Well, let’s remind ourselves to enjoy this. It had already been the best sports year for Philly fans in a generation, and now we have the events of the last few weeks. Not only do the Eagles find themselves in the NFC Championship Game, but the script couldn’t have been written any better. They embarrass the Cowboys in a winner-take-all (ok, winner-take-#6-seed) showdown in the final game of the regular season. In the Divisional Round, they go to the Meadowlands and beat up on the Giants, and now they get a very beatable Cardinal team, with a ticket to the Super Bowl on the line. It’s been perfect, thus far.
Before I get to my keys for the NFC Championship game, let’s take a quick look back at some thoughts on last week’s win:
-I loved that the Eagles came out running the ball, even with the wind at their backs. Have to keep defenses honest.
-The vaunted Giants pass rush did not sack McNabb once in their 3 meetings this year. That’s the first time ever (since the sack became a stat) that a team didn’t register any sacks against a team they played 3 times in a season. The injury to Justin Tuck certainly helped.
-How about the Eagles running a successful two-minute drill at the end of the 1st half? With 1:24 on the clock and 1 timeout, they took the ball from their own 25, all the way to the Giants 7-yard line for a chip shot field goal as time expired. That was very encouraging, and something that could really come in handy this week.
-Here’s hoping that Plaxico Burress parts ways with the Giants. It’s amazing how much impact a great wide receiver can have on an entire offense. The Eagles know that all too well from what T.O. did for them four years ago. When teams have to focus so much on one receiver, it opens things up for EVERY other skill player on the field.
-I think I enjoyed looking at Eli in the final minutes of the game a little too much. It’s not right to take so much pleasure in other people’s pain, is it? Oh well, that was great.
And with that, onto my Keys for the Game against Arizona on Sunday:
-Contain Larry Fitzgerald: This may seem like the ultimate no-brainer when going against the Cardinals (especially with Anquan Boldin hobbled, if he even plays), but the Panthers weren’t able to do it at all last week. As I mentioned above, a great wide receiver can make all the difference in the world for an offense. I’ve read and heard numerous NFL experts out there that are ready to give Fitzgerald the mantle of “Best Receiver on the Planet”. He may not have elite speed, but he is elite in every other aspect that a receiver can be. He’s the best I’ve ever seen (topping Randy Moss) at coming down with jump balls. The guy is a force of nature, and the Eagles will need to keep him marked with two defensive backs at ALL times.
-Put Kurt Warner on the ground: Jim Johnson will have his boys gunning for the Cardinal quarterback, and they need to get to him and put hits on him. This will go a long way towards keeping Fitzgerald in check and could also lead to turnovers, as Warner is famously prone to fumbles.
-Don’t turn the ball over: I think the Eagles are the better team in this matchup. Their defense has been dominant and the main thing the offense needs to do in this game is take care of the ball. The Cardinals forced 6 turnovers last week, but this isn’t a fearsome defense. If McNabb, Westbrook, and company just play a solid game, they should be able to put enough points on the board to take the W. The Eagle defense looks ready and able to carry the team to the conference title, the offense just needs to keep the defense out of short-field situations.
I’m not discounting the Cardinals, or saying that the Eagles are suddenly unbeatable, but I just think the match-ups really favor the Eagles in this one. The Cardinals are a pass-heavy team with an immobile quarterback, which is just the type of offense that Jim Johnson defenses tend to dominate. I’m not expecting a blowout like on Thanksgiving night, especially with the game being in Arizona, but I’ll take the Eagles by a score similar to their first two playoff wins this year, let’s call it 24-13.
i think we enjoyed looking at mcnabb and flacco in the final minutes of the game a little too much.