• So a 10-6 finish to win the NFC South and earn the #2 in the playoffs was, as the ad said, "priceless." Just one win would propel the Saints into their first-ever conference final. The club's first playoff bye allowed the team to rest and heal for the "second season."
• "Thank you, boys" wasn't nearly enough to express the city's gratitude to Coach Sean Payton for the turnaround that earned him NFL Coach of the Year honors and to QB Drew Brees for bringing his talent to the Crescent City.
• The Saints set single-season club records with 6,264y and 46 offensive TDs. Continuing the play-calling role he had handled for seven years as an offensive assistant, Payton kept opposing offense guessing. Teams couldn't afford to gang up on RBs Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush and risk being torched by Brees, who posted eight 300y passing games.
• Payton's first goal when he took over was to make the Saints play smarter and with more discipline. And he had succeeded admirably: 2005 - 43 turnovers, 2006 - 23. 2005 - 135 penalties (a franchise record) for 1,130y, 2006 - 79 penalties for 597y.

The Philadelphia Eagles, champions of the NFC East, made their second trip to the Big Easy in 90 days after beating the Giants 23-20 in the wild card round.

• Andy Reid had also engineered a turnaround after a disappointing '05 season that saw his club, which had lost the Super Bowl in '04, slump to 6-10 and miss the playoffs for the first time since '99, Andy's first year on the job.
• The Saints' 27-24 victory in the Dome on October 15 had proved to be crucial in determining playoff seeding because the Eagles finished with the same 10-6 record.
• The Eagles fell behind 17-3 before charging back in the second half to lead 24-17. That would have been it for the "old" Saints, but Brees rallied the "new" Black and Gold to the tying TD, then led a drive that used up the final 8:26 to set up John Carney's 31y game-winner.

But the Eagles had changed considerably since that defeat.

• The biggest difference was under C where Jeff Garcia, a three-time Pro Bowler while with San Francisco, took over after Donovan McNabb suffered a torn ACL on November 19. Initially booed by the Philly fans who wanted A.J. Feeley to start, Jeff took over the #1 offense in the conference and, after losing the first game, led the Eagles to six straight victories including the wild card week win.
• WR Donte Stallworth, whom the Eagles had acquired in a trade with the Saints in the preseason after jettisoning Terrell Owens, had returned to the lineup after a hamstring injury grounded him for the regular season meeting with his former team. One of Garcia's favorite targets, Donte snagged 38 passes for 725y despite missing five games.
• RB Brian Westbrook had assumed an even larger role after McNabb's injury. He compiled six 100y rushing games and one 100y receiving game. A key component of the Saints' October 15 triumph had been holding the Villanova product to only 75y.
• On the negative side, the Eagles would play without CB Lito Sheppard, who dislocated his elbow in the wild-card game.

Facing the Eagles had always had special meaning to Sean Payton.

• He spent his formative years in the Philadelphia suburb of Newtown Square in the early 1970s, where he rooted for all the Philly teams.
• Sean also served as QBs coach on Ray Rhodes' Eagles staff in 1997-8 before moving to the Giants for four seasons and then the Cowboys for three. Both those teams, of course, played their East Division rivals from Philadelphia twice each season. Payton enjoyed locking horns with veteran Eagles' D-coordinator Jim Johnson. I've got a lot of respect for Sean, Johnson said. He does a great job as far as play-calling and moving people around.
• The Saints rookie head man admired what Reid had done in the City of Brotherly Love. They've been one of the most consistent teams from a won-loss strandpoint over the last five or six seasons of any team in our league. They've done a great job. Those are the things that we wanted to aspire to be.
• Payton-Brees (the two minds seemed to have merged into one) would have to find No. 20 on Philly's D every play. FS Brian Dawkins was likely to be anywhere from left flt to B gap to deep CF. The six-time Pro Bowler, who coordinated and catalyzed Johnson's D. might attack and disrupt from any angle. Payton: We've got a ton of respect for him. He's a special, special player.
• Brees had done a good job October 15, ridling the Eagles for 276y and three TDs.

70,001 packed the Dome Saturday night, January 13, for the most important game in Saints' history.

