FanPost

NFC Championship Game Thread: When Avian Species Collide!

Let me preface this thread by first saying that I was born thirty minutes outside of Philly and thus possess a small affinity for the Iggles. I also enjoy the fact, however, that the Playoff Buzzsaw that is the Arizona Cardinals will be their opponent this afternoon. All in all, it should be a fun game with lots of scoring and some good defense. Both teams pulled off upsets last week, and both will look to ride the wave of momentum straight into the Super Bowl.

That's not to say that it will be especially close. Despite their recent good play and their homefield advantage, the fact remains that the Cardinals will realize that they are in fact the Cardinals and will wilt under pressure. Right? After all, the Cardinals were trounced on Thanksgiving by Bryan Westbrook and the Eagles 48-20. Then again, as Bill Simmons puts it, the Cardinals are a "Nobody believed in us!" team that could really come out with some serious fire in front of their home crowd. If Arizona has both Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald available and producing, the Cardinals could put up a serious fight.

For a more statistics-based preview, check out Football Outsiders' preview of the game. Their advanced football metrics determined all season long that the Eagles were among the top three teams in the league and Philly's recent playoff success has vindicated this assertion. For those Row readers that are seriously interested in football (as I am), then I would recommend this site very highly to get your fix for intelligent analysis and witty commentary.

In any case, Vegas has the line with the Eagles as four point away favorites with a 47 O/U number. If I were a betting man (and I'm not--yet anyway), I'd take the Eagles--who are just too good on both sides of the ball--and the under.

The Eagles should win this one comfortably, 27-13.

And...discuss!

Eat. Drink. Be Merry. But the above FanPost does not necessarily reflect the attitudes, opinions, or views of Purple Row's staff (unless, of course, it's written by the staff [and even then, it still might not]).

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