Philadelphia Eagles 25, Arizona Cardinals 32
What you need to know
Philadelphia Eagles - For the Eagles' offense, this was a game of two halves. In the first half, they struggled and fell behind 24--6. In the second half they scored 19 unanswered points and grabbed a one point lead in the fourth quarter. The Eagles' defense, however, ranked number one in the NFC, couldn't hold the lead and Arizona drove for the winning touchdown late in the game.Donovan McNabb put up great numbers, 28 of 47 for 375 yards and three touchdowns, but his erratic passing early in the game was costly. Despite decent field position, Philadelphia was forced to settle for field goal attempts instead of touchdowns. Brian Westbrook did not score as he rushed 12 times for 45 yards and added 26 yards on two passes. When the two teams met on Thanksgiving, Westbrook scored four touchdowns.
McNabb connected with nine different Eagles receivers and TE Brad Celek set a Philadelphia playoff record with ten receptions for 83 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie DeSean Jackson caught six for 92 yards and one touchdown while fellow speedster Kevin Curtis grabbed four for 122 yards. With the Eagles trailing most of the game they ran 47 pass plays to just 18 rushes.
The Eagles defense had only allowed one touchdown pass in the past six games but Warner torched them for four. In their past 12 games only two teams had scored more than 14 points against Philadelphia, but the Cardinals had 24 by halftime.
Arizona Cardinals - The Cardinals utilized creative play calling as Larry Fitzgerald caught three touchdown passes while the Cardinals jumped out to a 24--6 halftime lead. During the regular season, Arizona was the best at making halftime adjustments and scored 154 third quarter points. The Eagles shut them out in the third quarter; however, as Philadelphia scored 19 unanswered points to take a one point lead early in the fourth quarter. Warner then took over and drove Arizona to the winning touchdown with 2:53 left in the game.Warner finished the game completing 21 of 28 for 279 yards and four touchdowns while Edgerrin James averaged 4.6 yards per carry on 16 attempts. Hightower rushed a total of 11 times for 33 yards and scored the winning touchdown on an eight yard screen pass. As a team, the Cardinals ran 29 times for 102 yards. Anquan Boldin returned to the lineup but was only targeted once in the second half. Eight year Cardinals veteran S Adrian Wilson recorded seven tackles, two sacks, and forced a fumble to lead the defense.
The new found success of the Cardinals was born out of failure. On a long flight home from their 28 point loss to New England -- their second blowout in a row -- the coaches got together and decided what they had to do to get better. Edgerrin James had to return to lineup, Adrian Wilson had to add muscle to the rush defense, and the entire team had to play with more intensity. Players were told that if they didn't hit hard in practice they wouldn't start in the playoffs. They responded, and the Arizona Cardinals find themselves on their way to the Super Bowl.
What you ought to know
QB Donovan McNabb, Pass: 28 - 47 - 375 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 31 - 0 - McNabb was a little erratic in the first half, and he either flat out missed receivers or threw so poorly they had to make a spectacular catch. Despite decent field position the Eagles had to settle for two field goals, but true to his streaky nature McNabb got hot in the second half. He threw two touchdown passes to Brad Celek and one to DeSean Jackson as the Eagles took a short lived fourth quarter lead. McNabb's solid numbers included two rushes for 31 yards, but after falling behind late in the game he then threw poorly to Jackson, Hank Baskett, and Kevin Curtis. In the two previous playoff games McNabb had earned a perfect fourth quarter QB rating of 158.3. He threw four TD passes against Arizona in their earlier meeting.RB Brian Westbrook, Rush: 12 - 45 - 0, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (5 targets) - Westbrook seemed unable to get on track and the Eagles had to try and win this game without him carrying the team on his shoulders. They nearly turned the trick. Westbrook gutted out 12 carries for 45 yards with a long run of 14 yards. He also caught two passes for 26 yards and was targeted on the incomplete two point conversion attempt following Philadelphia's third touchdown. While McNabb threw 47 passes, Westbrook was targeted just five times.
Westbrook scored a career high four touchdowns against Arizona in their first meeting but only averaged 1.9 yards per carry in Philadelphia's first two playoff victories.RB Correll Buckhalter, Rush: 4 - 21 - 0, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (1 targets) - The veteran from Nebraska carried four times for a 5.3 average and caught one pass for 12 yards.
