CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: Carolina was held scoreless in the second half and only just hung on for a 31-24 win against Seattle on Sunday to advance into the final four of the NFL playoffs, along with Denver, which won a similarly tight game against Pittsburgh.

The Panthers jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead against Seattle but looked in danger of defeat when the Seahawks pulled within seven points with 1:12 to play.

Carolina recovered the ensuing onside kick, and held on to advance to the NFC championship game next weekend against Arizona.

Denver trailed with less than 10 minutes to play against Pittsburgh before veteran quarterback Peyton Manning led the Broncos on their only touchdown drive of the game to steer the Broncos to a 23-16 victory over the Steelers.

The Broncos will host New England in next weekend’s AFC championship game that will pit Manning against Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for the 17th time.

Carolina lost only once in the regular season, and went into the game against Seattle with 11 straight home victories.

The Panthers made all the right plays in building a 31-0 lead, then were dominated by the two-time defending NFC champs in the second half.

“We have to find a way to complete a full game of football,” Carolina quarterback Cam Newton said. “We have been known to take our foot off the throttle and we have to find that killer instinct.”

Carolina’s players, coaches and fans were feeling the pressure in the final 30 minutes as Seattle staged a relentless comeback.

“It’s crazy — you go into these games and you expect it to be like this, so it wasn’t a surprise for us,” linebacker Luke Kuechly said. “But you’ve got to be locked in the whole game.”

Jonathan Stewart, returning from a foot injury, scored two touchdowns after jumpstarting the Panthers with a 59-yard sprint on their first play. Newton threw for a touchdown.

Then, Seattle showed its pedigree and climbed back within seven points.

“We made a mess of it in the first half,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “We look at this game as a microcosm of the season. We struggled so much early in the season to get going, and it took us a long time. When we finally did, we caught fire, and got rolling. Everyone in here just feels like we ran out of time.”

In the opening 7:20 of the third quarter, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson hit Jermaine Kearse for a 13-yard score and rookie Tyler Lockett for 33 yards, making it 31-14.

When the Seahawks succeeded on a fake punt from their 23, an epic comeback seemed possible. That drive stalled, but with Carolina’s offense sputtering, Seattle got closer on Kearse’s 3-yard catch.

With Newton waving the crowd into frenzied cheers on the sideline, the Panthers’ defense couldn’t stop a 60-yard drive capped by Steven Hauschka’s 36-yard field goal with 1:12 remaining.

At 31-24, linebacker Thomas Davis hauled in Hauschka’s onside kick — and Charlotte could breathe again.

Denver’s win was achieved in contrasting fashion, after trailing 13-12 with less than 10 minutes left.

It was then that cornerback Bradley Roby punched the ball from Fitzgerald Toussaint’s arms and teammate DeMarcus Ware recovered at the Denver 35-yard line.

Then, Manning went to work, driving Denver to its only touchdown.

C.J. Anderson ran it in from the 1, and Demaryius Thomas caught the 2-point conversion for a 20-13 lead with three minutes remaining.

Ware’s sack ended Pittsburgh’s next drive and Brandon McManus kicked his fifth field goal of the game, tying the NFL playoff record.

Steelers kicker Chris Boswell made a 47-yarder with 19 seconds left, but Anderson recovered the onside kick to seal the victory.