AP News, January 14th, 2007
John Carney kicked two field goals, 33 and 23 yards, and the New Orleans Saints took a 6-0 lead over the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter of Saturday's NFC divisional playoff game.
The second field goal was set up by a 25-yard scamper by Reggie Bush, who reversed field after finding no daylight on the right side. Drew Brees then connected on a 35-yard pass play to Devrey Henderson to the Eagles' 4.
The Saints (10-6) were hoping to advance to the NFC championship game for the first time in the team's 40-year history. New Orleans is just 1-5 in the playoffs, while the Eagles (11-6) have played in four conference title games and one Super Bowl this decade.
The winner plays either the Seattle Seahawks or the Chicago Bears next weekend.
In their meeting at the Louisiana Superdome in Week 6, the Eagles fell behind the Saints 17-3 at halftime before rallying to go ahead 24-17 in the fourth quarter _ only to lose 27-24 on Carney's 31-yard field goal as time expired.
The Saints are facing a much different team this time around. The Eagles are missing quarterback Donovan McNabb and Pro Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard, who dislocated his elbow in the wild-card win over the Giants. Philadelphia has won six straight games behind backup quarterback Jeff Garcia, and the Eagles defense has regained its stinginess.
The teams met once before in the playoffs, with the Eagles winning on the road in 1993. It was Philadelphia's first playoff win of the Randall Cunningham/Reggie White era after three first-round playoff losses under Buddy Ryan.
