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By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 18, 2009 at 4:21 p.m.

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Arizona fullback Terrelle Smith is overcome with emotion as he and backup defensive tackle Gabe Watson, rear, celebrate the Cardinals' victory against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals will play the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

Photo by Rob Schumacher / The (Phoenix) Arizona Republic

Arizona fullback Terrelle Smith is overcome with emotion as he and backup defensive tackle Gabe Watson, rear, celebrate the Cardinals' victory against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals will play the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner gets sacked by defensive end Victor Abiamiri, something the Eagles could have used more of on a day when Warner threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns in leading the Cardinals to a 32-25 victory.

Photo by Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images

Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner gets sacked by defensive end Victor Abiamiri, something the Eagles could have used more of on a day when Warner threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns in leading the Cardinals to a 32-25 victory.

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — In the same area in which bombastic Buddy Ryan in 1994 famously - and laughably - declared upon joining the Cardinals, "They've got a winner in town," Arizona finally, and improbably, does.

It's the same franchise that became the last in the NFC since the 1970 merger to reach the conference championship game; the same outfit that had one playoff victory and two winning seasons in the desert before this season; the same organization that, before this month, had only two postseason triumphs since its inception as a club team in 1898. Now that same franchise is going to its first Super Bowl.

"Now everybody's forced to say good stuff," Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry said defiantly after his team's nail-biting 32-25 victory against the once-again- bridesmaid Philadelphia Eagles. "And I know a lot of people don't like saying good stuff about us. And that's cool. We really don't care what they say. . . . They've all got to come see us in Tampa, period."

The Cardinals' incredible playoff run hit its apex in shiny, $455 million University of Phoenix Stadium, miles removed from their overheated, underperforming days as tenants at a college football stadium down the road in Tempe.

It didn't occur, though, until Arizona averted a near collapse, going from an 18-point halftime lead to a 25-24 fourth-quarter deficit.

But the Cardinals marched 72 yards in 14 plays, led by acrobatic receiver Larry Fitzgerald and the ageless Kurt Warner. And Tim Hightower's 8-yard TD off a throwback screen with slightly less than three minutes left showed these aren't the same old Cardinals, something that has been voiced countless times through the decades.

"It feels very good. It feels very good," said Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill, clad in a bow tie, while red-and-white confetti was shot skyward. "I imagine there's some superlative I could add to it. But I can't think of any right now."

Credit Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt for the improbable moment. He instilled a culture of winning. Give an assist to new revenue streams created by the Cardinals' new digs, which allowed the Bidwill family's famously tight purse strings to loosen slightly.

And reserve a pat on the back to a group of players who put their hands on their ears when skeptics dismissed them as mere curiosity after a late-season lapse.

On Sunday, a heaping dose of praise must be dished out, too, to Fitzgerald, a breakout star despite being a three-time Pro Bowl selection. He owned the postseason again, with nine catches, 152 yards and three touchdowns, raising his three-game total to 419 yards receiving to break Jerry Rice's 1988 playoff record.

"He's been on fire," said Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin, who returned from a hamstring injury to catch four passes for 34 yards. "You saw him running wide open, making big plays when we needed them. He played like a man among boys."

Fitzgerald's totals included three catches for 42 yards on the clinching drive. Three plays before Hightower's touchdown, the running back converted a fourth-and-1 with a 5-yard sweep off right tackle to set up first-and-goal.

"We have a bunch of guys that are very resilient in this locker room - guys who are going to fight and scratch for everything," Fitzgerald said.

"And that just really showed the determination a lot of these guys have, just a refuse-to-lose attitude. We needed to go out and score seven, and we did."

Philadelphia (11-7-1) settled for two first-half field goals before scoring touchdowns on three straight possessions in the third and fourth quarters. Two of those scores came on Donovan McNabb throws to Brent Celek, part of a 10-catch performance from the Eagles tight end. DeSean Jackson scored the go-ahead points with an acrobatic 62-yard reception off a deflection with 10:45 remaining.

After Arizona regained the lead, Philadelphia reached the Cardinals 47-yard line before McNabb threw three straight incompletions. The Eagles quarterback went deep to Kevin Curtis on fourth down. The receiver's fake to the post sent cornerback Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie to the turf, and Curtis slipped to his knees on his cut to an out route.

The ball caromed off the receiver's hands, sending the Arizona fans and players into a frenzy. The Eagles didn't get the ball back until only nine seconds remained and fumbled off several laterals to end the game.

"As far as what this means to the organization, I am thrilled to death to say the least," Whisenhunt said. "To get to the Super Bowl and for this to be the first time that this team has gotten to a championship game and the Super Bowl, that's a big deal."

The Eagles actually outgained the Cardinals by a 454-369 margin, had a higher third-down conversion percentage (50-42) and more first downs (22-21).

McNabb threw for 375 yards but banged-up Brian Westbrook wasn't much of a factor, and the Eagles' fierce blitz reached Warner only twice.

"To end this way, it's tough, when you're this close to making the Super Bowl" McNabb said. "This team has really pulled together, and it was the type of nucleus that you definitely want. It's tough to see the guys and know how they're feeling."

Warner, the two-time MVP, finished with four TD passes among his 21 completions.

