tackle Neville Gallimore brought him down for the safety, and the Rams were within one, 16-15, with the ball coming back their way. 

Slippery conditions

The Rams were still trailing but seemed to have the momentum with possession staying with them.

Here's where the snow comes into play. 

The fall wasn't relenting, the field was getting covered up, and conditions were getting worse. 

Rams running back Kyren Williams took the handoff, but as he tried to burst through the line, Jalen Carter saw him and punched the ball out of his grasp.

It bounced to Isaiah Rodgers as Rams and Eagles players both leaped after it, and he took off around the corner down to the Rams' 10.

Momentum flipped right back. 

Rodgers and his Eagles teammates made snow angels in the end zone in celebration, and the offense took over from in close. 

They could only swing a field goal though after a false start charged to Lane Johnson on a 4th and 1 at the 1 pushed them too far out for another try. 

Still, Elliott made another major kick through the heavy snow, and at that point into the fourth quarter for the 19-15 lead.

Ball's out again

Then Nolan Smith, one of the many breakout stars of the Eagles' defense, gifted them the ball right back. 

On a 3rd and 10 at the edge of their own territory, Stafford dropped back, but Smith burst off the edge just as quickly to get around his blocker and to the QB. 

Smith moved to wrap up Stafford, and as he did, the ball popped right out of the L.A. QB's grip. Zack Baun fell on it. The Eagles picked up another turnover, and another huge opportunity along with it. 

'Inner Excellence'

Brown had the drops he wanted back in the first half, but faced with a pivotal fourth-down scenario, he made the catch when the Eagles needed one the most. 

They were at the Rams' 32, but understanding what the conditions were with the snow, head coach Nick Sirianni signaled for the offense to stay out rather than leave Elliott with having to make a long field goal. 

They needed four yards, and with just under nine minutes left and the Rams still in striking distance on the board, this was a risk. 

But on the snap, Brown took his route and made his cut into open space. Hurts fed him the pass. He caught it for nine yards and the fresh set of downs. 

The Eagles still could only tack on another field goal, but with just that little bit of extra time off the clock and a full touchdown separating them from the Rams. 

They had breathing room, and with time running short, control. 

MORE: Eagles run, slip and slide to unforgettable NFC title berth

See ya

The Rams took the ensuing kickoff then went nowhere. 

Moro Ojomo dragged Stafford seven yards back for a sack on the possession's first play, then a Williams run and an incompletion intended for Puka Nacua left L.A. out of downs and too far away to go for it on fourth. 

They punted it back to the Eagles, their offense took the field, and who else would've broke for the potential gamebreaker?

On the first play of the drive, Barkley took the handoff on a counter, then cut through a massive hole built for him to the left side of the line of scrimmage.

And he was gone, again – 78 yards as the stadium erupted, and he smacked his own helmet crossing the goal line then sprinted through the edge of the snow-covered end zone.

The Eagles were up two scores, 28-15, with 4:36 left.