Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery lies on the turf at the Superdome in front of New Orleans defensive end Cameron Jordan after the Saints intercepted a pass in the second half of Sunday's NFC divisional-round playoff game in New Orleans.NEW ORLEANS - When the New Orleans Saints finally found their rhythm, they marched one step closer to the Super Bowl.
Using a dominant ball-control offense and a few gambles that paid off, the Saints got two touchdown passes from Drew Brees and two interceptions from Marcus Lattimore in a 20-14 divisional-round victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Brees took the Saints on scoring drives of 92, 79 and 67 yards after falling behind 14-0. Lattimore clinched it when Eagles quarterback Nick Foles' pass from the Saints' 27-yard line deflected off usually sure-handed receiver Alshon Jeffery with about two minutes remaining. A couple dozen Saints surged off the sideline toward the end zone in celebration as Jeffery fell face-first to the Superdome turf in agony.
"We were real calm and poised," Brees said, "and we knew we were going to get things done."
New Orleans will host the NFC title game at 6:40 p.m. next Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, who ran over the Dallas Cowboys to win 30-22 Saturday night. The Rams lost 45-35 at New Orleans in November but get another try with a Super Bowl berth on the line. The Saints' win finished off a sweep of the divisional round by teams coming off byes.
Wil Lutz added two field goals for the Saints, who last got this far in 2009, when they won the Super Bowl.
Philadelphia will not repeat as NFL champion; no team has done so since the 2004 New England Patriots.
"We were going down to win, but I just felt like we beat ourselves, honestly," Jeffery said. "Hats off to those guys."
Eagles coach Doug Pederson thought his team was on its way to pulling off another stunning comeback.
"It just felt like the momentum at that point was in our favor," he said. "It's been that way all season, and we felt like that sort of magic was going to continue."
This was really two games in one. Philadelphia, which was routed 48-7 in November in New Orleans, scored on its first two drives as the Saints could do virtually nothing right.
"Listen, they got off to a fast start, they're a great team," Brees said. "Nick Foles has done a phenomenal job for them. We knew it was going to be different than last time."
After that opening period, it was all New Orleans, yet the resilient Eagles kept it close enough that when Lutz missed a 52-yard field-goal attempt with 2:58 remaining, they were only one score behind.
Foles, the hero of last year's Super Bowl run, got his team in position for yet another late winning score - just like the weekend before in Chicago and this past February against New England in the Super Bowl. Jeffery couldn't handle a second-down pass, though, and it was over.
"That's a great championship team," Saints coach Sean Payton said of the Eagles. "We remained confident."
Brees had 2-yard touchdown passes to rookie Keith Kirkwood and All-Pro wideout Michael Thomas, who had 12 receptions for a franchise playoff-record 171 yards. The touchdown catch by Thomas capped an 18-play, 92-yard drive in which the Saints actually covered more than 100 yards because of penalties. It lasted 11 1/2 minutes.
"What you saw from him today is what I see every day in practice," Brees said of Thomas. "He's a big-time player who wants to be the guy to make plays."
Philadelphia had the ball for more than nine minutes in the first quarter, after which the Eagles had the ball about 13 minutes and never scored.
New Orleans gambled on its first play - and lost. Brees was a bit short on a deep pass to Ted Ginn Jr., and it was picked off by Cre'Von LeBlanc, one of several Eagles backups being used in the secondary due to injuries during the regular season.
"I just think we had to find our rhythm," Brees said. "I tried to take a shot on the first play. Unfortunately, that didn't work."
After the first quarter, though, a lot worked for New Orleans. Foles completed all five throws on a 76-yard drive capped by Jordan Matthews' 37-yard touchdown catch. The Eagles, who quickly fell behind 17-0 in their November loss to the Saints, suddenly led 7-0.
Not long after, a 75-yard drive highlighted by a 30-yard pass to Jeffery ended with Foles' short leap over the goal line for a 14-0 edge.
Indeed, the visitors were in control until Lattimore picked off Foles' deep throw to Zach Ertz. The Saints showed plenty of moxie on their 79-yard march to a touchdown, faking a punt at their 30 as Taysom Hill ran 4 yards for a first down. They also went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2 as Philadelphia's rapidly depleting defense surrendered Kirkwood's touchdown.
"When you just get that in guys' minds that we're going to be aggressive, that we're going to play to win," Brees said, "it allows guys to relax and to cut loose."
With Brees finding the range and his receivers finding loads of room to roam, New Orleans pushed its advantage to 14-10 at halftime on Lutz's 45-yard field goal.
Brees, who turns 40 on Tuesday, finished 28-for-38 passing and 301 yards despite the awful start. Aside from Thomas, who was targeted 16 times - he led the NFL with 125 catches in the regular season - no one caught more than four passes for New Orleans.
Alvin Kamara had four catches for 35 yards and also rushed for 71 yards. Mark Ingram added 53 yards on the ground as the Saints outrushed the Eagles 137-49.
Foles was 18-for-31 for 201 yards, and Jeffery had five catches for a team-leading 63 yards before the game-sealing drop.