The Carolina Panthers have the Halas Trophy, presented to them Sunday as the NFC champions.
Now they’ll go after the Lombardi Trophy, which goes to the Super Bowl champion.
Carolina beat the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 at Bank of America Stadium, and these Panthers joined the 2003 group as the second in franchise history to advance to the Super Bowl.
In Santa Clara, Calif., the Panthers will face the Denver Broncos, 20-18 winners over New England in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 7.
Sunday’s crowd of 74,294 never had to break a sweat on a cold but dry evening.