Pranger » NEW ORLEANS (AP) — When the New Orleans Saints

finally found their rhythm Avonte Maddox Jerseys Stitched , 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 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.Brees took the Saints on scoring drives of 92, 79 and 67 yards after falling behind 14-0. Lattimore clinched it when Nick Foles‘ pass from the Saints 27 deflected off usually sure-handed receiver Alshon Jeffery with about two minutes remaining. A couple dozen Saints players surged off the sideline toward the end zone in celebration, while Jeffery fell face-first to the turf in agony.Article continues below ...“We were real calm and poised and we knew we were going to get things done,” Brees said.New Orleans (14-3) will host the NFC title game next week against the Rams (13-4). Los Angeles, which fell 45-35 at the Superdome in November, will try again next week, with the winner going to the Super Bowl. 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 (10-8) will not repeat as NFL champion; no team has done so since the 2004 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 on that final drive to pulling off another stunning comeback win“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. Philly 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 with 2:58 remaining, they were only one-score behind.Foles Youth Ron Jaworski Jerseys , the hero of last year’s Super Bowl run, got them in position for yet another late winning score — just like last week at Chicago and last February against New England for the championship.Then, Jeffery couldn’t handle a second-down pass, 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.Thomas’ touchdown capped an 18-play, 92-yard drive in which the Saints actually covered more than 100 yards because of penalties. It lasted 11½ 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, which routed Philadelphia 48-7 in November, 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 TD catch . The Eagles, who quickly fell behind 17-0 in that previous Superdome loss, 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 Ron Jaworski Jerseys Stitched , faking a punt at their 30, with Taysom Hill running 4 yards for a first down. They also went on fourth-and-goal from the 2, and Philadelphia’s rapidly depleting defense surrendered Kirkwood’s 2-yard touchdown.“When you just get that in guys’ minds that we’re going to be aggressive, that we’re going to play to win, it allows guys to relax and to cut loose,” Brees said.With Brees finding the range and his receivers finding loads of room to roam, New Orleans crept to 14-10 at halftime on Lutz’s 45-yard field goal.UGLY STARTMaybe the Saints were rusty after their wild-card bye, but they got two first downs, including one by penalty, gained 17 yards, and Brees threw an interception and had a fumble that was recovered by teammate Ryan Ramczyk in the opening period. Meanwhile, Philly gained 153 yards and scored two TDs, and Foles went 8 of 9 for 113.But Foles was intercepted by Lattimore early in the second quarter, and the Saints finally got going.NUMBERSBrees, who turns 40 Tuesday, finished 28 for 38 despite the awful start, throwing for 301 yards. Aside from Thomas, who was targeted 16 times — he led the NFL with 125 catches — no one caught more than four passes for New Orleans. Alvin Kamara had four 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. New Orleans is 6-0 at home in the playoffs with Payton and Brees.Foles was 18 for 31 for 201 yards. Jeffery had five catches for a team-leading 63 yards before the game-sealing drop.INJURIESIn a span of three plays, two starters were hurt and needed to be carted off.First, Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins went down midway in the first quarter, unable to put any weight on his left foot.Two plays later Womens Shareef Miller Jersey , Eagles right guard Brandon Brooks hurt his right leg and departed.Several Saints players said they would be playing for Rankins the rest of the way because his season was done.Philly also lost DB Rasul Douglas in the second quarter to an ankle injury, but he was back in the second half. DLs Fletcher Cox, an All-Pro, and Michael Bennett also were sidelined at times before returning. In the fourth quarter, left tackle Jason Peters left.UP NEXTThe Saints host the Rams in the early game next Sunday, with the winner going to the Super Bowl. METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Brandon Marshall takes nothing for granted when discussing his opportunity to join the Saints’ seemingly inevitable march to the postseason.“Let’s not jump ahead. I’ve got a lot of learning to do and a lot of catching up,” Marshall said after his first practice with New Orleans on Wednesday. “I’ve been at the top and I’m on the bottom right now.”By bottom, the 34-year-old Marshall means getting cut repeatedly in the past couple seasons, most recently by Seattle a couple weeks ago.Even after he worked out for New Orleans (8-1) last week, Marshall wasn’t the Saints’ top choice. New Orleans went instead with Dez Bryant, but lost the former Dallas Cowboys star to a season-ending Achilles injury in his second practice.“When you’re on the other side of 30 and you don’t produce, this is the situation you’ll find yourself in,” Marshall said. “Being cut two times in a year is interesting. It built a lot of character. … When Seattle cut me, I just continued to work out, stay in shape and have faith.”Marshall had flown back to his temporary home in Seattle after his Saints tryout, only to hop back on a flight to New Orleans again on Sunday afternoon, while the offense he was about to join was putting up 51 points in Cincinnati.Ankle and toe injuries cost Marshall most of his 2017 season with the New York Giants, who didn’t bring him back, leaving him free to sign with the Seahawks. Marshall said he wasn’t full healthy until around Week 3 or 4 of this season which, ironically Zach Brown Jersey , was about the time his snap count began to plummet in Seattle.“I know that the narrative is that I’m done,” Marshall said.Yet Marshall predicted he’d demonstrate in practice that between his 6-foot-5 frame, route-running, strong hands, and ability to quickly grasp offensive schemes, that he can still help a team with playoff credentials. Marshall noted that because he played in Chicago under then-offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer, a former offensive assistant to Saints coach Sean Payton, he is familiar with New Orleans’ scheme.Payton called Marshall’s ability to process a play book “one of his strengths,” adding that he expects Marshall’s transition in New Orleans “to be pretty smooth.”Meanwhile, Marshall described the opportunity to play with Saints record-setting QB Drew Brees “a wide receiver’s dream.” Likewise, Brees was quick to throw a few compliments Marshall’s way.“He’s a smart, veteran guy who is very fluid. I’ve seen him in a lot of different offenses — seen him be successful both as an outside receiver, an inside receiver. He’s very versatile. He’s a big target. A big catching radius. Just watching him run today, he’s pretty impressive.“We talked for a while today,” Brees added. “He’s excited. We’re excited to have him.”Marshall’s addition adds depth to an offense that already leads the NFL in scoring with 36.7 points per game and ranks in the top five in yards per game with 413.9.Seattle released Marshall on Oct. 30 after he’d appeared in the first seven games this season, catching 11 passes for 136 yards and one touchdown. But he had just two catches for 16 yards in his last four games.Seattle was the sixth NFL team for Marshall, who has eight 1,000-plus-yard seasons in his career. His best season, statistically, came with the New York Jets in 2015, when he caught 109 passes for 1 Youth Harold Carmichael Jerseys ,502 yards and 14 touchdowns.Even now, Marshall insisted, his motivation remains to achieve “greatness.”“There’s no reason why, with technology and modern medicine and with access we have to doctors around the world, why athletes can’t play into their mid-30s or their 40s,” Marshall said, stressing that he now feels “fit as a fiddle and healthy as a trout.”It’s not yet clear whether Marshall will play much, if at all this Sunday against Philadelphia. But Eagles coach Doug Pederson said his defense has to be prepared for the possibility.“He’s, I think, a red-zone threat with his size and so I think that’s where we’ll see him a little bit, is down there,” Pederson said. “He’s another big, physical receiver, hard to defend and our guys definitely have their work cut out this week.”Notes: Starting left tackle Terron Armstead did not practice. He was listed on the injury report as having a shoulder injury. Veteran Jermon Bushrod is filling in, resuming the role he occupied on New Orleans’ 2009 Super Bowl championship squad.