EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The NFC Championship Game is for the birds.

On one side will be the Philadelphia Eagles, a team in exceedingly desperate straits on the final weekend of the regular season just to reach the postseason but now suddenly doing their impression of the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, who went from sixth seed to eventual champions, one city at a time.

Their next opponent: the upstart Arizona Cardinals, winners of an NFC West division widely considered the worst in football from top to bottom; a club as cold as Fargo, N.D., in December; and a franchise that never, until now, has won consecutive playoff games.

Simply put, just about nobody would have predicted this little wing-ding featuring former division rivals before the NFL realignment seven years ago.

The right to reach Super Bowl XLIII will be earned Sunday at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

That just so happens to be the same site where the Giants celebrated after capturing the Lombardi Trophy in February. But they were denied a chance to repeat by the Eagles (11-6-1), who knocked off top-seeded New York (12-5) on its home field 23-11 to reach its fifth title game in the past eight seasons under coach Andy Reid.

"I have a lot of respect for both of those teams," Giants defensive tackle Barry Coefield said of the pending Cardinals-Eagles matchup. "I'm sure people were shocked we were in there last year. Anybody can win. We know that because we proved that last year."

The Eagles defense demonstrated its championship-game caliber in holding the Giants without a touchdown Sunday.

Cornerback Asante Samuel set the tone early with an interception return that led to quarterback Donovan McNabb's 1-yard touchdown dive.

Philadelphia ended up stopping New York three times in the red zone, bringing out John Carney for field goals of 22, 34 and 36 yards. But Carney also missed twice - wide right from 46 and wide left from 47.

And while New York's top-ranked rushing attack compiled 138 yards, the Giants couldn't move the chains.

Philly held its fierce NFC East opponent to a 3-for-13 conversion rate on third down, and that stinginess was augmented by two critical fourth-down stops in the final quarter along with another interception, this time by safety Quintin Mikell.

"We're playing with heart," Eagles linebacker Trent Cole said. "And everybody knows we have one goal in mind - just get to the end."

"There's not a lot of celebrating going on in there," Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie added, while standing outside his team's locker room. "This is our fifth championship game in the last eight years. And it's a step. That's all it is."

With the loss, New York - it was participating in its record 30th postseason - became only the third top seed hosting a No. 6 seed to fall in the divisional round since the current seeding system went into effect in 1990. The only other losses were by the Tennessee Titans on Saturday and by the Indianapolis Colts three years ago during the Steelers' three-game road trek to the Super Bowl that Philadelphia is trying to duplicate.

The Giants, playing as the fifth seed last season, took a similar path away from the Meadowlands, traveling to Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay for victories before upsetting unbeaten New England in Super Bowl XLII. But they've now lost their opening playoff game three of the past four years.

"Last year, we were the road warriors," a downcast New York coach Tom Coughlin said. "I honestly thought this year we'd be the warriors at home. And it just didn't come to pass."

Speaking of passing, neither high-profile quarterback had his best game. McNabb and counterpart Eli Manning each threw two interceptions. Both had ratings under 60.0. But McNabb had the one TD pass in the game - a 1-yard toss to tight end Brett Celek, allowing his team some breathing room after no more than three points separated the clubs for more than three quarters.

The Eagles, completing their third scoring drive of at least 10 plays, led at that point 20-11.

Manning was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 sneak on the next series. And after a Philadelphia three-and-out, Giants running back Brandon Jacobs (19 carries, 92 yards) was smothered by Eagles defenders Brodrick Bunkley and Stewart Bradley on fourth-and-2.

David Akers' third field goal, with slightly more than four minutes remaining, sealed the deal and set up the aviary showcase next weekend.

The Eagles blasted the Cardinals 48-20 on Nov. 27 in Philadelphia.

"I'm proud of the guys," said Reid, whose team finished the season with four wins in the final five games to reach the postseason before beating Minnesota in the wild-card round. "They played. We trusted each other. Believed. And I couldn't be happier for them. . . . They never wavered one bit. That's tough to find in this league."