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Philly Survives Minnesota

Eagles will face Giants next

By Maggie Hendricks

| Sunday, Jan 4, 2009 | Updated 10:35 PM EDT

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McNabb outlasted the Vikings 'D.'

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Coming into the playoffs, Philadelphia was a hot team, particularly in their 44-3 crushing defeat of Dallas. They carried tha momentum from the regular season into today's wild-card playoff game, winning 26-14 over the Vikings in Minnesota today.

The Vikings put up a fight, but quarterback Tarvaris Jackson could not hold up under the swarming pressure of the Eagles' defense. Brian Dawkins sacked Jackson once, and Assante Samuel picked off a Viking pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown.

And one of the league's best rushers, the Vikings' Adrian Peterson, could only cobble together 80 yards, and half of those were during one touchdown run. He added another touchdown near the end of the first half, but that would be the end of Minnesota's scoring.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Eagles opened up the game in the fourth when Brian Westbrook broke out for a 71-yard run to score, and then David Akers added on with a field goal. Westbrook finished the day with 121 all-purpose yards. Vikings DE Jared Allen pestered the Eagles all day, sacking Donovan McNabb twice and forcing a fumble, but it didn't matter. McNabb, who earlier this season was benched for poor performance, had an outstanding day, throwing for 300 yards.

The Eagles will now face their divisional rival, the New York Giants, next Sunday.