Both were No. 1 overall draft picks.
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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. The Panthers offense scored the most points in the league this year, but Arizona’s offense finished second in points and first in yards, making Sunday’s Championship game a matchup of two powerhouse offenses.
But that’s about where the similarities end.
The AFC and NFC Championship will be played on Sunday for the right to play in the Super Bowl 50.
That game marked the third time Carolina has blown a huge lead this year only to win by a score or less. The Panthers have given up 201 receptions to receivers during the 2015 season along with 2,479 yards.
“We had 10 windows open and there was a flurry of activity at those betting windows”, Kornegay said. In Sunday’s NFC Championship win over Arizona it was no different for Ginn.
The question now is whether Palmer will be able to overcome this performance from a mental perspective. Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer threw four interceptions. Carolina recovered Peterson’s muff in Cardinal territory and scored a touchdown six plays later to go ahead 24-7 and, as it turned out, put the game out of reach.
A hot start was encouraging for the Panthers, but they faded out of the game after half time, and they can’t rely on a similar start against a very strong Cardinals side. “That’s not my style”. “I’m proud of the way we fought, and we certainly fought to the end”, he said. “That’s part of football – it’s not going to be a flawless game – but if you stick together every single play and you want it more than the other guy across from you, it’s going to show”. Arizona has a 13-3 record for the year.
This season the Panthers haven’t faced a team quite like the Cardinals with such a risky attack both offensively and defensively and a coach as well prepared as Bruce Arians. “He’s got playmakers at all the positions”. If one man goes down the next man steps up. “I think this is really neat, I really do”. Palmer didn’t play exceptionally well, but he did enough to get his team past Aaron Rodgers and his late game heroics connecting with Larry Fitzgerald on an 80-yard play in overtime that helped win the game.
This will be Newton’s fifth playoff game and he’s already won a national championship at Auburn, so he doesn’t expect nerves to be a problem – especially playing in the comfort of home where the Panthers have won 12 straight games. The Panthers couldn’t get to the half fast enough. “We’ve been known to take our foot off the throttle”. “We are trying to finish this thing off”.
Are you ready for Super Bowl 50?
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“His play action game is unbelievable”, Campbell said.
