Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton says he feels “super” after last night’s NFC Championship game.
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Newton set up the score with an 11-yard run for a first down in which he dived for a first down and then spiked the ball as Superman music played in the background. He also had 52 yards on two receptions. “He can run the ball, scramble around and throw off his back foot 60, 70 yards without even looking”.
When Newton flew into the end zone for a 12-yard third-quarter touchdown no, he didn’t have the cape on he posed like a superhero, dabbed a bit, and pointed the Panthers toward the Bay Area. Newton will have a minimum of one rushing touchdown at the same time.
The Carolina Panthers looked invincible throughout the regular season and the first few games of the National Football League playoffs but they will face a stiff challenge on Sunday when they face the surging Arizona Cardinals. Kurt Coleman picked it off, ending a threat, and essentially, the night for the Cardinals. Patrick Peterson fumbled a punt return in the second quarter for Arizona’s other giveaway. The Cardinals or the Panthers? However, Carolina has surrendered bigger leads in the past, so this game is far from over.
Safety Roman Harper (eye) was scheduled to see a doctor on Monday.
Rivera said center Ryan Kalil is fine after leaving the game briefly with a knee injury.
The Panthers scored five plays after Peterson muffed a punt near midfield and then was called for defensive holding on the next play from scrimmage to give Carolina a first down.
One week after blowing all but seven points of a 31-0 lead against Seattle, the Panthers played aggressively – not timidly – for the remainder of the game against the Cardinals. Most of the Cardinals’ drives started off on the 20-yard line which didn’t help the waning Cardinals offense. Six plays later, he took a pitch from Newton, headed left and broke a tackle by Justin Bethel. The Panthers said his return is questionable.
Two plays later Steven Jackson powered over from the one.
Meanwhile, the Panthers are backing in scoring position at the two-minute warning. The last time they were in the big game, quarterback Jake Delhomme went head-to-head with Tom Brady and New England in a memorable fourth quarter which featured two lead changes and a tie before Brady drove his team 37 yards to set up Adam Vinatieri, whose 41-yard field goal with four seconds left gave the Patriots a 32-29 victory.
The crowd immediately erupted into chants of “MVP! MVP!” Things quickly turned around in the second half though, as the Seahawks came soaring back to score 24 unanswered points.
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After signing a three-year deal with the Cardinals in the spring of 2014, Ginn was released after just one season in the desert. Newton doesn’t have the league’s best completion percentage at 59.7 percent, but he doesn’t need it when his average completion is hitting for 13 yards.
