Eagles upset Giants 23-11 to reach NFC final

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Reuters) - The Philadelphia Eagles upset the New York Giants 23-11 on Sunday to eliminate the defending champions and advance to the National Football Conference championship.

The Eagles (11-6-1) stopped the top-seeded Giants (12-5) twice on fourth-down plays in the fourth quarter to set up a Super Bowl decider against West champions the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals (11-7), who will host the sixth-seeded Eagles next Sunday, advanced with a 33-13 upset over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday.

"I'm proud of the guys," said Eagles coach Andy Reid, whose team outplayed the Giants in the second half. "We trusted each other, believed, and I couldn't be happier for them."

Philadelphia all-round back Brian Westbrook, who was limited to 36 yards on 18 rushes, added: "We did a great job on defense and the offense did just enough for us to win."

The Eagles, stifled by the Giants defense in a first half where quarterback Donovan McNabb's one-yard touchdown following Asante Samuel's interception gave them the early advantage, mounted a 68-yard drive in their last possession to take a 10-8 lead into the break on a 25-yard field goal by David Akers.

FAILED OPPORTUNITIES

New York reclaimed the initiative thanks to a 36-yard field goal by John Carney after two minutes and 23 seconds of the third quarter but failed to take advantage of opportunities.

They were unable to turn any of their drives into touchdowns and although scoring on three field goals and a second-quarter safety, Carney missed field goal efforts from 46 and 47 yards.

Akers, who booted three field goals in the game to set an NFL playoff record by converting 18 successive three-point attempts, put Philadelphia back in front with a 35-yarder that made it 13-11 with seven minutes 53 seconds left in the third.

After that go-ahead drive marked by conversions on third-and-20 and a third-and-10, Carney missed his second field goal try and the opportunistic Eagles took charge.

They launched a 63-yard touchdown march capped by a one-yard scoring strike from McNabb to tight end Brent Celek on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 20-11 lead.

New York's next two drives ended in fourth-down failures as the Eagles stopped Giants quarterback Eli Manning for no gain on a sneak needing inches for a first down, then denied Brandon Jacobs on fourth-and-two with a ferocious defensive surge.

Akers padded the Eagles' lead with a 20-yard field goal.

"That was a disappointing finish to our season," Giants coach Tom Coughlin told reporters.

"The inability to score touchdowns in the green zone was quite evident. We were there plenty of times. Frankly we needed to score touchdowns... and that didn't happen."

McNabb, who has thrived since being benched at halftime during a one-sided loss to the Baltimore Ravens in November, reached his fifth NFC final in the last eight seasons.

"After the Baltimore game we all talked as a team," he said. "We got away from guys flying around and making plays. We're a much better team when we're loose."

(Editing by John O'Brien)