Minneapolis, MN (Betting Express) - Brian Westbrook took a short screen pass 71 yards for a touchdown to shatter a two-point second-half deadlock with 6 1/2 minutes to play, and the Philadelphia Eagles went on to post a 26-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC Wild Card bout.

Following a 16-14 Philadelphia halftime lead, neither team was able to alter the scoreboard until the Eagles started their fourth drive of the second half with a little under seven minutes to play.

On the first play of the series, Westbrook set up for the screen in the right flat with a host of lineman pulling in front. That sprung the versatile back into the middle of the field, where he turned on the jets to outrun several would-be tacklers. A final block from Kevin Curtis inside the 10 allowed for a 23-14 lead.

"It was the first screen that we ran all game and it exploded into the most important play of the game," Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said of the timely score. "Any time you give an opportunity to Westbrook in space -- you feel confident about that matchup."

The Vikings went three-and-out on three straight Tarvaris Jackson incompletions, and the Eagles, in turn, punted back to Minnesota with 3:41 to go.

Minnesota was able to move the ball only 18 yards before center Matt Birk botched a snap back to Jackson, and the Eagles' Juqua Parker fell on the ball. David Akers connected on his fourth field goal of the game -- from 45 yards out -- and the Eagles celebrated their moving on to play the New York Giants in the NFC's divisional round next Sunday.

"We knew it was going to be a field position game. They got seven points off a turnover, three points off a punt return -- and with a nine-point difference, that was it," Vikings head coach Brad Childress lamented.

Westbrook was bottled up for the most part until his game-changing catch-and- run -- picking up 121 yards from scrimmage, with 38 of that coming on 20 carries.

"We were very patient. Those guys on defense did a great job taking away the run. We had to make them play honest, but we didn't have as much success as we should have had," Westbrook said.

Asante Samuel came up with the big play on defense with a 44-yard interception return for a score. It was the fourth career post-season pick returned for a touchdown by Samuel -- an NFL record.

McNabb was 23-of-34 passing for 300 yards with an interception for the Eagles, who were able to nudge their way into the conference's final wild card spot by going 4-1 down the stretch.

"He looked so calm. I thought he just hung in there a few times, made a few huge throws -- especially when we didn't have good field position," Eagles head coach Andy Reid said of his QB.

DeSean Jackson had one catch for 34 yards that helped set up an Akers field goal, and he also put the Eagles in position for points throughout the game with 109 yards on five punt returns.

Philadelphia posted victories over a pair of NFC division winners in Arizona and the New York Giants during their push to make the playoffs, then capped the strong run with a 44-6 pasting of the rival Dallas Cowboys last Sunday to seize the sixth and the final seed with a 9-6-1 record.

Adrian Peterson had 83 yards rushing on 20 carries, with a pair of touchdowns, while Jackson finished 15-of-35 passing for 164 yards, with a costly pick, for the Vikings, who won five of their last six games to capture their first NFC North title since 2000 and end a four-year playoff drought.

The Bears' 31-24 setback at Houston in Week 17 also secured the No. 3 playoff seed for Minnesota, although the Vikings took matters into their own hands by edging the NFC East champion Giants in their most recent test.

"We did some good things before making it to the playoffs. We put ourselves in the position to play tonight, so you can take some good things from the season and try to build on it next year," Peterson said. "This is what it's all about -- the training camp, the 5:30-6:00 o'clock wake up, getting the opportunity to be in the playoffs. It hurts, I'm hurt right now."

The Eagles previously won both postseason meetings with the Vikings, beating them in 1980 and 2004 en route to Super Bowl appearances in both seasons.

Akers put the Eagles on the board with 6:44 left in the first after Jackson's 62-yard punt return helped set up the 43-yard kick.

Minnesota was forced to punt for the second time and a 27-yard Correll Buckhalter run off right tackle helped set up Akers' playoff franchise- record 51-yard boot for a 6-0 game heading into the second quarter.

The Vikings, however, took the lead with one big play as Peterson found a seam up the middle and cut up the left sideline for a 40-yard TD, cashing in their third possession to take a 7-6 lead nearly four minutes into the frame.

The Eagles continued to move the ball on the ensuing series but not as far as the end zone as Akers connected on his third field goal, this time from 31 yards out. McNabb hit Jackson on a deep ball up the right sideline to reach the Vikings' 21 before the drive stalled at the 13.

Philadelphia's defense did what the offense couldn't in the first half with Samuel taking back an ill-advised Jackson offering 44 yards for a score on the third play of Minnesota's next drive.

Jackson was under pressure and hurried a throw out to the right sideline before Sidney Rice had completed his route. Samuel had a clear path to the end zone until Jackson cut the angle, but Eagles' lineman Chris Clemons was also there and pancaked a leaping Jackson hard to the turf, allowing Samuel to skip in untouched.

Jackson bounced back, however, to lead a 64-yard scoring drive in nine plays as Peterson scored from three yards out for his second TD of the day, pulling the Vikings back within two, 16-14, with 1:51 until halftime. It was Jackson, though, that did the bulk of the work -- hitting Bernard Berrian for 27 yards over the middle on 3rd-and-4 from the Minnesota 42. He later hit Bobby Wade for 10 yards to reach the red zone.

The Eagles had two chances to get back into Akers' range but McNabb threw a jump-ball deep up the left sideline for Curtis on 3rd-and-1 from their own 47 and Minnesota's Cedric Griffin came down with it. The Vikings punted, leaving 18 seconds to go, but the Eagles were without a timeout and the clock ran out on a short pass to Westbrook from the Vikings' 47.

Game Notes

Minnesota was hosting its first postseason game at the Metrodome since the team registered a 34-16 triumph over New Orleans in a 2000 NFC Divisional Playoff...Childress served as Philadelphia's offensive coordinator for seven seasons under Reid from 1999-2005...Reid has a 5-0 record against Minnesota all-time while Childress is now 0-2 against both his former boss Reid and employer the Eagles...Philadelphia is 9-6 in the playoffs under Reid and had won each of its three previous Wild Card-round tilts...The Vikings have now lost five straight to the Eagles overall since scoring a 28-19 win over the Birds at the Metrodome in 1997...Philadelphia's Jason Avant hauled in five balls for 47 yards while tight end Brent Celek made six grabs for 56 yards...Curtis had four receptions totaling 49 yards...Berrian finished with two catches for 36 yards...Vikings safety Darren Sharper was forced to leave the game in the second quarter with a sprained ankle. He attempted to return in the second half but was unsuccessful.