05/01/2009 11:51 AM
The Baltimore Ravens' ferocious defence closed the book on one of the NFL's feel-good stories of the season with victory over Miami.
Ed Reed returned an interception for a touchdown and the Ravens harassed quarterback Chad Pennington and the Miami Dolphins into a slew of turnovers in a 27-9 victory in this AFC wild-card matchup.
Baltimore (12-5) picked off Pennington four times, more than half his regular-season total, in beating the Dolphins for the second time this season.
Le'Ron McClain had an 8-yard scoring run and Matt Stover kicked a pair of field goals for the Ravens, who will visit the top-seeded Tennessee Titans next Saturday in the divisional play-offs in what promises to be a rugged duel between two of the league's top three defences.
Miami (11-6), who won the AFC East title following a dire 1-15 campaign in 2007, simply wilted under the Ravens' dominating defence, which has held an opponent to 13 points or fewer 11 times this season.
After committing a league-low 13 turnovers during the season, the Dolphins committed five against Baltimore, who beat Miami here, 27-13, on October 19.
Reed, who led the league in interceptions with nine during the regular season, had two of the four picks, registering his 12th career touchdown return and first in the post-season.
The former University of Miami standout gave the Ravens the lead for good when he took back an errant toss by Pennington 64 yards for a 10-3 lead with 2:30 left in the opening half.
Asante Samuel returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown and Brian Westbrook added a 71-yard touchdown on a screen pass as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC wild card.
It was Samuel's fourth career playoff interception return for a touchdown - the most in NFL history - and helped send the Eagles (10-6-1) through to a meeting with the defending champion New York Giants next Sunday in the divisional play-offs.
David Akers added four field goals for the Eagles, who won four of their last five games to earn a wild card spot.
Adrian Peterson had 20 carries for 83 yards and two touchdowns in his first post-season appearance for the Vikings (10-7).
The outcome was in doubt until midway through the fourth quarter when Philadelphia took possession on its 29-yard line. Westbrook then had a convoy of blockers to lead him on a 71-yard touchdown on a seemingly simple screen pass.
Donovan McNabb finished 23-of-34 passing for 300 yards with one touchdown and an interception for Philadelphia while Westbrook totalled 121 total yards, with just 38 coming on the ground.