Panthers take 2 OT's for win over Rams\nST. LOUIS -- Nothing comes easy for the Carolina Panthers -- not even their biggest victory.\nAfter blowing an 11-point lead in the final 2:39, the Panthers beat the St. Louis Rams 29-23 in double overtime Saturday on Steve Smith's 69-yard touchdown reception.\nIn one of the wildest, most thrilling finishes in NFL history, Carolina advanced to the NFC championship game against Philadelphia.\nAfter St. Louis rallied to tie the game in regulation on a 1-yard touchdown run by Marshall Faulk, a 2-point conversion, an onside kick and a 33-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins, Carolina nearly won it on the first possession of overtime.\nThe Panthers took the overtime kickoff and moved to the Rams 22 on Jermaine Wiggins' 21-yard reception. John Kasay made a 40-yard field goal, but the Panthers were called for delay of game. The offense came back for two runs and Kasay, the last original Panther, was wide right from 45 yards.\nJeff Wilkins was short on a 53-yard attempt for St. Louis, and the Rams then forced a punt. Three plays later, on the first snap of the second OT, Smith split a zone, beating safety Jason Sehorn and carrying Jake Delhomme's pass into the end zone to win the fifth-longest game ever.
Vinatieri kicks Pats into AFC title game\nFOXBORO, Mass. -- Adam Vinatieri kicked the New England Patriots into the AFC title game once again.\nB-b-b-b-barely.\nThe hero of the snowy "Tuck Rule" game and the 2002 Super Bowl kicked a 46-yard field goal with 4:06 left on a bitterly cold Saturday night to give New England a 17-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans and put the Patriots within one win of the Super Bowl.\nThe Patriots will be back in frigid Foxboro next week to play for the AFC championship against Indianapolis.\nIt was 14-14 after three quarters, and it was still that way when Tom Brady hit Troy Brown with a 4-yard completion on fourth-and-3 from the Tennessee 33. Vinatieri, who missed a 44-yarder in the same direction in the first quarter, came on four plays later and sneaked the ball over the crossbar.\nSteve McNair led the Titans to the New England 33 before an intentional grounding and a holding call put them out of range for the potential game-tying field goal. A desperation fourth-and-12 tossup bounced out of Drew Bennett's hands, and the Patriots ran out the clock to deprive Tennessee of a second consecutive appearance in the conference title game.
Eagles beat Packers, advance to NFC Championship\nPHILADELPHIA -- Brett Favre has thrown this kind of pass often in his career. And this time, the Philadelphia Eagles' Brian Dawkins was there waiting for it.\nDawkins intercepted Favre's desperation pass in overtime to set up David Akers' 31-yard field goal Sunday, giving the Eagles a 20-17 win over the Green Bay Packers and sending them to their third straight NFC title game.\nDawkins picked off the heave on Green Bay's first possession of overtime -- a forced pass that Favre has pulled off many times before.\nThis time it cost him the game a week after the Packers' Al Harris returned an interception to give Green Bay an overtime win in their wild-card game with Seattle. No team has ever won two straight overtime games in the playoffs.\nThe Packers led 14-7 at halftime, but the Eagles had the momentum after stopping Ahman Green on fourth down from the 1-yard line late in the second quarter. The Eagles' Corey Simon was responsible for the stop, pushing Mike Wahle into Green and slowing him down for Jerome McDougle.
