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The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC will go through Philadelphia -- again.
The Eagles (12-4) clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC when the lowly Detroit Lions beat the St. Louis Rams 30-20 on Sunday.
Philadelphia won
its third straight NFC East title with a 31-7 victory over the Washington Redskins
on Saturday night. The Eagles earned home-field advantage throughout the playoffs
because of a better conference record than the Rams, 9-3 to 8-4.
``Congratulations to the Lions. They sure gave themselves a nice boost into
next year and gave us a nice boost for this year,'' Eagles coach Andy Reid said
Sunday.
Last year, Philadelphia secured the top spot in the NFC when the New York Jets beat the Green Bay Packers on the last day of the regular season. But the Eagles didn't take advantage, losing the NFC championship game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the final football game at Veterans Stadium.
The Eagles hope for better results now that they're out of the nasty, old Vet and in the new Lincoln Financial Field. Even though they were better on the road (7-1) than at home (5-3), the Eagles realize the importance of playing at home in the playoffs.
In the past 14 years, nine of the teams that finished with the top seed in the NFC advanced to the Super Bowl. Of those nine, seven won the Super Bowl.
``I'm not big on home or away,'' Reid said. ``We've done well on the road and done well at home. If you're a good team, you expect to do well both places.''
The Eagles have lost the NFC title game the last two years, including a 29-24 loss at St. Louis in 2002. Nothing less than a trip to the Super Bowl would be considered a success this season.
Two games into the season, however, the Eagles were in disarray after being outscored 48-10 by Tampa Bay and New England in consecutive losses at home. The Eagles had lost two of their best defensive players (safety Brian Dawkins and cornerback Bobby Taylor) to foot injuries, and quarterback Donovan McNabb was off to his worst start.
But after losing to Dallas 23-21 on Oct. 12, the Eagles turned their season around. Brian Westbrook returned a punt 84 yards for a score with 1:16 left in a 14-10 victory over the New York Giants a week later, and the Eagles won nine in a row.
McNabb, selected to his fourth straight Pro Bowl, was the main reason for Philadelphia's success. The NFL's worst-rated passer through six games, McNabb was outstanding in the second half. He threw for 2,229 yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions in the last nine games.
``He's playing good football right now,'' Reid said. ``He's the best in the business at what he does. He lets the offense work to all of his advantages.''
The Eagles will need a week off for some of their injured players to recover. Five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Troy Vincent missed the last two games with a hip injury, and Westbrook, the team's leading rusher and top playmaker, has a torn triceps that will require surgery either now or after the season.
Philadelphia has been forced
to overcome several season-ending injuries this season, starting with losing
defensive ends Derrick Burgess and Jamaal Green in the preseason. Defensive
tackles Paul Grasmanis and Hollis Thomas and former Pro Bowl guard Jermane Mayberry
were done by midseason, and now Westbrook could be out.