PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Sorry, Eagles. Not this time, either. The surprising Carolina Panthers are

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Sorry, Eagles. Not this time, either. The surprising Carolina Panthers are Super Bowl-bound instead.
The Panthers once again showed no fear on the road, shocking Philadelphia 14-3 Sunday night and handing the Eagles their third straight NFC championship game defeat.
Rookie Ricky Manning Jr., a hero last week with an interception to set up the winning touchdown at St. Louis, picked off three passes against an ailing Donovan McNabb.
Eight days after ending the Rams' 14-game home winning streak in double overtime, the Panthers marched into The Linc and grabbed their first conference crown. They'd gotten this far in 1996, their second season, but lost to Green Bay. This time, they extended the angst-filled wait for a championship in Philadelphia and will head to Houston to meet the New England Patriots on Feb. 1.
City's drought continues
For Philadelphia, it is now 20 full seasons without any kind of pro sports championship. The Eagles' last NFL title was in 1960, and they are the first team to host consecutive conference championships and lose both since game sites originally were determined by record in 1975.
Just two seasons back, the Panthers were the NFL's worst team with a 1-15 record. John Fox was hired as coach and engineered one of the most impressive turnarounds in league history. They beat Dallas handily at home in the wild-card round, then won the thriller at the Rams.
Fox's opportunistic defense made the difference Sunday, led by a fierce pass rush and third-round draft pick Manning, who tied an NFC championship game record with his three pickoffs. The Panthers hurt McNabb's ribs in the second quarter, then destroyed Philadelphia's chance for its first Super Bowl trip since 1981 with a powerful display in the third period.
By the final quarter, McNabb was out of the game and the Eagles were out of options.
McNabb finished 10-for-22 for 100 yards with three interceptions -- all by Manning. One of the picks was jarred from the hands of receiver James Thrash, and Duce Staley and Todd Pinkston had big drops that stymied promising scoring chances in the first half.
Big play
Manning's third interception -- off a deflection when receiver James Thrash was hit hard by Mike Minter -- and his 17-yard return was critical. So was the inability of the Eagles' secondary to make the same kind of plays.
Lito Sheppard's 14-yard interference penalty against Steve Smith put Carolina at the 1. DeShaun Foster then powered through four tacklers for a 14-3 lead with 4:11 remaining in the third quarter.
In the first half, despite double coverage, Muhsin Muhammad made a 24-yard touchdown catch for a 7-0 lead.
McNabb was sacked eight times last week by Green Bay, and the most painful one this week came when Mike Rucker burst quickly through the line, sending McNabb tumbling backward onto the turf. Linebacker Greg Favors, unsure if the play was over, then jumped on and sent McNabb into an awkward roll, bending McNabb's left leg into the quarterback's chest.
McNabb walked off the field under his own power, holding his rib cage with his left hand. Koy Detmer entered the game and completed a screen pass for minus-3 yards before McNabb returned to huge cheers.
At the time of his injury, McNabb was 6-for-10 for 58 yards. On his first play back, he completed a 10-yard pass to Freddie Mitchell to set up a field goal.