Charlotte, N.C. ? Making it to the first Super Bowl in franchise history should be enough for the underdog Carolina Panthers.

Don’t try telling that to the team, not after it came so close before losing 32-29 to New England on Adam Vinatieri’s 41-yard field goal with four seconds to play Sunday.

The Panthers weren’t even supposed to make the playoffs, let alone roll through the postseason with wins over Dallas, St. Louis and Philadelphia. Still, the players weren’t buying it — “almost” is not good enough.

“There is nothing accomplished if you don’t win,” receiver Steve Smith said. “It’s all or nothing and right now we have nothing. Our goal is not to open anybody’s eyes, it is to win championships.”

Two years removed from a 1-15 season that had sapped the energy and enthusiasm out of the franchise and the community, the Panthers have embraced winning and won’t settle for anything short of a Super Bowl title.

It was a quick turnaround from the bottom of the NFL and was led by coach John Fox, who wasted no time in rebuilding the confidence of this Carolina team. He made the Panthers tough by installing a blue-collar work ethic and making them believe they were supposed to be in the Super Bowl.

So Fox and general manager Marty Hurney likely will waste little time getting to work on improving the Panthers the same way they have done the past two seasons.

After drafting defensive end Julius Peppers two years ago, they turned attention to the offense last spring and bolstered the unit with two of the best free-agent signings in the NFL this season: Running back Stephen Davis and quarterback Jake Delhomme.

Davis, pushed out of Washington by then-coach Steve Spurrier, came home to the Carolinas and rushed for a career-best 1,444 yards.

Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme waves upon arriving at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers visited fans Monday in Charlotte, N.C.

Delhomme, a career backup, took over the starting job in the second half of the season opener. He rallied Carolina from a 17-0 deficit that day to the win, the first of eight second-half comebacks in 14 regular-season wins.

With Delhomme at the helm, Carolina never considered itself out of the game as he helped the Panthers to a 7-0 mark in games decided by three points or less and 8-0 when scoring at least 21 points.