He'll become only the second starting quarterback for two different Super Bowl-winning franchises, joining Craig Morton.

"It's big. We put ourselves in position and got to the Super Bowl. But the thing is, people always remember the winner. They never remember the loser. And that's one thing we never want to lose sight of," said Arizona running back Edgerrin James, who had 73 of Arizona's 102 yards rushing. "It's super special to get to the Super Bowl, and that's what we've done. But we want to continue."

Key moment

The Eagles tried a variety of approaches to slow Fitzgerald, from zone to man coverage. But he couldn't be stopped. He was deadly on crossing routes, one resulting in his first TD. With his 62-yard scoring catch, he demonstrated his ability that's perhaps unmatched in the NFL to go up high to snare passes in traffic. And he froze Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown with a quick post fake, then ran unhindered on a corner route for his third TD. Dating to the Dec. 21 regular-season game at New England, Fitzgerald has five straight 100-yard receiving games.

Numbers game

4thseed for Arizona entering the playoffs. The Cardinals became the first team with that distinction to win the NFC championship since Dallas in 1975. At the time, only four teams from each conference made it to the playoffs.

He said it

"You say 'next time,' but you can't really do that with this, that's not how it works. You want to take care of opportunities when they are given to you, and that's what makes this so sudden and disappointing."

Andy Reid, Eagles coach, on his team's 1-4 record in five NFC title-game appearances in the past eight years.

Three's company

Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals on Sunday became only the sixth player to score three touchdowns in one NFC Championship Game. The others:

Player, team Opponent Year How scored

Otto Graham, Cleveland Detroit 1954 All rushing

Gary Collins, Cleveland Baltimore 1964 All receiving

Tom Matte, Baltimore Cleveland 1968 All rushing

Preston Pearson, Dallas

Los Angeles Rams

1975 All receiving

Emmitt Smith, Dallas Green Bay 1995 All rushing

Comments

  • January 18, 2009

    5:29 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    bronco_fan_no_matter_how_painful writes:

    was just browsing some of the comments on ESPN; Philly fans are actually calling for McNabb and Reid's heads...fickle, fickle, fickle

    two guys already had it figured out how Philly could get Shanahan as their coach...funny stuff right there!!! Mike would never take that job, no way in the world...

    hopefully we are one year away from our next superbowl birth!
    go Broncos!

  • January 18, 2009

    6:52 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    desertwind writes:

    Lienert gets a cut of the Super Bowl share before Cutler. Even as a backup. Who would have bet that?

  • January 18, 2009

    6:54 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    gman4013 writes:

    Hell hath frozen over - The Cardinals are in the Superbowl.

    And what the hell was Lienert doing on the stage, he didn't do anything to warrant being up there, expect playing bad enough to be benched for Warner.

  • January 18, 2009

    6:58 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    bronco_fan_no_matter_how_painful writes:

    gman, great question; I had the same thought...why was Leinhart on stage, he certainly wasn't directing the USC band this time so he should have been on the field with the rest of the practice players...

    let's hope for Leinhart's case that maybe he has learned about how to be a pro playing behind Warner and maybe now he will quit partying so much and worrying about being in the tabloids and focus on being a pro QB, or he will be the next David Carr

  • January 18, 2009

    9:45 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    avsfan71085 writes:

    wow...is all I have to say...just wow

  • January 18, 2009

    9:50 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    leavemealone writes:

    Go Arizona!

  • January 18, 2009

    11:03 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    iggypuppet writes:

    Memo to Kurt Warner... I watched the post-game and saw him do his Jesus thing (again)... faith in God is a wonderful thing, but I have to tell you Kurt that Jesus doesn't care who wins a football game.. He wasn't rooting for you over Philly. Jesus loves Donovan McNabb as much as he loves you.

    Actually it is possible that He was rooting for Philly... after all, Kurt, you turned your back on your fellow players by being a scab during the last NFL labor issue! I don't think Jesus looks kindly upon the pursuit of personal gain over supporting one's brother!

    So, Jesus roots for a guy who doesn't have the integrity to stand up with his fellow workers? Hmmmm.

    Go Steelers! Heck, I'd root for the Raiders against St. Kurt! Even if the Cards are going into this as the lovable underdogs!

  • January 19, 2009

    9:28 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Miss_Sin_Link writes:

    desertwind, I was thinking on that exact irony in the closing seconds of the game.

    iggypuppet, agree completely. Don't you think there were plenty of players on the Eagles team (and among their fans) that were praying to Jesus too?

    Congrats, AZ. You've waited a long time for this. Remember, though, you've got one more game... It's not good enough just to get to the show -- you gotta be the star of the show for it to really count. Just ask Denver, Minnesota, Buffalo, and SD how important it is to win once you get there.

  • January 19, 2009

    10:05 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    ColoNative writes:

    Iggy - does it make sense to be offended by a God you claim does not exist? Let the man be in his celebration. Would you rather see the obscene hip gyrations of others who have celebrated?

  • January 19, 2009

    11:22 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    fmikey writes:

    Iggypuppet:
    Pretty judgmental on your part....who are you to determine what God thinks? Pretty big stretch regarding the "scab" accusation....you would have done the same thing, hypocrite...
    "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone..."
    This is about football, not religion.....the guy's a great
    q-back...