Mattie T’s in-game blog: (NFC Championship Game: Eagles vs. Cardinals)

Looks like both teams have no significant injuries to report, as kickoff is just moments away from a very noisy University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

We are ready to go as hometown native & 2007 American Idol winner Jordin Sparks is singing the national anthem!

1st quarter:

Arizona has won the coin toss & will receive to start the NFC Championship Game.

Great opening kickoff by David Akers, as the ball sails deep into the end zone which forces J.J. Arrington to kneel down for a touchback.

Here comes Kurt Warner & the Cardinals’ offense. Will Warner’s offensive line be ready to give him major protection today against an Eagles defense that loves to blitz under longtime coordinator Jim Johnson?

Warner is in shotgun on 2nd & 8  and slings an underneath pass to Anquan Boldin, good for 7 yards.

Eagles do blitz on 3rd down, but Warner picks it up & hits Larry Fitzgerald across the middle of the field for an Arizona first down. Fitzgerald’s catch & run is good for 19 yards.

Anquan Boldin then gets a wide receiver screen & gains 9 yards. Good opening drive so far here by the Cardinals, as they would love to strike first & have the Eagles playing catchup against a very-improved defense.

Edgerrin James gets 3 yards up the middle, good for another Arizona 1st down.

Nice draw play to James, who takes it 16 yards down to Philadelphia’s 24-yard line. James once again with an 11-yard run against a very good Eagles defense. Arizona now has 1st & 10 from the Eagles’ 12-yard line.

On 2nd & 6 from the Eagles’ 9-yard line, Warner finds Fitzgerald across the middle, who spins & actually collided with tight end Leonard Pope before reaching the end zone, which is good for a Cardinals touchdown.

Neil Rackers’ extra point is good as Arizona scores on their 1st offensive possession of the day & leads 7-0 with 9:20 remaining in the 1st quarter.

Rackers makes a mistake on Arizona’s kickoff, as the ball sails out of bounds before reaching the end zone, which will give Philadelphia their 1st possesion of the day at their own 40-yard line.

Donovan McNabb breaks off a huge 22-yard run on Philadelphia’s first offensive play of the game, which now puts them inside Arizona territory. This early start looks like we could be in for a shootout today!

McNabb fakes a draw to Brian Westbrook & tries to hit Brent Celek, but Adrian Wilson makes a great read on the play which is only good for a 1-yard gain.

On 3rd & 5 from the Cardinals’ 35 yard line, Westbrook starts the play in the backfield but later lines up as a wide receiver & catches a nice 7-yard grab from McNabb for a Philadelphia 1st down.

McNabb pitches it left to Westbrook, but Antrel Rolle is right there as it only goes for 1 yard.

Another big 3rd & 9 for the Eagles from Arizona’s 27-yard line, as McNabb’s pass is batted down by Karlos Dansby at the line of scrimmage. Nice stop by the Cardinals’ defense, as David Akers will now come on for a 45-yard field goal attempt.

Akers’ 19th consecutive postseason field goal try is good, as the Eagles are now on the board & trail 7-3 with 4:43 left in the 1st quarter.

J.J. Arrington returns Akers’ kickoff to Arizona’s 24-yard line, as Kurt Warner will look to continue his hot start.

This time the Eagles do get to Warner on a 2nd down blitz, as Kurt is forced to hurry his throw which is incomplete to Anquan Boldin.

Larry Fitzgerald makes a 8-yard catch & took a big hit from Asante Samuel, but held on & gained additional yardage. However, Fitzgerald is just 1 yard short of a 1st down which will force Arizona to punt.

Poor punt by Ben Graham, which only sails 34 yards & will set up the Eagles with decent field position from their own 33-yard line.

McNabb fires a downfield pass for DeSean Jackson, but Jackson is unable to hold onto the ball as he slides to the ground.

Great read by Gerald Hayes & Darnell Dockett, as they stop Brian Westbrook from turning the corner & limits him to no gain.

On 3rd & 10, McNabb’s pass is tipped by DeSean Jackson & intercepted by Aaron Francisco, but Jackson doesn’t give up on the play & forces a fumble by Francisco which is recovered by Philadelphia. Eagles just avoided a huge blow there as Arizona looked like they had great field position after the turnover.

McNabb scrambles to his right on 1st & down fires a bomb to Greg Lewis downfield, but Lewis is unable to hold onto the ball as he hits the ground. Former Eagle Roderick Hood was there with Lewis step by step in coverage.