First Quarter

• Choosing to receive, the Saints set the tone for the evening by giving the ball to McAllister on the first play for a 12y gain to the 40. On the next play, Sheldon Brown delivered an open-field chest-plant on Bush that brought the trainers out to attend to him. He left the field on his own power amid chants of REGGIE! REGGIE! He missed only one play. After two passes gained nothing, Sean Weatherford punted.
  Hampered by a holding penalty, the Eagles could do nothing and punted to the NO 49.
  The Saints again called on Deuce to start the drive, and he responded with a 28y romp off RT to the 22. But an incompletion on 3rd-and-3 brought John Carney on for a 33y FG and a 3-0 lead.
  The Eagles gained two first downs, the second coming on a face mask penalty against DE Will Smith that negated a sack. But the drive petered out at the Philly 47.
  This time, Brees passed on first down from the 20, hitting TE Mark Campbell for 23y. But the Eagle D stiffened.
  After an exchange of punts, Bush took a pitchout right, encountered traffic, and cut back left, entirely across field, for 25y to the Philly 39. Drew then threw deep down the left side to Devery Henderson to the 4. Deuce lost a yard at LG as the period ended.

• Two incompletions brought in Carney for a 23y FG to double the lead to 6-0.
  The Eagles got on the scoreboard with a lightning strike. On 3rd-and-9 at the 25, Stallworth turned around CB Fred Thomas, and Garcia threw a rainbow that Donte caught in stride at the 20 to complete the longest Eagle pass completion in a playoff game. Just like that, the visitors led 7-6. Stallworth punctuated his feat by finding a group of fans in his No. 18 jersey and tossing them the football.
  The Saints immediately answered with a 78y, 14-play scoring drive that ate up 8:19. A key play came on 3rd-and-11 at the NO 45 when Bush took a screen pass and sprinted 14y to move the chains. He later got just enough at LG on 3rd-and-7 for a first down at the Philly 31. Three plays later, Brees hit Marques Colston for 19 to the 9. Deuce smashed through LG for 5 before Reggie, after getting jammed up the middle, bounced out to the right and won the race to the pylon for a 13-7 lead with 5:19 left.
  But the Eagles continued the back-and-forth theme by driving 80y in 11 plays. Garcia completed four passes and also gained another first down with his feet. He hit Reggie Brown for 32, then rolled out and found Hank Baskett wide open for 25 to the 20. Jeff connected with Correll Buckhalter for 8 more to the 12 at the two-minute warning. Jeff ran up the middle from the pocket for 3y to make it first-and-goal at the 9. Three snaps later, Westbrook vaulted over from the 1, landing 3y into the EZ. Akers' EP made it 14-13 Philly.
  Taking over on their 35 with 50 seconds to go, the Saints gained just 20y before the half ended in confusion. Weatherford gave the Saints one last chance when he ran 15y for a first down when he saw his punt was about to be blocked, Brees threw a desperation pass into a group in the EZ that Colston caught before William James stripped the ball away. The Saints stayed on the field hoping for a video review that never came.
  Despite his TD, Westbrook went to the locker room totally frustrated after gaining just 11y on six carries and dropping three passes.

• The Eagles, and Westbrook in particular, started with a bang and broke another franchise playoff record. On the third play of the half, Brian made two cuts to the right side and broke into the open field. He carried DB Josh Bullock on his back for the final 5 of the 62y to put the visitors up 21-13.
  Once again, the Saints answered back, traveling 63y in just seven plays. The key plays were a pass to TE Billy Miller for 15 to the Eagle 46, a McAllister 12y ramble to the 34, and another connection to Miller down the middle for 29 to the 5. On the next snap, Deuce bulled his way into the EZ amid a cluster of defenders. It was pure power, but I had a lot of help out there, he said afterward. I'm pretty hard to bring down, and I was just determined to get in the end zone.
  After forcing a punt, the Saints marched 84y in nine plays to take the lead. Brees hit Deuce out of the backfield for 10, then Miller two plays later for 13. After Reggie lost 5, the home team got a big break. Bush rambled around RE for 10 but fumbled. However, Terrance Cooper covered the ball at the Philly 49. Drew connected with still another TE, John Owens, down the middle to the 29. Then after a holding penalty made it 1st-and-20, the home team got another break when an illegal contact penalty negated a 7y sack and moved the ball to the 34 for an automatic first down. Deuce took it in from there in two plays, a 23y burst through LT followed by an 11y screen pass to put the Saints in front 27-21 with 1:05 on the clock.