WR DeSean Jackson, Rec: 6 - 92 - 1 (7 targets) - Jackson was targeted once in the first half as fellow rookie Rodgers-Cromartie had coverage. Jackson found another way to contribute early in game following the Cardinal interception when he forced a fumble after an Arizona interception and enabled Philadelphia to regain possession at their 25 yard line. In the second half, he beat Rodgers-Cromartie on a juggling 62 yard touchdown pass which put the Eagles ahead briefly.
WR Kevin Curtis, Rec: 4 - 122 - 0 (7 targets) - With the Eagles facing a third and eighteen Curtis made a tough catch on a 50 yard pass which led to the first Philadelphia touchdown. He averaged over 30 yards per receptions as he caught four passes for 122 yards.
WR Jason Avant, Rec: 2 - 23 - 0 (4 targets) - Avant caught two passes for 23 yards and was targeted twice in the first half and twice in the second. The team's slot receiver, Avant suffered a hyperextended knee in their last game and played sparingly.
WR Hank Baskett, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (3 targets) - Baskett managed to catch one pass for 14 yards but McNabb missed him two other times.
TE Brent Celek, Rec: 10 - 83 - 2 (11 targets) - Celek had a career day and set a Philadelphia playoff record ten receptions and became a favorite target for McNabb when Arizona blitzed. On several grabs either linebackers, safeties, or both hit Celek very hard but he always managed to hang on.
TE L.J. Smith, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets) - Smith managed to catch one pass for five yards.
PK David Akers 2 - 3 FG, 1 - 2 XP, 7 points - Akers had a tough afternoon. He hit his first field goal from 45, but the streak of consecutive playoff FGs was stopped at 19 when he missed from 47 yards out in the second quarter. He began a new streak when he hit from 39 yards. After the Eagles first touchdown he drove the ensuing kickoff out of bounds giving Arizona great field position. He also missed an extra point.
PHI Rush Defense - The Eagles held Arizona to 102 yards on 29 carries for a respectable 3.5 yards per carry. Edgerrin James had a long run of 22 yards, and on Arizona's game winning 14 play drive in the fourth quarter there were nine carries and just five passes. The fact that the Cardinals refused to abandon the run kept some pressure off Kurt Warner.
PHI Pass Defense - The Eagles could not figure out how to cover Larry Fitzgerald, but few teams could this season. Warner posted a passer rating of 145.7 based on 21 of 28 for 279 yards and four touchdowns.In their first meeting the Eagles won easily, 48-20, but Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner still threw three touchdown passes. In the six games since, the Eagles allowed one.
QB Kurt Warner, Pass: 21 - 28 - 279 - 4 TD / 0 INT, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 - Warner helped the Cardinals race out to a 24--6 halftime lead against the vaunted Philadelphia defense as he completed 14 of 17 for 203 yards and threw three touchdown passes. He was shut out in the third quarter, however, as the Eagles stormed back to take a one point lead. During Arizona's game winning drive Warner went five of five for 56 yards and capped it off with a TD pass to Tim Hightower. Warner also had the rare privilege of catching a Kurt Warner pass when an Eagles' lineman batted the ball back to him; he caught it, and alertly picked up four yards. Warner earned a QB rating of 145.7. In six previous games against the Eagles his average passer rating was just 69.3.RB Edgerrin James, Rush: 16 - 73 - 0, Rec: 1 - 16 - 0 (1 targets) - James was able to establish the running game early for Arizona and had a 22 yard run in the second quarter which led to their third touchdown. He piled up a total of 73 yards on 16 carries, but Arizona remained committed running the ball even when he was held to no gain or loss yardage.
RB Tim Hightower, Rush: 11 - 33 - 0, Rec: 1 - 8 - 1 (2 targets) - When Hightower gave James a breather his three yard per carry average was enough to keep the Eagles from sending all eleven on a blitz. Hightower caught the winning TD on an eight yard screen pass. On the game winning drive, he converted on fourth and inches by running around right end for six yards. Toward the end of the regular season he ran out of gas but his conditioning should improve next year.