McNabb then hits Hank Baskett, who makes a nice rolling catch & gained additional yardage, as he was not tackled on the play. Good for 14 yards & a Eagles 1st down to their own 39-yard line.

Nice draw play to Westbrook, who takes it up the middle for 14 yards & another Philadelphia 1st down.

Correll Buckhalter then gets a 9-yard gain, as he has actually outrushed Westbrook in terms of yards-per-carry so far in the playoffs.

Buckhalter with a 3-yard run for another 1st down. First quarter ends with Arizona leading 7-3, but Philadelphia is driving & looks to cut into their deficit as they will have 1st & 10 from the Cardinals’ 35-yard line.

2nd quarter:

The Eagles’ drive results in no points as David Akers hooks a 47-yard field goal attempt wide right, which ends Akers’ postseason streak of 19 straight made field goals.

More trickery by Arizona, as Kurt Warner makes a pitch to J.J. Arrington, who is lined up to the right of Warner. Arrington then tosses it back to Warner, who made a few shuffles of his feet & slinged it downfield to Larry Fitzgerald, who jumped up & caught it over a stumbling Quintin Demps to complete the play with a great 65-yard touchdown reception.

Neil Rackers’ extra point is good, which now gives Arizona a 14-3 lead with 13:19 left before halftime.

This crowd noise seems to be getting louder & louder, which just prompted an Eagles false start.

Nice quick strike by McNabb to Kevin Curtis, which goes for 11 yards & will set up 3rd & 1.

McNabb with a play-action pass, but winds up getting sacked by Darnell Dockery. However, a holding call against Antonio Smith on Brian Westbrook gives Philadelphia an automatic 1st-down.

Mcnabb then hits a streaking Kevin Curtis on a slant pattern & Curtis does the rest, as his speed completes a big 47-yard play & sets up 1st & 10 for Philadelphia in the red zone.

Nice fake pitch by McNabb, who hands off to Correll Buckhalter for 7 yards.

McNabb’s screen pass to Greg Lewis fails, as Lewis lost 3 yards on the play.

Big 3rd & 6 for the Eagles, as McNabb tries to hit Jason Avant but it ends up being incomplete. Another big 3rd down stop for Arizona’s defense, who will force Philadelphia into yet another field goal try.

Akers’ kick from 33 yards is good, which now makes it a 14-6 Arizona lead with 9:02 to go before halftime.

Warner stumbles on a handoff to Edgerrin James, but James does the rest as he takes it 22 yards up the middle for an Arizona first down near midfield.

James has looked great to this point, as he has 57 yards rushing on just 9 attempts.

Nice underneath pass from Warner to J.J. Arrington, who takes it 17 yards down to Philadelphia’s 30-yard line.

Warner escapes an Eagles blitz & hits Leonard Pope to his right for a 12-yard gain to Philadephia’s 14-yard line.

Again, another Eagles blitz results in another Cardinals 1st down as Warner reads it & hits Steve Breaston for a 10-yard gain, which will set up 1st & Goal at Philadelphia’s 4-yard line.

Warner tosses it to his right to J.J. Arrington, who only picks up 1 yard on 1st down.

Warner then pump fakes & fires it incomplete to Larry Fitzgerald in the end zone, but a flag is thrown as Asante Samuel is called for pass interference.

1st & Goal at the Eagles’ 1-yard line, as Warner throws a fade route to his left to Fitzgerald, who jumps up & grabs it for an Arizona touchdown.

Rackers’ extra point is good, which gives the Cardinals a 21-6 lead with 3:06 left before halftime.

That’s 5 grabs so far for Fitzgerald, as he has 99 yards & two first-half touchdowns to continue his dominating postseason.

Kurt Warner to this point is 10 for 11 with 153 yards & three 1st-half touchdowns and a PERFECT 158.3 rating.

Almost a DISASTEROUS special-teams play by the Eagles’ Victor Abiamiri, who nearly touched the ball which would’ve made it live, but the officials give Philadelphia possession.

Ken Whisenhunt is going to challenge this, but it is very, very close from looking at initial replays.

Officials rule that the play is not reviewable, so Whisenhunt gets to keep his challenge.

Philadephia now desperately needs a touchdown before halftime, or this game could start to turn into a blowout as Kurt Warner has been lights out on offense.

