Cam Newton ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more to spark the Panthers over the visiting Arizona Cardinals 49-15, setting a scoring record for the National Football Conference final.
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They survived and advanced, but will the Cardinals play like the well-rounded team that went 13-3 in the regular season, or will they struggle to find their form against the powerful Carolina Panthers?
Brady, who coming into this game had been playing some of the best football of his career and is one of the front-runners for the NFL Most Valuable Player award, was intercepted twice in the second quarter. The Panthers will face Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, who beat the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. Their most recent matchup came two years ago at Carolina, and featured a controversial ending to a 24-20 victory by the Panthers.
NOTES: The previous meeting between teams came with Carolina winning 27-16 in the wild-card playoff round last January…. “We had to take coaching and be on point during the week as though every practice is the game”. Carolina hasn’t gotten much respect this season from the public or odds makers but they are two wins away from getting the credit they deserve.
Yet every so often, the Super Bowl isn’t dominated by quarterbacks and instead is taken over by a defense so good it puts it an indelible stamp and style on display on the world’s biggest stage. They were denied their second berth in the Super Bowl.
One Arizona player who is quite familiar with chasing Tom Brady – and relishes tracking down Manning too – is whirling-dervish pass rusher Dwight Freeney, a former three-time All-Pro for the Colts. Carolina’s first possession resulted in an eight-play, 39-yard drive and Graham Gano’s 45-yard field goal. “I think the line will settle in at 4 and stay there until Super Bowl weekend”. “I got around the corner but (cornerback Justin) Bethel held me up a little bit, but that let me see the defense a little bit, and then I just continued on the journey”.
“That’s all I can say about it”.
The Cardinals finally made it into Carolina territory early in the second quarter, but Palmer fumbled on a sack to end the threat.
Manning turns 40 in March, and while he had not revealed his future plans going into the AFC title game, there had been wide speculation that this season could be his last. “He can run the ball, scramble around and throw off his back foot 60, 70 yards without even looking”.
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The Packers extended the game to overtime, but Palmer and the Cardinals found a way to win when they scored a touchdown on their first possession of the extra session.
