Philadelphia Eagles see off Atlanta Falcons to book NFC Championship game

Foles did not look good and the offense could not seem to get in a groove.

Foles threw for 246 yards on 23-for-30, but at halftime he had just 101 yards on 11 completions, gaining almost as much on penalties caused by bad throws than on receptions.

Brady completed 35 of 53 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns as he set an National Football League record with his 10th career post-season game with three TD passes. No matter how good the defense played, if the offense couldn’t score, the team was in trouble.

“That’s one of the areas we are dialed in from the beginning of the season to where how we make sure those aren’t field goals and they turn into touchdowns”, coach Dan Quinn said.

Blount capped a 14-play, 86-yard drive by scampering in from the 1-yard line with 10:28 left in the second. He called a timeout to further consider his decision before sending his field goal unit onto the field.

Rookie kicker Jake Elliott booted three field goals as the Eagles advanced to a meeting with either the Minnesota Vikings or the New Orleans Saints in the National Football Conference championship game next weekend in Philadelphia. Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan, who struggled to escape the ferocious Eagles pass rush all night, escaped just enough to flick the ball to Devonta Freeman in the end zone for Atlanta’s only touchdown of the night. Jones finished with nine catches for 101 yards on 16 targets while Sanu had three receptions for 50 yards on five targets. Atlanta’s secondary blew the chance to end the drive.

RPOs aren’t anyone’s comfort zone and Foles wasn’t anywhere near excellent, but Philadelphia succeeded in putting the quarterback in short down-and-distance situations. The defense held the Falcons to a field goal.

While Eagles backup-turned-starter Nick Foles dominated the headlines this past week, it was Philadelphia’s defense and running game that helped ensure the win. When they saw the formation, they knew it. Ajayi had 49 rush yards on seven first-quarter carries, but the Eagles’ run game stalled after that, netting 47 yards the remainder of the game. The Eagles nearly scored when Foles picked up a third-down fumble on a botched play, but he was stopped at the 1-yard line.

The Falcons’ once-potent offense was held scoreless in the second half. Then came the Eagles’ second costly blunder.

With 7:41 left in the half, an Atlanta punt bounced off Philadelphia special teams player Bryan Braman and was recovered by the Falcons’ LaRoy Reynolds at the Philadelphia 18. He was sacked eight times, a Patriots playoff record. Philadelphia took a 6-3 lead.

The second half was a totally different story.

Falcons go coldQuarterback Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons and teammates react against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was also the beneficiary of a botched interception that deflected off the knee of a Falcons defender and into the hands of Torrey Smith.

Foles directed drives of 74 and 80 yards in the second half — one into the whipping wind, the other with it — and Elliott atoned for missing an extra point by converting from 53 yards at the end of the second quarter, and from 37 and 21 in the second half.