McNabb targets Brent Celek on two straight passes, which are both caught & will move the ball up to the 40-yard line.

McNabb then gets called for intenational grounding, as he was blitzed & hurried his throw to no eligible open receiver. We have hit the 2-minute warning with the Eagles facing 1st & 22 from their own 28-yard line.

McNabb again hits Celek for an 8-yard gain, which will cause Philadelphia to use their 1st timeout. To this point, Donovan is 10 for 17 with 101 passing yards & 1 interception, which equals a 55.1 quarterback rating.

On 3rd & 14, McNabb pump fakes & just misses a diving Jason Avant downfield, who is unable to hang onto the ball & will force the Eagles to punt.

Kurt Warner now has 1:31 to work with to try & set up more points for a red-hot Cardinals offense that has scored 62 points so far in 2 playoff games.

Dumb self-inflicted play by Quintin Demps, as he is called for roughing the passer on Warner which results in 15 yards & an Arizona first down. Not a good 1st half for Demps, as he was beaten on Fitzgerald’s 1st touchdown catch of the game.

Anquan Boldin almost came up with a SPECTACULAR grab as he juggled the ball, held onto it, hit the deck then got up & gained additional yardage on a 32-yard play. However, the ball appeared to hit the ground at the play is being reviewed upstairs since we’re inside the 2-minute warning. Great indivdidual effort though by Boldin as that catch even prompted a fellow sports writer to scream. 🙂

Officials call it an incomplete pass, so it will be 2nd & 10 from Arizona’s own 36-yard line.

That is just Kurt Warner’s SECOND incomplete pass to this point in the NFC Championship Game.

Warner & J.J. Arrington collide in the backfield, which results in a 6-yard loss. Eagles call their 2nd timeout as Arizona now faces 3rd & 15.

Once again, Warner reads another Philadelphia blitz & hits Jereme Urban for an 18-yard pickup. Jim Johnson looks pretty lifeless with his facial expression upstairs as FOX just showed a shot of him on TV.

Warner pump fakes & hits a streaking Larry Fitzgerald, who completes a 14-yard gain and is now over 100 yards receiving for the 3rd consecutive game during the playoffs. Is it safe to say that Fitz is the hottest wide receiver that’s still remaining among the 4 playoff teams?

The Eagles FINALLY sack Warner at the 45-second mark before halftime, as Trent Cole finally brings him down for a 7-yard loss.

Warner is able to dump it off quickly to Anquan Boldin, who takes it 13 yards to set up a 49-yard field goal attempt by Neil Rackers with 3 seconds left.

Rackers’ kick is good, which ends a 1st half dominated by Arizona as they will go into the locker room with a 24-6 lead.

Philadelphia has to find a way to force some turnovers out of Kurt Warner in the 2nd half, as Warner is 14 of 17 for 203 yards, 3 touchdowns and a 156.0 rating.

3rd quarter:

Eagles receive to start the 2nd half, as Jason Avant makes a nice grab from Donovan McNabb for a 14-yard catch, which will set up 3rd & 6 from the Eagles’ 43-yard line.

McNabb then connects with DeSean Jackson, who’s forward progress is good enough for a Philadelphia 1st down.

First catch of the day for Jackson, who was the Eagles’ leading receiver in the regular season.

2 plays later, McNabb overthrows an open Kevin Curtis, which now will set up 3rd & 8 from Arizona’s 47-yard line.

Cardinals bring a 3rd down safety blitz with Adrian Wilson, who sacks McNabb & forces a fumble that is recovered by Arizona. Another touchdown here by the Cardinals would give the Eagles almost no chance to comeback in this game.

Edgerrin James spins off a tackler & picks up 4 yards on 1st down.

Warner gets rocked on a blitz & overthrows an open Anquan Boldin downfield. One of the few mistakes that Warner has made today, as i’m sure Matt Leinart is watching carefully from the Arizona sideline.

McNabb’s 2nd down pass to Jackson is off his fingertips, as Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is there in coverage to break up the play.

Brent Celek takes a big hit from Chieke Okeafor, but holds on for a 7-yard catch & an Eagles 1st down.

McNabb then goes play-action, but the ball is tipped by Adrian Wilson & hits the ground for an incomplete pass.

Brian Westbrook is able to break a tackle on a draw play & gets 8 yards, which will set up a big 3rd & 2 from the Eagles’ own 32-yard line.