RB J.J. Arrington, Rush: 2 - -4 - 0, Rec: 1 - 16 - 0 (1 targets) - Arrington began the flea flicker which led to Arizona's second touchdown. He took a pitch to the right and when he reached the numbers he stopped and threw a cross field lateral. Warner caught it and promptly threw the ball 62 yards to Fitzgerald.
Arrington is usually the single back in their four receiver formation and has proven to be a reliable receiver out of the backfield. With a greater emphasis on running the ball lately, Arrington has seen his playing time squeezed.WR Larry Fitzgerald, Rec: 9 - 152 - 3 (11 targets) - Fitzgerald made a case for being the first wide receiver taken in most fantasy drafts next year. In the first half alone he caught six passes for 113 yards and a record setting three touchdowns. He kept breaking wide open on shallow crossing patterns and was covered primarily by Asante Samuel.
He is the youngest player in NFL history to reach the 400 reception plateau and has already surpassed Jerry Rice's old record of 409 postseason receiving yards.WR Anquan Boldin, Rec: 4 - 34 - 0 (7 targets) - Boldin caught Warner's first pass of the game but was targeted just once in the second half. His presence in the lineup may have helped Fitzgerald, although Arizona is 4--1 this season when he's been sidelined with an injury. In the fourth quarter, with the Cardinal offense on the field, he was seen on the sidelines yelling at offensive coordinator Todd Haley who was yelling right back.
WR Jerheme Urban, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (1 targets) - Urban caught a key first down pass in the second quarter, but with Boldin back in uniform he returned to his role as WR4 in the offense.
WR Steve Breaston, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (1 targets) - Breaston caught a ten yard pass in the second quarter.
TE Leonard Pope, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (3 targets) - Pope, who has been battling injury lately, was able to play and caught two passes for 21 yards.
TE Ben Patrick (2 targets) - Patrick was unable to haul in either target.
PK Neil Rackers 1 - 1 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points - Rackers was one for one on FG attempts, hitting from 49 yards with :03 left in the first half. In the regular season he only missed three field goals and his only miss in the playoffs came against Carolina from 53 yards out in the rain.
ARI Rush Defense - Brian Westbrook has struggled throughout the playoffs. Arizona held him 45 yards on 12 carries, while Correll Buckhalter added 21 yards on five carries. McNabb rushed twice for 31 yards. When Philadelphia fell so far behind the running game was all but ignored.
ARI Pass Defense - McNabb lit up the Arizona pass defense in the second half, throwing three touchdown passes and leading Philadelphia to a fourth quarter lead. In all McNabb completed 28 of 47 for 375 yards and three touchdowns. S Adrian Wilson registered the only two sacks for Arizona, while DB Aaron Francisco intercepted one pass. When the Cardinals rushed only three and dropped everyone into coverage McNabb had all day to throw. He often found nobody open and dumped the ball down to Celek, who wound up leading the team in catches. Blitzing was effective, as S Adrian Wilson recorded two sacks and McNabb was called for intentional grounding.Nine year veteran CB Ralph Brown had to battle for a roster spot in his two seasons with the Cardinals. He finally started at nickel corner midway through the season and intercepted three passes in his last four games. As a veteran, he's been a valuable mentor to rookie Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
Baltimore Ravens 14, Pittsburgh Steelers 23
What you need to know
Baltimore Ravens - The Ravens had difficulty sustaining drives against Pittsburgh's defense and as a result did not have many scoring opportunities. Baltimore's best offensive weapon was Willis McGahee, who accounted for both of their touchdowns. McGahee did not have a stellar average per carry number, but did show some explosiveness and quickness on several runs that enabled him to turn a play that potentially would have lost yardage into modest gains. He used that quickness and acceleration on his two touchdown runs, accelerating straight through the line on a three yard scoring run, and sidestepping tacklers and escaping to the outside on his one yard touchdown. McGahee was the featured running back by far in this game, with his backups only garnering a combined two carries.Joe Flacco looked uncomfortable throughout the game. He was under duress from constant blitzes and rarely had time to step into his throws. As a result he missed receivers when they broke open, and his day was punctuated by being intercepted three times. Flacco looked for Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton a lot, targeting them ten and eight times respectively, but with little success. He overthrew Mason twice, and two other passes to Mason were intercepted. Three of the passes thrown to Clayton were out of his reach and two others were deflected by Steelers defenders.
