Pulling Out All the Stops / Punishing defenses make New England, Carolina conference champions

PHILADELPHIA —  Ricky Manning Jr. had three interceptions, did a little dance somewhere between a waltz and a tango, wiggled his hips, wagged his fingers and Philadelphia fans went silent.

DeShaun Foster was hit once, twice, three, four, five times and still he dragged himself for a yard that felt like a mile and made it to the end zone to score the final touchdown of the NFC championship game. And Eagle fans gasped, then booed, then shut up again.

In only their ninth season of existence, the Carolina Panthers advanced to their first Super Bowl when they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 14-3, Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

And Manning and Foster, the two former UCLA Bruins who had known more disappointment than success in Westwood, put an emphatically sad end to another Eagle season.

Manning, the rookie cornerback who had three interceptions all season, has had four in the last two weeks of the playoffs. Foster, who missed his rookie season with a microfracture of his kneecap, played with ferocious purpose, dragging tacklers on his back, swerving around flailing defenders, rushing for 60 yards and scoring the decisive touchdown, his first rushing touchdown in the NFL.

“My boys hurt me,” said Philadelphia receiver Freddie Mitchell, another UCLA alumnus. “They’ve brought tears to my eyes.”

This is the third consecutive season the Eagles (13-5) have fallen a game short of the Super Bowl. For the second year in a row, they lost the NFC championship game on their home field. Since 1975, the first year host teams were determined by records, nobody had lost consecutive conference championship games at home.

Until now.

“We wanted very much to give this city a title,” said defensive tackle Corey Simon, who had tears falling from his eyes. “This seems a little unreal.”

History meant little to the Panthers (14-5), who were 1-15 two seasons ago.

“Nobody gave us a chance,” Manning said. “But we weren’t afraid to come in here and we weren’t afraid to take it to the Eagles. I think we hit them so hard they didn’t know what to expect.”

The most damaging hit came with about eight minutes left in the second quarter.

Donovan McNabb, who had been sacked eight times by the Packers last week, was knocked down by Carolina defensive end Mike Rucker. While McNabb lay on his back, linebacker Greg Favors came from the side and dove onto him. The Eagle quarterback, who had rushed for 107 yards against Green Bay, rolled awkwardly, then curled into a ball of pain while clutching his chest.

After spending one play on the sideline McNabb came back in, but he could do nothing at full speed and was so ineffective that Coach Andy Reid put backup Koy Detmer into the game in the fourth quarter. McNabb’s injury was described as separated rib cartilage.

The Panthers had scored first by executing an eight-play, 79-yard touchdown drive. Quarterback Jake Delhomme hit running back Stephen Davis for 21 yards and then, on consecutive plays, wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad for 15 yards and the 24-yard scoring play.

On the touchdown, Eagle safety Brian Dawkins got turned around, taking himself out of the play, and cornerback Bobby Taylor fell in front of Muhammad.

During the drive, on third and one at the Carolina 30, Foster had taken a pitch and gotten smashed by Eagle linebacker Ike Reese.

Had Foster just fallen, he would have missed the first down, but while he was falling, the ball popped out of his hands and Panther tight end Jermaine Wiggins recovered it for a gain of two yards. The drive continued.

The Eagles scored their only points on the next drive. A 41-yard David Akers field goal gave Eagle fans hope, but when McNabb came out for the second half walking slowly and still holding his rib cage, it was difficult to imagine Philadelphia mounting a comeback.

Manning, who had his three interceptions in a span of 9:39 in the second and third quarters, said he felt certain the Panthers would win when McNabb got hurt.

“We knew they were going to stop fighting because that’s their leader,” Manning said. “That’s their man. Once we knocked him out, we exhaled. I said to myself that I was definitely going to attack now.”

Manning’s first two interceptions came in Carolina territory. His third came at the Philadelphia 37, when McNabb found receiver James Thrash. But Thrash was hit hard, the ball popped loose and Manning plucked it out of the air and ran 17 yards.

Five plays later, Foster scored his bulldozer touchdown.

“It was just determination to get into the end zone,” Foster said. “You’ve got to be able to just leave it out there on the field. That’s what I was trying to do on that play.”

With 9 1/2 minutes left in the game, Reid pulled McNabb. “Donovan would have played until he passed out,” Reid said. “I thought he was putting himself at risk. It was a move I had to make.”

McNabb, who was 10 for 22 for 100 yards and ran for only 10 yards, said he wanted to play until the end and would only admit that the pain was “constant” and “nagging.”

But it was the pain of falling short of the Super Bowl, again, that hurt the most.

“For us to get here three times and not to be able to go further, it hurts,” he said. “It hurts.”