McNabb then fakes a handoff & hits Celek for another completion..that is Celek’s 7th catch of the day.

Adrian Wilson with another sack of McNabb, who has gone down twice in the 3rd quarter.

Hank Baskett then drops a catchable pass from McNabb, as that play can easily sum up how Philadelphia has played today.

3rd & 19 from their own 31-yard line, as Kevin Curtis makes the biggest play of the game for Philadelphia with a nice 50-yard grab from McNabb, as he outran 2 Arizona defenders.

Mcnabb takes off on 2nd & 6 with a 10-yard run, which sets up 1st & Goal from Arizona’s 5-yard line.

Westbrook loses yardage on 1st down, as Antonio Smith knocked him backwards for a 1-yard loss.

McNabb then complets a 6-yard touchdown to Celek, who continues his big day as he catches his 8th grab for 48 yards.

David Akers’ extra point is good, as Arizona now leads 24-13 with 4:08 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Akers then makes a terrible special teams mistake, as his kickoff sails out of bounds to set up Arizona at their own 40-yard line.

Eagles bring 2nd down pressure on Warner, who is forced to hurry his throw. Big 3rd & 10 from Arizona’s own 35-yard line, as Warner scrambles but is unable to avoid the sack from Victor Abiamiri.

Philadelphia will now start from their own 39-yard line with 3:42 remaining in the 3rd quarter, as the momentum of this game is starting to swing towards’ their favor.

McNabb again connects with the speedy Kevin Curtis for a 14-yard pickup, as Philadelphia is now inside Arizona territory.

Eagles call a draw for Brian Westbrook on 2nd down, but Gerald Hayes is able to limit it to a 4-yard gain.

Big 3rd & 6 for Philadelphia, as McNabb hits a diving DeSean Jackson for a 10-yard catch as Jackson rolled out of bounds. Catch is good, which gives the Eagles a 1st down at Arizona’s 33-yard line.

Westbrook tries to bounce outside to his right, but Gerald Hayes is there to tackle him after a 3-yard gain.

Eagles use a timeout with the play clock running down. 56 seconds to go in the 3rd quarter as McNabb is starting to heat up.

McNabb then hits Celek, who does the rest as he gets a block & goes into the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown.

Akers misses the extra point, as Arizona now leads 24-19 with 49 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Before today, Akers’ last missed extra point in a game was in December of 2004 during a 12-7 win over Dallas.

Warner’s throw is batted at the line of scrimmage, but Warner gets it back & runs 3 yards on the play. Looks like the ball came loose after Warner’s run, so we will find out shortly if Arizona is able to retain possession.

3rd quarter ends with Arizona leading 24-19, but Philadelphia has comeback hopes on their mind!

4th quarter:

J.J. Arrington muffs it in the end zone, which will force him to kneel down for a touchback.

Edgerrin James with a nice 16-yard catch on a screen pass from Kurt Warner for an Arizona 1st down.

On 2nd & 5, Arizona tries a draw play to Tim Hightower, but Brian Dawkins stuffs it for no gain.

Warner is then blitzed & throws off his back foot, which will force Arizona to punt.

Donovan McNabb with a nice play action fake, as he sets up a 16-yard screen pass to Correll Buckhalter for a Eagles 1st down.

McNabb then pump fakes & hits Jason Avant for a 9-yard down, setting up 2nd & 1.

Westbrook then picks up 3 yards for another Philadelphia 1st down.

Another huge play by the Eagles, as Donovan McNabb pump fakes & fires it downfield to a wide open DeSean Jackson, who makes a beautiful juggling catch to complete a go-ahead 62-yard touchdown grab!!!!!

Eagles go for two, as McNabb pump fakes & fires an incomplete pass to Brian Westbrook in the end zone. Philadelphia is called for holding, so they now hold a slim 25-24 lead with 10:45 left.

McNabb has had a great 2nd half, as he is now 24 for 38 with 342 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception and a 107.6 rating.

Meanwhile, Kurt Warner has just 20 yards passing since halftime with NO catches for Larry Fitzgerald.

Decent kickoff return by Steve Breaston, who brings it out to Arizona’s 28-yard line.

HUGE completion by Warner, as he moves the chains with an 11-yard pass to Fitzgerald for a Cardinals 1st down.

Warner then hits Leonard Pope on a 9-yaard catch, as Arizona has the ball near midfield.

