Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis says he will play in the Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos despite suffering a broken arm during his team’s NFC Championship victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
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“If it all goes well, it should be something he will be able to play with”, Rivera said about the longest-tenured member of the Panthers, who has already shown his grit and resolve to battle back from injury.
“I’ve got two weeks to heal up”, Davis said in the victorious locker room, carefully holding his right arm up with his left hand as he spoke.
Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is taking a page out of Mike Ditka’s book as he prepares for Super Bowl 50.
Knowing that history-along with how well he played through the first quarter and a half-made the sight of him walking off the field in the second quarter, his arm immobilized in the hands of Carolina’s athletic trainer, even more heartbreaking. After all, he has played on the Panthers since 2005 and has never had the chance to win a Super Bowl.
Even without Davis, the Panthers managed to finish the game with seven takeaways – six of those on defense.
“It was a hard decision but I did what I thought was right for us”, Rivera said.
“The thing we’ve got to remember is what we’re playing for, and that’s to win it”, Rivera said Monday.
“He said [he was going to play] with the same type of sincerity he said to me when he told me he was coming back from the third ACL”, Rivera said.
Davis is no stranger to injury. “There is something about his conviction, and I think that’s what makes him who he is today”.
Davis’s team-mate, defensive tackle Kawann Short, said he had faith in the linebacker’s ability to recover. “But I’m glad it sounds like he’s going to be OK and be ready to roll”. It hasn’t stopped him yet.
And now that the Panthers have realized those expectations, the fifth-year coach believes they’re capable of bringing home the organization’s first Vince Lombardi trophy.
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The AFC championship game has drawn its second-largest television audience on record.