The Ravens attempted five plays on two possession in the red zone, and scored two touchdowns, both on rushes by McGahee, who had all three of the red zone rushing attempts. The two red zone passes were all to Mason, one too high in the end zone and the other resulting in a penalty called on Mason's defender.
Pittsburgh Steelers - The Steelers made enough plays to come away with the victory, most of them by Ben Roethlisberger and their defense. Despite not being able to generate much on the ground, Pittsburgh did not abandon the run, and Willie Parker kept plugging away. Parker ran hard at Baltimore's defense, but was held to less than 2.0 yards per rushing attempt as he was unable to break free. Twenty of Parker's 24 rushing attempts gained three yards or less, but he was able to help his team win the time of possessionn.Ben Roethlisberger played very well against a defense that came after him with a lot of blitzes. Roethlisberger showed good pocket presence and moved around very efficiently in the pocket and made several plays by escaping outside the pocket and connecting with receivers who got open thanks to him buying them additional time. Roethlisberger was without the services of Hines Ward, who left the game in the first quarter with a leg injury. Ward returned and tried to play but left for the remainder of the game after catching a short pass in the first quarter. Roethlisberger adjusted well and utilized his other receivers well, and would have had even better numbers if not for a couple of potential big plays that did not materialize. Santonio Holmes appeared to score a touchdown after making a great effort to get into the end zone, but was ruled to have never secured the ball, and Limas Sweed dropped a deep pass just ouside the end zone with no defender close enough to prevent him from scoriing had he caught the ball.
The Steelers only had two plays in the red zone on one possession, which was their opening drive of the game. Parker ran for a couple of yards and Roethlisberger overthrew Heath Miller. The possession concluded with a field goal, which was Pittsburgh's first points on an opening drive in their last nine games.
What you ought to know
QB Joe Flacco, Pass: 13 - 30 - 141 - 0 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 2 - -8 - 0 - Flacco was under pressure from a very aggresive pass rush from the Steelers who blitzed Flacco on most of his passing attempts. Flacco did attempt to make some plays, but was largely unsuccessful when he tried to take some shots downfield. Of the 16 passes he threw that were 15 or more yards, he missed recievers five times, in large part to being forced to throw early, and had four other passes deflected by Pittsburgh defenders. Another one of those passes was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 20 - 60 - 2, Rec: 2 - 13 - 0 (2 targets) - McGahee ran very hard and at times appeared on the verge of breaking free for a big gain, but the Steelers' defense prevented him from breaking loose. He did manage to score two short yardage touchdowns. With less than five minutes remaining in the game, he took a vicious hit to the head and after being treated on the field was carted off on a stretcher in a cart. It was reported that McGahee was alert and able to speak and move his limbs, but had considerable pain in his neck.
RB Ray Rice, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 3 - 43 - 0 (4 targets) - Rice took short passes and ran well after securing them to gain significant yards as an outlet receiver. The only target he did not catch was thrown off target and richoted off his fingers, was intercepted.
RB LeRon McClain, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) - McClain made two brief appearances in the game.
WR Mark Clayton, Rush: 1 - 16 - 0, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (8 targets) - Clayton was targeted on intermediate or deep throws six times, but was unable to come up with any big plays. Some of the passes were thrown out of his reach, others were deflected by a Pittsburgh defender and the one he caught was ruled out of bounds.
WR Derrick Mason, Rec: 3 - 41 - 0 (10 targets) - Mason made a couple nice catches while running mostly intermediate routes, but did drop at least one ball and had a couple other passes deflected by his defender. In addition, two of the passes thrown to him were intercepted, including one for a touchdown.
WR Marcus Smith (1 targets) - Smith managed to draw a penalty on his defender on his lone target, which was in the end zone. His team scored from the one yard line on the next play.
TE Todd Heap, Rec: 3 - 26 - 0 (5 targets) - Heap was used mostly on short pass routes. His modest numbers could have been slightly enhanced as he was open on a couple of plays where he was targeted but the ball was not delivered accurately.
