By no means was he a one-man show. Carson Palmer and the Cardinals had eight turnovers on the game and Luke Kueckly returned one interecption for a touchdown as the Panthers routed the Cardinals 49-15. We’re not finished”, Newton said, later adding: “Our pen has a lot more ink left.
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“We were very prepared for this game”, Newton said. It’s not over yet.
The Panthers will face the Denver Broncos in two weeks in the NFL’s championship spectacle at San Francisco. Both had multiple interceptions during the regular season, and Kuechly has two interception returns for touchdowns in the postseason, including a 22-yard return against Arizona.
“We’re not a bunch of these other teams. we play as a team, it’s not about one person, it’s not about two people. We are a complete team”. In 2004, the Panthers lost to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII. At most books in this gambling city, the Panthers were a 4-point pick, though the early line varied, with the over/under settling in at 45. The victory advanced the Panthers to Super Bowl 50, where they’ll play the Denver Broncos on February 7. To win 14 games, to win a playoff game, to be here in the championship game, those are all positive things.
It was satisfying for him to make it to the Super Bowl partly because the alternative was that the Cardinals make it instead. The Broncos still stand in his way, but the way the Panthers played on Sunday night, the entire AFC Pro Bowl team might be an underdog. He tried to force the ball downfield, but we were not letting anything go over our head.
“We knew from the get-go when he first got here”, said center Ryan Kalil, like Newton an All-Pro, “we had something special”.
The offense was aggressive scoring a field goal and a touchdown on its first two possessions after intermission.
“I felt like deep down inside they felt like I couldn’t do it”, Ginn said of the Cardinals.
“Defensively, we were just tremendous”, said Denver’s Gary Kubiak, the seventh coach in National Football League history to get to the Super Bowl in his first year with a team.
The Cardinals finally got on the board in the second quarter with a David Johnson 1-yard run for a touchdown, and managed to hold the Panthers scoreless to keep their hopes alive.
“I kept digging us in a hole and we just couldn’t come out of it”, Palmer said.
Newton came out sharp on the opening drive, targeting five different receivers, connecting with four of them. I’m not going to regret going after that ball.
“Trying to make too much happen too soon on that play”.
And Carolina is “not going just to take pictures” either, Newton said.
Nearly as swiftly, it was 17-0.
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Linebacker Thomas Davis confirmed he suffered a broken forearm in their 49-15 win over the Cardinals. He is expected to be honored as the MVP for the first time – fans chanted those three letters during the NFC championship postgame ceremony – and he’ll be playing in his first Super Bowl.
