The star of Denver’s dominant defense had 2½ sacks, an interception and a pass breakup in the Broncos’ 20-18 win over the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game Sunday. The Panthers led 17-0 after the first quarter and by 17 points at the half, then kept up the scoring in the second half.
Advertisement
Manning threw for two first-half touchdowns as Denver’s formidable defence withstood a thrilling late rally from the Patriots, which saw them come within a missed two-point conversion of forcing overtime.
Newton was fearless against the Cardinals’ talented secondary, throwing for 335 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for two more scores.
Discarded by Arizona just one year into a three-year contract, Ginn did just about everything against his former team on Sunday and helped power the Carolina Panthers to a 49-15 win in the NFC championship.
Drum roll please…Super Bowl 50 will be a battle between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers!
With a win over the Arizona Cardinals, the Carolina Panthers claimed the NFC Championship and will head to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA where they will try to claim the first world championship in franchise history.
Peyton Manning is the only five-time MVP in NFL history, one of the faces of the league and, at 39, the oldest starting quarterback to lead a team to the Super Bowl.
Nearly as swiftly, it was 17-0.
One week after holding on for a 31-24 win over Seattle after leading 31-0 at halftime, the Panthers made sure was going to be no such comeback by the Cardinals.
Ginn’s touchdown came on a 22-yard reverse in the first quarter. It was the most points for a victor of an NFC title game.
But he may have saved his best game for Sunday.
Manning, of course, will get so much of the attention over the next two weeks.
Following a 15-yard facemask penalty on Brown, the Panthers went 84 yards on nine plays – including a 54-yard pass to Greg Olsen – to further the rout with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Devin Funchess. Manning tossed two touchdowns to tight end Owen Daniels, while defensive back Darian Stewart and linebacker Von Miller each recorded interceptions to stymie New England’s typically explosive offense.
Davis, who already had six tackles, left for good with a broken right forearm during that drive.
Your Super Bowl 50 Winner Is…
Newton ran for two scores, soaring above defenders at the goal line, and threw for two others to set off a victory party at Bank of America Stadium by reaching the February 7 National Football League championship game outside San Francisco.
The question now is whether Palmer will be able to overcome this performance from a mental perspective. The Panthers forced seven turnovers, including four interceptions of Carson Palmer. On both of his TD runs, he laid out the ball or himself to get into the end zone.
On Arizona’s first play after a Peterson muffed punt, Palmer was sacked by Charles Johnson and fumbled.
Advertisement
This headline would have seemed insane just a season ago, but despite being one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Manning is not the player he once was.