• The Eagles looked like they would match the TD as they played a 2nd-and-1 at the 4. But the Saints D decided enough was enough. First, Smith stuffed Westbrook for no gain. Then Scott Fujita made a clutch open-field tackle to drop FB Thomas Tapeh for a 2y loss on a swing pass. So Philly settled for a 24y FG to close to 27-24, coincidentally the same score by which the Saints beat them in the regular season. Fujita: All year long, our defense has made plays when we've had to. It was just my turn.
  After both teams went three-and-out, the Saints took over at their 29 with 8:20 remaining. Deuce ran four straight times for 13y. Two plays later, Brees hit Colston for a first down on the Eagle 45. After Bush and Deuce gained a first down at the 35, the Eagles used their first timeout at the 3:24 mark. When play resumed, Drew's high pitchout bounced off Reggie, and former Saint DE Darren Howard recovered at the 44. Maybe I was thinking about it too much, Bush explained. It was a rookie mistake.
  With Philly only 25y away from makeable FG distance, the Saint D rose to the occasion. Fujita made two huge plays. After Thomas nailed Westbrook for a 1y loss on a pass in the flat, Scott tackled Westbrook for a 1y gain. Then the LB's furious rush up the middle forced Garcia to toss an incompletion. The Eagles had handled the Superdome noise superbly all game, with nary a false-start penalty. But when they lined up to go for it on fourth down, G Scott Young, playing because Pro Bowl starter Shawn Andrews had injured his neck earlier in the game, moved prematurely. The penalty made Reid change his mind and send out the punter with only 1:56 left. I figured they would run the football, and we might be able to stop them there and get the footback ball, Andy explained.
  But that dream didn't come to pass. Deuce plowed for 4, then 5, the Eagles using their final timeouts after each play. With everyone knowing a first down would clinch the victory, McAllister banged through RG for another 5 to provoke cries of DEUCE! DEUCE!

Postgame Comments

• Payton: Obviously, it's an exciting win for this team, this organization, and this city. I couldn't be more proud of a group of guys who've fought and battled. But take your hats to the Eagles and Andy Reid. ... That's a good team we beat tonight, and it came right down to the wire. We've got high goals, and I couldn't be happier for the people in this town who've been through so much. The fans who've followed this team have been through a lot, more thin than thick. They've been loyal and passionate. They were a big part of this win tonight, a big part of it all season. It's an exciting win for us, and it's another challenge next weekend. On the star of the game: Deuce was fantastic tonight, and they weren't going to stop him. He ran his heart out.
• Brees, who finished 20/32/243 with no INTs, sensed a big night for Deuce. He just had that look in his eye. He's a horse. You could just tell we were going to go out and ride his back. On the significance of the victory: I think it means a tremendous amount. You could see it and feel it after the game, people still standing and yelling and screaming.
• McAllister, who gained 143y on 21 carries to make him the first Saint rusher to top the century mark in a post-season game: This year, some things have happened for us, and it's like, wow, this may be destiny. ... It's my first opportunity to be in the playoffs. I didn't want to be one and out. I didn't want to say, "If I had done this or prepared differently, we would have been successful." It's just the determination of this team and this city - to give them everything we have.
• Bush (12/52y): It means everything. All that stuff we went through as a team, these are the type of games we live for. And this game is even bigger for the city.
• Westbrook, who finished with 116y on 13 carries to become the first Eagle to have back-to-back 100y rushing games in the playoffs, defended his coach's decision to punt. We should have got some yards on the first few downs so he doesn't have to be in that situation.
• Garcia: They're a good football team, and that was a great football game. But I really felt like we left some plays on the field that could have made the difference.

The Philadelphia press blasted Reid for punting with less than two minutes left. For example, Phil Sheridan in the Philadelphia Inquirer: Andy Reid punted. ... Even though, once upon a time, the Eagles won a playoff game by converting on fourth and 26. Even though, on the previous play, Hank Baskett caught a pass that would have been good for a first down. The catch was negated by a false-start penalty ... Even though the Eagles' defense had been completely unable to the stop the Saints' offense ... It was a thrilling, entertaining game from start to finish, a contest played at a pitch every bit as high as the stakes. The game deserved Reid's best gamble on fourth and 15, not a white flag.

Sean Payton

Andy Reid

Deuce McAllister fends off Brian Dawkins on opening play.

Sheldon Brown smashes Reggie Bush on game's second play.

Hollis Thomas stuffs Brian Westbrook.

Garcia tries to escape Will Smith.

Deuce rumbles.

Saints S Bullock breaks up pass to Stallworth.

Colston runs with short pass.

Donte Stallworth burns Fred Thomas for Eagles' first TD.

Bush wins the race to the pylon.

Darwin Walker sacks Brees near end of first half.

McAllister scores on Q3 screen pass.

Terrance Cooper celebrates Deuce's TD.

Bush chases errant pitchout.

Brees celebrates after final snap.

Deuce leaves the field triumphant.