Miami, FL (My Sportsbook) - Ed Reed had two of Baltimore's four interceptions, running one back for a touchdown, and the Ravens defense stifled Miami to record a 27-9 win over the Dolphins in an AFC Wild Card contest. With the victory, Baltimore advances to play the
Tennessee Titans next weekend. The Ravens forced five turnovers and limited Miami to 276 yards, continuing their remarkable turnaround from last season. Baltimore went 5-11 in 2007, finishing last in the AFC North, but under first-year head coach John Harbaugh, they went 11-5 in the regular season. Rookie quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 135 yards, completing only 9-of-23 passes, but did not have an interception and ran for a touchdown to help Baltimore win its first playoff contest since 2001 -- when the Ravens also beat Miami in a Wild Card-round matchup. LeRon McClain ran for 75 yards and a score, while Willis McGahee compiled 62 yards on the ground in Baltimore's win. Miami also came into Sunday's contest having completed a massive turnaround under a first-year coach. After a franchise-worst mark of 1-15 last season, Tony Sparano helped the Dolphins go 11-5 this year, giving the team its first division title since 2000 and its first postseason berth since 2001. But Chad Pennington threw an uncharacteristic four picks, having been intercepted only seven times all season, while passing for 252 yards and a TD on 25-of-38 completions. Miami was held to just 52 yards rushing, as Ronnie Brown had a team-high 19 yards on the ground, in addition to catching Miami's sole touchdown pass.
Final Score: Philadelphia 26, Minnesota 14
Minneapolis, MN (My Sportsbook) - Brian Westbrook took a short screen pass 71 yards for a touchdown to break open a two-point second-half lead with 6 1/2 minutes to play, and the Philadelphia Eagles went on to post a 26-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC Wild Card bout. Westbrook was bottled up for the most part until his game-changing catch-and-run -- picking up 121 yards from scrimmage, with 38 of that coming on 20 carries. Donovan McNabb was 23-of-34 passing for 300 yards with an interception, while Asante Samuel came up with the big play on defense with a 44-yard interception return for a score for the Eagles, who were able to nudge their way into the conference's final wild card spot by going 4-1 down the stretch. DeSean Jackson had one catch for 34 yards that helped set up an Akers field goal, and he also put the Eagles in position for points throughout the game with 109 yards on five punt returns. Philadelphia posted victories over a pair of NFC division winners in Arizona and the New York Giants during their push to make the playoffs, then capped the strong run with a 44-6 pasting of the rival Dallas Cowboys last Sunday to seize the sixth and the final seed with a 9-6-1 record. Adrian Peterson had 83 yards rushing on 20 carries, with a pair of touchdowns, while Jackson finished 15-of-35 passing for 164 yards, with a costly pick, for the Vikings, who won five of their last six games to capture their first NFC North title since 2000 and end a four-year playoff drought.