The Philadelphia Eagles lost their third consecutive NFC championship, and became the first team to ever lose back-to-back conference championships at home.
The opportunistic Carolina defense pressured the Philly quarterbacks all game, registering five sacks and four interceptions, spread out between Donovan McNabb and Koy Detmer.
Detmer took over after McNabb left the game with separated rib cartilage. Three of those interceptions were by rookie Panther cornerback Ricky Manning Jr., who proved it was not a bad day for all people named Manning.
Carolina relied mostly on its running attack during the game, going between Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster, the latter of whom scored a touchdown in the third quarter. Davis and Foster combined for 136 yards rushing.
Spearheaded by the running game, Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme was hardly used, going 9-for-14 for 101 yards with a touchdown, in only his third career playoff game.
Philadelphia managed only a second quarter field goal by David Akers, and struggled with mistakes all game. Receivers dropped passes, ran incorrect routes, and defensive backs had lapses in coverage at key points.