Tim Hightower gets the carry on 3rd & 2 but appears to be just short of a 1st down.

4th & inches, as the Cardinals are going for it with under 8 minutes left.

Hightower cuts it to his right & picks up a big 1st down, as that run is good for6 yards.

Warner then hits Fitzgerald again on a slant pattern, good for 15 yards & a Cardinals first down at the Eagles’ 26-yard line.

Pretty heated battle on Arizona’s sidelines between Anquan Boldin & offensive coordinator Todd Haley, as Boldin had to be separated by teammates.

Great 2nd down grab by Fitzgerald, who fights for extra yardage & sets up a big 3rd & 1.

Hightower rumbles his way down to Philadelphia’s 9-yard line, as the Cardinals are looking to punch in the go-ahead score.

On 2nd & Goal, Hightower’s carry is only good for 1 yard which sets up a HUGE 3rd down. Eagles use a timeout on defense, which gives them 2 remaining for the rest of the game.

Eagles once again come with the blitz on 3rd down, but Warner dumps it off on a screen pass to Hightower, who gets some nice blocks & finishes off a go-ahead 9-yard touchdown.

Arizona is going for 2, so that Philadelphia won’t take the lead with their next touchdown.

2-point conversion is good to Ben Patrick, as Arizona now leads 32-25 with 2:53 left. This has already turned out to be one of the best NFC Championship Games ever, and it’s not over by any means!!!!

Great kickoff by Rackers, as DeSean Jackson kneels down in the end zone for a touchback.

McNabb tries a first down pass to Westbrook, but Antrel Rolle hammers him as it ends up being incomplete.

Nice catch by Jackson, who caught it before being shoved out of bounds by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Good for 9 yards, which sets up a BIG 3rd & 1.

McNabb again to Celek, who makes his 10th catch of the afternoon. Eagles keep the clock moving with under 2:30 to go for the game.

Nice 1 handed grab by Westbrook, who gets a good block to complete a 19-yard catch as the Eagles now have it inside Arizona territory.

Hank Baskett slips on McNabb’s intended pass, which stops the clock at 2:06. on 2nd & 10, McNabb is blitzed & overthrew an open DeSean Jackson.

Clock stops at 2:01 with a big 3rd & 10 coming up for Philadelphia. McNabb gets another blitz & can’t connect with Baskett.

2-minute warning, as the Eagles’ season will now come down to this upcoming 4th & 10 play.

1:57 left, as McNabb fires to Kevin Curtis who is UNABLE to hold on!!!!! Eagles want a pass interference flag, but none is thrown.

Arizona’s defense is now starting to celebrate on the field as this team is just moments away from their 1st ever Super Bowl!

Eagles use a defensive timeout after Edgerrin James’ 6-yard run, as they have one remaining with 1:43 left.

Tim Hightower’s 4-yard run is very close to a 1st down, but it appears to be short.

Cardinals call timeout with 59 seconds remaining on 3rd down, as Philadelphia is out of timeouts & can no longer stop the clock.

Eagles do stop Hightower on 3rd down, but the Eagles will have under 15 seconds left to try & punch in a game-tying touchdown.

After Arizona’s punt, 9 seconds are now left on the clock as Donovan McNabb has to go 93 yards with no timeouts remaining in order to tie this game.

Eagles try a lateral, but DeSean Jackson throws it right into the hands of Darnell Dockery to end the game! Very fitting that Arizona’s defense ends it with yet another takeaway, which they have done such a great job at doing throughout these playoffs.

Postgame:

Congratulations to Ken Whisenhunt’s Arizona Cardinals, who have won the NFC Championship Game & are now headed to Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa on February 1st! This will be the Cardinals’ first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

Very emotional postgame interview by Adrian Wilson, as tears are flowing down his face as he speaks with FOX’s Pam Oliver. Wilson has been one of Arizona’s longest-tenured players with 8 years of experience, so it’s easy to see why Adrian is experiencing a great deal of emotion right now.

Game ball goes to both Kurt Warner & Larry Fitzgerald! Warner completed 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards, 4 touchdowns & no interceptions for a 145.7 quarterback rating.

Fitzgerald with yet another dominant performance, as he hauls in 9 catches for 152 yards & 3 receiving touchdowns.

Now the attention turns to the AFC, as we’ll see whether Arizona will play either Pittsburgh or Baltimore in Super Bowl XLIII!