PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Brett Favre vs. Donovan McNabb in a playoff showdown. Enough said.
The Philadelphia Eagles are seeking their third straight trip to the NFC championship game under coach Andy Reid. But Favre and the Green Bay Packers are standing in the way.
The teams meet Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field with the Pro Bowl quarterbacks on center stage.
"You try not to get caught up in it, but it's going to be exciting," McNabb said. "Brett Favre is a guy who is obviously a Hall of Famer. To be able to play this game is obviously exciting for me, but I'm not going to get caught up in it. I just have to go out and play the game."
Both have overcome injuries to lead their teams to division titles. McNabb struggled with an injured thumb early in the season. Favre fractured his right thumb in an October 19 game at St. Louis and has played with a splint.
Favre has also played with a heavy heart since the death of his father on December 21. After leading the Packers to a 4-0 record in December, Favre completed 26-of-38 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown in Green Bay's 33-27 overtime victory over Seattle in the wild card round. He broke a record by throwing for a TD in his 14th straight playoff game, connecting with tight end Bubba Franks on a 23-yard score in the second quarter.
But the Packers needed a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown by cornerback Al Harris 4:25 into overtime to advance.
Ironically, Harris now gets to play against his former team. Acquired from the Eagles last March for a second-round pick, Harris starts at right cornerback opposite Mike McKenzie in a secondary that ranks 23rd against the pass.
The teams met on a rainy Monday night November 10 at Lambeau Field and the Eagles emerged with a 17-14 victory. McNabb capped a gutty final drive with a six-yard touchdown toss to Todd Pinkston with 27 seconds remaining.
Ahman Green rushed for 192 yards and two scores for the Packers, including a 45-yard touchdown with 7:03 remaining.
But the Eagles got the ball back at their own 35 with 2:43 remaining and McNabb immediately took charge. He completed 3-of-4 passes for 37 yards and ran twice for 10 yards on the drive, which also saw Duce Staley gain 18 yards on a pair of runs.
After driving his team to the Green Bay 6, McNabb pump-faked before tossing an easy TD to the left front corner of the end zone, where Pinkston ran after faking Packers cornerback Bhawoh Jue to the inside. Jue was filling in for Harris, who cramped up late in the fourth quarter.
McNabb finished 15-of-31 for 198 yards and rushed five times for 26 yards.
Favre completed just 14-of-22 passes for 109 yards and one touchdown with an interception and fumbled three times, losing one.
Reid has ties to Green Bay, serving as an assistant coach under Mike Holmgren with the Packers from 1992-98. He spent his final two seasons as quarterbacks coach for Favre before leaving "Title Town" to become coach of the Eagles in 1999.
Reid's concern Sunday will be to make sure that Green does not run through and around his defense again. The NFC rushing leader with 1,883 yards, Green faces a team that ranks 22nd against the run, yielding 129.6 yards per game.
The Eagles will have to make a Super Bowl run without their most explosive player and their best linebacker. Running back-returner Brian Westbrook, who leads the team with 13 touchdowns, tore a left triceps tendon in the season-ending win over Washington. Strongside linebacker Carlos Emmons suffered a broken leg the previous week.
With Westbrook out, Staley and Correll Buckhalter will share the load in the backfield.
