By ROB MAADDI
AP Sports Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Brian Dawkins rattled off the defense's checklist, and it sounded like he was giving a game summary.
"We set out to do what we've been doing from the beginning of the season," Dawkins said after the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants 23-11 Sunday to advance to the NFC championship game. "Be a defense that doesn't give up a lot of big plays. Be a defense that makes stops, gets turnovers to allow our offense to stay in rhythm."
Limit big plays? The Giants didn't score a touchdown.
Make stops? How about two on fourth down in the fourth quarter.
Get turnovers? Asante Samuel's first-quarter interception set up a touchdown.
"We're going to be close in every game because we aren't going to give up those type of big plays and hopefully that gives the offense confidence to make whatever call they want whenever they want to call it because they trust us not to give up a lot of points," Dawkins said.
A swarming, suffocating defense harassed Eli Manning, shut down New York's passing game and contained the NFL's best rushing attack, sending the defending Super Bowl champions home.
Now the Eagles (11-6-1) are heading back to the conference title game for the fifth time in eight years. They'll play the Arizona Cardinals (11-7) at University of Phoenix Stadium next Sunday. Not bad for a team that was nearly eliminated from the playoffs before even playing its final regular-season game.
"We knew we had to go out and get it done," defensive end Trent Cole said. "We have a lot of confidence. We had some tough times this year, but we were given new hope with the wild card."
Playing his fifth game against the Giants in 121/2 months, Samuel got Philly going with another playoff pick. He returned this one to the 2 to set up Donovan McNabb's touchdown run that gave the Eagles a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.
It was Samuel's seventh interception in 16 postseason games.
He's returned four for scores, including one last week in Philadelphia's first-round win at Minnesota.
Samuel and Sheldon Brown eliminated New York's wide receivers from the offense. They held the trio of Domenik Hixon, Steve Smith and Amani Toomer to one catch in the first half and six total. The Giants didn't need Plaxico Burress to earn the NFC's top seed, but they sure could've used him against the Eagles.
"He's definitely someone they missed, especially in the red zone," Brown said.
Manning wasn't sacked, but he was pressured and hurried enough to be ineffective. Last year's Super Bowl MVP finished 15-of-29 for 169 yards and two interceptions.
When it mattered most, Philadelphia's front seven delivered.
Tackle Mike Patterson and linebacker Chris Gocong stopped Manning on fourth-and-inches from the Giants 45 early in the fourth quarter.
On the next possession, tackle Brodrick Bunkley slammed into Brandon Jacobs to keep him short on fourth-and-2 from the Giants 47.
"That's where it starts, with those two in the middle," coach Andy Reid said of Patterson and Bunkley.
The performances of the two former first-round picks led Dawkins to call this defense the best he's played on in his 13 seasons with the Eagles.
It might be one of the best all-around defenses in team history.
Even Buddy Ryan's "Gang Green" crew led by Reggie White in the late 1980s didn't get to the NFC championship game. Ryan was 0-3 in the playoffs before he got fired. The defense Ryan put together ranked first in the NFL in 1991 under defensive coordinator Bud Carson, but the Eagles missed the playoffs at 10-6.
Philadelphia nearly missed out this year, too. The Eagles needed help in Week 17 and got it when Oakland, a 13-point underdog, beat Tampa Bay and Houston defeated Chicago. Then, the Eagles trounced Dallas 44-6 to clinch the No. 6 seed.
Overall, the defense has allowed just four TDs in the past six games and scored four itself. The unit nearly pitched a shutout in a 20-14 victory at Giants Stadium last month. The Giants scored on a blocked field goal at the end of the first half and got their only offensive touchdown in the final minute.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
