Eagles set up rematch with Giants after topping Vikings

Football Betting Lines

01/04/2009 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Westbrook took a short screen pass 71 yards for a touchdown to shatter a two-point second-half deadlock 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.

Following a 16-14 Philadelphia halftime lead, neither team was able to alter the scoreboard until the Eagles started their fourth drive of the second half with a little under seven minutes to play.

On the first play of the series, Westbrook set up for the screen in the right flat with a host of lineman pulling in front. That sprung the versatile back into the middle of the field, where he turned on the jets to outrun several would-be tacklers. A final block from Kevin Curtis inside the 10 allowed for a 23-14 lead.

The Vikings went three-and-out on three straight Tarvaris Jackson incompletions, and the Eagles, in turn, punted back to Minnesota with 3:41 to go.

Minnesota was able to move the ball only 18 yards before center Matt Birk botched a snap back to Jackson, and the Eagles' Juqua Parker fell on the ball. David Akers connected on his fourth field goal of the game -- from 45 yards out -- and the Eagles celebrated their moving on to play the New York Giants in the NFC's divisional round next Sunday.

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.

The Bears' 31-24 setback at Houston in Week 17 also secured the No. 3 playoff seed for Minnesota, although the Vikings took matters into their own hands by edging the NFC East champion Giants in their most recent test.

Racingcasino Football Betting News

<< Devils' Rolston nets OT-winner against Senators
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Rolston's power-play goal 1:43 into overtime lifted the New Jersey Devils to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators at Prudential Center. Dainius Zubrus scored twice, and Jamie Langenbrunner added a pow

<< Sosa drills late three to lift Louisville over Kentucky
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edgar Sosa's three-point shot with two seconds to play gave the 18th-ranked Louisville Cardinals a 74-71 victory over intrastate rival Kentucky on Sunday at Freedom Hall. Sosa finished with 18 point

<< Extra Mayo! Memphis ends losing streak to Dallas
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - O.J. Mayo scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds, as the Memphis Grizzlies topped Dallas, 102-82, to snap a 13-game losing against the Mavericks. Coming into the contest, Memphis had lost 18 of t

<< Bears' Woods, French to coach at All-Star Classic
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hershey Bears head coach Bob Woods and assistant coach Mark French have been named the coaches of the Canadian American Hockey League All-Star team for the 2009 All-Star Classic on Jan. 25-26 i

<< Calgary recalls Lundmark from Quad City
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames recalled forward Jamie Lundmark from the Quad City Flames of the American Hockey League, it was announced on Sunday. After 35 games with the Quad City Flames this season, Lundmar

Flyin High! Eagles upset top-ranked UNC >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyrese Rice scored 25 points, and added eight assists and five rebounds, as Boston College upended top-ranked North Carolina, 85-78, dealing the Tar Heels their first loss in the ACC opener for both sc

Tampa Bay beats Thrashers in battle for last place >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin St. Louis registered two goals, and the Tampa Bay Lightning climbed out of the Southeast division cellar with a 4-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. Mike Smith made 27 saves, as the Lightning mo

Chandler and Harrington lead Knicks past Celtics >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wilson Chandler dropped in a career-high 31 points with eight rebounds, while Al Harrington poured in 30 points, as the New York Knicks snapped an eight-game losing streak to Boston with a surpris

Chargers RB Tomlinson's status up in the air vs. Steelers >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who sat out the entire second half of the team's wild card win over the Colts with a groin injury, is not a guarantee to play next week against the Ste

Blackhawks cool off streaking Flames >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Havlat recorded a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks returned to their winning ways with a 5-2 rout of the Calgary Flames. Playing without star forward Patrick Kane because of a hig

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.