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鈥?When Carson Wentz went down for the Philadelphia Eagles Luis Tiant Jersey , the pressure fell on backup Nick Foles and everyone else to step up.The defense rose to the challenge in the first playoff game.They harassed Matt Ryan, contained Julio Jones and made a goal-line stand at the end in a 15-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.“We know defense wins championships. You say it all the time. You hear it. It’s clich茅 but it’s true, especially where we are now at home,” Pro Bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins said.The strong defensive effort helped the underdog Eagles (14-3) advance to the NFC championship game for the sixth time since 2001. They’ll host the Vikings (14-3) next Sunday. Minnesota advanced with a thrilling 29-24 win over New Orleans.“We don’t even care,” linebacker Nigel Bradham said about a preferred opponent. “Obviously, we’ll see a good game and get ready to prepare for whoever we’re going to play next.”Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s unit was No. 1 against the run, 17th against the pass and fourth in points allowed.They held the Falcons to 281 yards, no points in the second half and Atlanta’s only touchdown drive came after a fumbled punt at the Eagles 18.“We don’t point fingers,” defensive end Brandon Graham said. “Just stay the task and keep playing your technique. Keep playing with effort. The second half, we went out there and did that. Nobody gave us a shot. We have another 60 minutes next week. I’m happy with this team because we are a great team. We stay together even through adversity.”Eagles coach Doug Pederson showed his confidence in the defense when he chose to have Jake Elliott kick a 21-yard field goal instead of going for fourth-and-1 at the Falcons 3 with a 12-10 lead and 6:05 remaining.The defense had forced two three-and-outs and held Atlanta to only 49 yards in the second half. But Ryan led the Falcons on a long drive Authentic Customized Saints Jerseys , converting a fourth-and-6 along the way. Atlanta had a first down at the Eagles 9 with 1:19 left.Ryan threw incomplete to Jones and T.J. Ward. After a 7-yard pass to Jones to the 2, the season came down to one play.Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian inexplicably called a rollout, taking half the field away for Ryan.The defense read the play when they saw the formation, pressured Ryan and forced him to throw it up to Jones in the corner of the end zone. Jalen Mills had tight coverage and the ball sailed over Jones’ hands.“We probably had three guys calling out the play on that one just based on our preparation, our study,” Jenkins said.Jones had nine catches for 101 yards, but Mills and Ronald Darby kept him out of the end zone.“The whole motto and the slogan was just ‘do your job,'” Mills said. “Nobody has to go out there and be superman. Know what you have to do for one, then go out there and execute.”The defense did its part. The defense will have to do it again next week because the offense isn’t going to win a shootout.“It was on us and we wouldn’t want it any other way,” Bradham said. “That’s how you feel when you’re on (defense) and you feel like we lead this team. We set the tone for this team and we set the pace for this team. That’s how we feel. We feel like all the energy and everything comes through us and everybody feeds off of it.”AP NFL website: Kevin Durant is confident Golden State’s struggles down the stretch might be just what makes the defending champions dominant on the postseason stage again.

Maybe not quite 16-1 this time around Seahawks Game Jerseys , sure, yet plenty capable of another remarkable run.

”I always knew everybody on our team had a good spirit, a good energy for the game,” said Durant, the reigning NBA Finals MVP. ”We might have lost some games and had some tough stretches but that doesn’t define everybody here as an individual player. I’m kind of positive on, optimistic on each of these guys and how we approach the game no matter what the score of some of those games. I’m glad we can kind of learn from those tough times and continue to move forward.”

The Warriors have been hurt and humbled. Beaten handily and beat up hard. Two-time MVP Stephen Curry is expected to be sidelined the entire first round with a knee injury. Four All-Stars – Curry, Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson – were out together at times, too.

On Saturday afternoon, Golden State begins its championship quest with Game 1 of the best-of-seven first round against the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena.

”We learned a lot Frank Ragnow Youth Jersey ,” coach Steve Kerr said. ”Every experience that you gain you can learn from. This has been such a chaotic month with all the injuries and the meaningless games. We’ve been frustrated. We haven’t performed very well. The good news is we have performed well for four years, so we know who we are. We know what we’re about. We know this team well, we know the Spurs well, so we know what we have to do. We’ve got to go do it. The last month is meaningless now. Everything starts over.”

Some of that is what Kerr gained from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: ”You take whatever is in front of you and you embrace it.”

Here are some key story lines for the Spurs-Warriors series, a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals swept by Golden State:

A SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP

Kerr hardly played during four seasons with San Antonio late in his career.

Still, Popovich is one of his favorite people – even if he wants nothing more than to eliminate his dear friend.

”Pop doesn’t like to see me lose. I like to see him lose. He’s had way too much success already,” Kerr cracked. ”I think sometimes Pop needs to be humbled a little bit. So I’m looking to really rub it in and enjoy if we’re able to beat them.”

Kerr added: ”I want Pop to win against anybody else. We’re that close. He’s my mentor and he’s somebody I feel incredibly strongly about in terms of who he is and what he did for me in my life, and what he’s doing for my son right now.”

NO CURRY OR KAWHI

Golden State has gone without Curry for 16 of the last 17 games as he worked back from another injury to his troublesome right ankle only to sprain the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in his return March 23.

Curry is scheduled to be re-evaluated Saturday yet Kerr noted that ”he’s not close to playing.”

The Warriors also aren’t expecting to see Spurs star Kawhi Leonard. He played in only nine regular-season games because of a lingering right quadriceps injury.

DEFENSIVE SWAGGER

Durant and Green insist it’s time to start taking defense more seriously.

”Now we can focus in on what we always do good here, it’s flying around on defense, moving the basketball Connor Williams Jersey Cowboys ,” Durant said.

The Spurs realize the challenges.

”They are smart, they are long,” Manu Ginobili said. ”They are very quick to switch back to the matchups they want. They’ve got a lot of long wings that recover very quick. … There’s a reason why they’ve been winning so many games.”

SPURS STRUGGLES

While the Warriors endured a stretch of seven losses in 10 games, the Spurs dealt with their own eight-game skid down the stretch.

And San Antonio went just 14-27 on the road.

Even if the Spurs’ 2017 series with the Warriors was swift, this is a fresh chance.

”It’s a new year,” LaMarcus Aldridge said. ”This team has fought and put ourselves in a position to be here. Last year is last year.”

CENTER BY COMMITTEE

It might be Zaza Pachulia. Maybe JaVale McGee. Or Kevon Looney. David West will get his minutes, too.

Each offers something uniquely different as the Warriors go with a center-by-committee approach.

Kerr isn’t saying which big man he will start – he’s not giving Popovich any early clues. And Kerr said he and Spurs staffer and son, Nick, are cutting off communication for a couple of weeks.

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