McNabb has Eagles flying

January 12, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

He led Philadelphia past the Giants and into the NFC title game next week.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Donovan McNabb will get another chance to chase that elusive Super Bowl title. Eli Manning threw away his opportunity to defend it.

McNabb made all the big plays that Manning did not, and the Eagles eliminated the New York Giants 23-11 Sunday to reach the NFC title game for the fifth time in eight seasons.

“He is the best quarterback in the NFL,” Eagles coach Andy Reid praised his guy. “I don’t think I have to say anything more than that.”

Manning, meanwhile, never resembled the poised quarterback who won last year’s Super Bowl MVP award with that one perfect spiral to Plaxico Burress.

Five times New York got inside the Eagles 20. The result? A mere three field goals.

“When we needed to get something done, get a spark to make a big play, that’s when we didn’t do our best,” Manning said.

Credit Philadelphia’s hard-hitting, ball-hawking defense, and maybe blame the wind gusts a bit. Either way, these NFL playoffs are now for the Birds — the underdog Eagles, Cardinals and Ravens all won on the road this weekend.

McNabb lunged for one touchdown, threw for another and converted several key third downs to move the sixth-seeded Eagles (11-6-1) into next Sunday’s title game at Arizona (11-7). Philadelphia beat the Cardinals 48-20 on Thanksgiving night.

David Akers added three field goals — extending his NFL record to 18 straight in the postseason — to fend off the top-seeded Giants (12-5).

“I am very, very disappointed,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “I am sorry to see the season come to an end. There is remorse for opportunities lost.”

The swirling winds played havoc with any ball in the air, and also helped skew the score: This was the first game in NFL history to finish 23-11, the Elias Sports Bureau said.

McNabb converted a third-and-20 set up Akers’ 34-yard kick for a 13-11 lead in the third quarter. On the first play of the fourth quarter, he made a perfect play-action fake for a 1-yard TD toss to Brent Celek.

“The players executed like crazy,” Reid said. “They never wavered one bit. That’s tough to find in this league.”

Manning was in trouble from the start. His first pass wobbled out of his hand, got caught in the wind and missed a wide-open receiver.

Manning ended up 15-for-29 with two interceptions, often overthrowing his targets. The Giants did not score a touchdown and lost for the fourth time in five games.

“It all comes down to what you do in the playoffs. That makes your season a good one or a disappointment,” Manning said. “This is a disappointment.

“We felt this was a special team that could go far. The defense played outstanding today and gave us opportunities. Offensively, we didn’t do our job. We didn’t score enough points.”

The Eagles won for the second time this season at the Meadowlands, and were the only team to win on Giants’ turf.

“Last year we were the road warriors. This year, I thought we would be the warriors at home. It just didn’t come to pass,” Coughlin said.

Moments after Manning missed his first throw, he made a much more costly pass.

Flushed from the pocket deep in his territory, Manning slung a pass that badly sailed — right into the hands of cornerback Asante Samuel. It was Samuel’s seventh career postseason pick, and he brought it back to the 2.

McNabb made it count, stretching the ball over the goal line on a sneak for a 7-3 lead.

Unable to sack McNabb in two games this season, the Giants did even better early in the second quarter. The elusive QB dropped into his end zone and, facing pressure from the front and Justin Tuck’s rush from the back, McNabb simply got rid of the ball into open space.

A penalty flag flew a split-second later and McNabb was called for intentional grounding, resulting in a safety that cut Philly’s lead to 7-5.

Akers’ 25-yard kick on the final play of the first half gave the Eagles a 10-8 lead.

Carney made a 36-yard field goal for an 11-10 edge, but the Giants didn’t score again.