The Arizona Cardinals have punched their first ticket to the Super Bowl by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 32-25 in the NFC Championship Game. The Cardinals, who have long been considered the laughingstock of the league, has now made it only five teams in the NFL who haven't appeared in a Super Bowl. The Cardinals surprised everyone by beating the Eagles, and have surprised many for getting that far as well.
Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, who already has a Super Bowl ring and a Super Bowl MVP as a member of the 1999 St. Louis Rams, was excellent in the game. He threw four touchdown passes, with three of them to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, overall, had nine receptions for 152 yards. He surpassed former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice for most receptions yards in the playoffs. Fitzgerald now has 419 yards with one more game to play.
On the other hand, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was not good. The Eagles fell behind 24-6 because of poor defensive play and poor play from McNabb. McNabb, however, led a comeback in which the Eagles took a 25-24 lead in the 4th quarter. That didn't last as the Cardinals were able to march down the field and score another touchdown. The Eagles had one last chance, but wide receiver Kevin Curtis dropped a pass on 4th and 10 to end it with under two minutes remaining.
A lot of people are shocked that the Cardinals beat the Eagles. I am not surprised at all. I don't believe both teams are the best in the conference anyway. They happen to be hot at the right time, just like the New York Giants last year. I thought this game would go to the home team because they have more momentum with their home crowd. The Cardinals offense are hard to stop as well. Kurt Warner was comfortable in the first half throwing in the pocket. That had to change and it did for a while, but Warner found a groove again in the last drive.
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