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Cards at home for NFC championship game
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Arizona Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald (11) and quarterback Kurt Warner celebrate after Fitzgerald's touchdown catch in the Cardinals' 33-13 win over the Carolina Panthers, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.
The Associated Press
The Arizona Cardinals are staying home for the NFC championship game.
The sixth-seeded Philadelphia Eagles upset the top-seeded New York Giants 23-11 on Sunday, meaning the NFC title game will be played at University of Phoenix Stadium, where the Cardinals are 7-2 this season.
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Game time is 1 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Super Bowl in Tampa on Feb. 1.
"It is huge for this organization, for our players, and especially for our fans," Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "After our wild card win here against Atlanta, I did my victory lap around the stadium because I thought it might have been the last chance for me to show my appreciation to our fans. As we all know now that was incorrect and I've never been happier to be wrong.
"We couldn't ask for anything better for an NFC championship game."
It will be the first conference championship game appearance in Cardinals franchise history – they had been 0-3 previously in divisional playoff games and were the only team not to reach an NFC title game since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.
Tickets for the Eagles-Cardinals championship game went on sale at 3 p.m. Sunday and were sold out within six minutes, according to the Cardinals.
The Cardinals and Eagles met once during the regular season, a Thanksgiving night game in Philadelphia in which the Cardinals had one of their worst showings of the season in a 48-20 loss.
Arizona, playing on a short week and having to travel to the East (where they were 0-5 during the regular season), was physically dominated on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
The Cards fell behind 21-0 after just 13 plays and managed only 25 yards rushing in the game. Kurt Warner completed 21 of 39 passes for 235 yards but was intercepted three times.
For Philadelphia, Brian Westbrook rushed for 110 yards and scored four touchdowns, two on the ground and two on passes from Donovan NcNabb, who also had a field day.
McNabb competed 27 of 39 passes for 260 yards as Philly piled up 437 yards of offense.
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