PK Matt Stover 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points - Stover made both of his point after attempts and did not have any field goal attempts.
BAL Rush Defense - Baltimore's rush defense was unyielding. They refused to be pushed off the line of scrimmage and corralled Willie Parker before he could gain any momentum. The defensive linemen and linebackers constantly tackled him at or just a yard past the line of scrimmage.
BAL Pass Defense - The Ravens blitzed Roethlisberger constantly and applied pressure throughout. However they gave up some big plays as Roethlisberger was able to escape the pass rush and deliver passes to his receivers to sustain drives. QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pass: 16 - 33 - 255 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 - Roethlisberger overcame a back injury he suffered during the first quarter where he received treatment on the sideline and the loss of Hines Ward to make several big plays to lead his team to victory. Roethlisberger did not miss any time and displayed excellent mobility in evading a stiff Ravens pass rush several times to buy his receivers additional time to get open. Roethlisberger proved accurate both in the pocket and out of the pocket, and distributed the ball to nine different receivers, making good decisions as to who to target. His numbers could have been enhanced if not for a ruling that Holmes did not have possession of a pass that he appeared to have caught for a touchdown, and for Limas Sweed not dropping a well thrown deep pass a couple of yards outside of the end zone with no Baltimore defender to prevent him from scoring.RB Willie Parker, Rush: 24 - 47 - 0, Rec: 1 - -2 - 0 (2 targets) - Parker ran with determination and did not shy away from taking on Baltimore's defenders, but was unable to have any big plays in large part to the stout Ravens defense. Pittsburgh kept giving him the ball, and Parker was able to help his team win the time of possession battle.
RB Mewelde Moore, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (2 targets) - Moore's involvement was more as a pass blocker and on special teams.
RB Carey Davis, Rec: 1 - 20 - 0 (1 targets) - Davis took his only offensive play of the game and turned it into a good 20 yard run after catching a short pass.
WR Nate Washington, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (7 targets) - Washington was used almost exclusively on short routes, but was unable to break free for many gains.
WR Hines Ward, Rec: 3 - 55 - 0 (3 targets) - Ward once again showed his toughness by returning after hurting his knee and limping on the sidelines in obvious pain, by returning and making a catch. However he was held out the remainder of the game. He caught all the passes thrown to him, including one where he ran very well after the catch for significant yards.
WR Limas Sweed, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (4 targets) - Sweed had some opportunities to make plays with Ward missing most of the game, but did not capitalize on an opportunity where he was open deep, the ball was well thrown, and he dropped it with no one between him and the end zone. Sweed's best play came when he prevented his defender from catching an underthrown pass to him in the end zone by breaking up the pass.
WR Santonio Holmes, Rec: 2 - 70 - 1 (7 targets) - Holmes had an eventful game. He made what appeared to be a great effort to catch a pass and stretch the ball into the end zone while being tackled, but was ruled to have not had control of the ball. On another occasion he was targeted in the end zone, but the Ravens' defensive back made a good play to break up the pass. Holmes did get into the end zone by taking an intermediate pass and running through traffic before turning on his speed to outrun the defense for the score.
TE Heath Miller, Rec: 3 - 62 - 0 (5 targets) - Miller was targeted deep a few times, including once in the end zone that was thrown out of his reach. He made a big play on a second and 24 play by running a deep pass route very well, and catching the pass for a first down to extend a drive late in the game.
PK Jeff Reed 3 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points - Reed made both of his point after attempts and all three of his field goals, which were from 34, 42 and 46 yards.
PIT Rush Defense - Pittsburgh's rush defense was solid, holding the Ravens' running backs to a collective 2.9 yards per carry average and only allowing three runs of over four yards. However they did allow two short yardage rushing touchdowns.
PIT Pass Defense - The Steelers' pass defense was aggresive and outstanding in all facets. They blitzed constantly and in addition to sacking Flacco three times, forced him to throw errantly on numerous other instances. Their defensive backfield contributed by playing excellent defense on Baltimore's receivers, and intercepted three passes. The dominance of the pass rush was summed up on two consecutive plays late in the fourth quarter when, after sacking Flacco intercepted him and returned it for a touchdown to seal the victory.