2009 NFC Championship Game Betting Preview: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Arizona Cardinals
Article courtesy of The Prez, An-Award Winning Professional Football Handicapper Featured on Touthouse.com

If you put money down on predicting a Philadelphia Eagles-Arizona Cardinals NFC Championship Game, you are counting your thousands of dollars today and I’d like to know your favorite lotto numbers as well.

Both road underdogs prevailed this past weekend in the NFC and both in pretty darn impressive fashion. Philly physically dominated in the Meadowlands for the second time in about six weeks, while the Cardinals made Jake Delhomme look like a grade-schooler in shredding the Panthers, who were the lone double-digit favorites last week.

So what can you expect Sunday in such an unexpected matchup? It should actually be a good home-field advantage for Arizona, as the game sold out in about six minutes (the Cardinals even extended the capacity of the stadium from 64,500 to more than 70,000). However, it is Philly that has opened as a 3.5-point favorite. That’s probably largely due to a Week 13 Thanksgiving night victory in Philadelphia by the Eagles.

If you remember, that Cardinals game was the first for Donovan McNabb and the Eagles following his benching and Philly’s blowout loss against Baltimore. But McNabb quieted his doubters against Arizona, throwing for four touchdowns against no picks as the Eagles won 48-20. Brian Westbrook became the fourth player in NFL history with two rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns and 100-plus rushing yards in a game.

The game really wasn’t close, with the Eagles dominating in every fashion and holding Arizona to 25 yards rushing. That also was the last game the Eagles gave up more than 14 points. In the six games since, that 14-point barrier has not been exceeded by Philly opponents. The Eagles are 5-1 in that stretch.

Arizona, of course, was winless in the Eastern time zone before Saturday night’s game. And that win earned the Cardinals their second home playoff game in three weeks. Before this season, 61 years had passed since the franchise’s last home postseason game.

Cardinals Pro Bowl receiver Anquan Boldin is hopeful he will be able to play in the game after missing the divisional round with a hamstring strain. Boldin said the injury did improve with rest and that he is hopeful of playing (I can almost guarantee he will). The Eagles, who had the No. 3 pass defense in the NFL this season, held Boldin to just five catches for 63 yards in the first meeting. Fellow Cards WR Larry Fitzgerald had nearly similar numbers but two touchdown catches.

Meanwhile, Arizona tight end Stephen Spach suffered a sprained right knee Saturday night and was on crutches after the game. He is expected to undergo an MRI by Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury. His blocking lately has been a boost to a resurgent Arizona ground game.

By the way, the Eagles-Cardinals game will be the first conference championship game in a non-strike season to feature two teams who won fewer than 10 games in the regular season. This is the fifth time in eight years that Philly has made the NFC title game – they lost three of the past four.

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