Yep, in case you haven’t noticed, both teams have birds for names and it just so happened that both soared past their rivals to advance in the NFC.

The 2009 NFL playoffs kicked off over the weekend with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Arizona Cardinals both staying true to their moniker, soaring past the competition to advance to the NFC divisional round this weekend.

The Arizona Cardinals kicked off the weekend with a 30-24 win over the Atlanta Falcons before the Philadelphia Eagles concluded the wild card round with a 26-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday. The NFC had more interesting match-ups than what the AFC offered, proving just how bigger the NFC is this season than their counterpart.

Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals advance to the next round, beating the Atlanta Falcons, 30-24, last Saturday. Kurt Warner opened with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald before connecting with Anquan Boldin on a 71-yard scoring play.

It was the Cardinals’ first home playoff game since the then-Chicago Cardinals beat Philadelphia to win the NFL championship back in 1947. Arizona will play the Carolina Panthers next and since both teams have two of the highest scoring offenses in the league, expect a shootout.

The wild card round concluded with the Philadelphia Eagles beating the Minnesota Vikings on their own turf to advance to the divisional round. Some say the Eagles this season are last season’s version of the New York Giants when they came together just at the right time to make a run for the Super Bowl.

Last Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles showed why they are this year’s darkhorse team to win it all.

Brian Westbrook caught a short pass out of the backfield and zigzagged through the Minnesota Vikings defense for a devastating 71-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, helping the Eagles spoil the Vikings’ first home playoff game in eight years.

Asante Samuel’s 44-yard interception return of Tarvaris Jackson’s errant pass in the second quarter set a tone for the kind of game most Vikings fans feared from the unpolished quarterback.

The Eagles defense will now try to rattle another young quarterback in Eli Manning when they go up against the New York Giants. The only problem is, Eli already is a Super Bowl MVP early in his career. These two NFC East rivals should give us one helluva’ playoff game this weekend.

Who will win Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida? SportsBetting.com has the odds.

New York Giants 5-2

Philadelphia Eagles 10-1

San Diego Chargers 10-1

Want more odds? Visit SportsBetting.com for more football betting odds. Want to watch the NFL live? Get NFL tickets online now.

Philadelphia Eagles Arizona Cardinals