Eagles crash as Seahawks shock Saints

IT WASN’T supposed to be like this.

A weekend of wild card glory saw the wildest of cards, the Seattle Seahawks, defy the odds on Saturday while the dream of a Tom Brady/Michael Vick Super Bowl showdown died in the City of Brotherly Love on Sunday.

Of the four wild card teams travelling to take on the four divisional champions over the weekend, three secured victories while the fourth, the now-former Super Bowl champions from New Orleans succumbed 41-36 to the now-former joke-team from Seattle.

Also contemplating some sudden free time are Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts who were undone by the New York Jets’ Adam Folk’s last-gasp field goal, the Jets winning out 17-16.

And on Sunday Joe Flacco inspired the Baltimore Ravens to a 30-7 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs.

To lament the biggest failure of the weekend, that of Vick’s Philadelphia Eagles, is to disregard the tide rolling in from Wisconsin where Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers are now a firm bet for NFC glory.

But in Phillie, the disappointment was palpable. “Birds fold yet again, this time with Vick” was the headline on front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer — a sporting setback given real perspective by the page’s leadstory, the Arizona shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in which six people lost their lives.

At least the people of Philadelphia can now look ahead to their baseball team’s stellar pitching line-up which many sportswriters view as the best ever. But it still hurt to wake up as an Eagle after the hype that accompanied the mid-season resurgence of a reformed Vick was deflated by a lacklustre 21-16 defeat.

It ended with a Vick interception which perfectly encapsulated the thin line between glory and defeat.

“It was a bad way to go out but hey, I went out swinging,” said the Eagles quarterback afterwards.

His opposite number can now really begin to enjoy a career in Green Bay that doesn’t involve a Brett Favre-shaped shadow.

“I never felt like there was a monkey on my back,” said Rodgers who threw three touchdown passes. “I’m just so proud of these guys.”

All looked momentarily lost for Rodgers who could only watch on as Vick orchestrated yet another fourth-quarter revival. But this one was ultimately fruitless as Tramon Williams intercepted Vick’s pass for Riley Cooper in the end zone with 33 seconds left.

The win copper-fastened a trip to the NFC’s top seeds, the Atlanta Falcons, next Saturday night while Seattle head to the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon, setting up the real possibility of Green Bay meeting their arch-rivals Chicago in the NFC Championship game the following weekend.

In the AFC, it’s all about reuniting old enemies as the East Divisional rivals, the New England Patriots and the Jets clash in Massachusetts in Sunday’s second game. The AFC North’s Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers will clash on Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh with the home side favoured to advance.