Survive and advance: Saints rally from 14 down to defeat Eagles

It wasn’t pretty, in fact the first  quarter was downright ugly. But, the Saints, down 14-0 after one, dominated the last three on the way to a 20-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Saints eliminated the defending Super Bowl champs, and will host the Los Angeles Rams Sunday afternoon in the NFC championship game. The Saints sealed the victory when a Nick Foles pass went through the hands of receiver Alshon Jeffrey and into the waiting arms of Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Lattimore had 2 interceptions for the Saints defense, who held the Eagles to 4 first downs in the second half. The interception was a stroke of luck, one the Saints were on the other side of a year ago, when Minnesota scored on a last second TD pass to eliminate New Orleans. The Saints comeback was ignited by a fake punt. With just over 11 minutes to play in the second quarter, the Saints were facing fourth and one from their own 30 yard line. Taysom Hill, the up back, took the direct snap and ran four yards for a first down. The drive ended with a two yard, fourth down TD pass from Drew Brees to Keith Kirkwood. The Saints took the lead in the third quarter on an 11:29 drive that spanned 18 plays, 92 yards. The Saints overcame three penalties on the drive, including two holding calls. Michael Thomas caught a 2 yard TD pass from Brees to give the Saints a 17-14 lead. Thomas had 12 receptions for 171 yards.