They hung on and beat the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round and absolutely destroyed the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship game. The 49 points were the most for an NFC title game victor.
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Now the Panthers head to their second Super Bowl, looking to win their first.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – For all his daring and dabbing and Superman persona, Cam Newton quickly reminds everyone that football is all about team. The Panthers had been 60-1 at some books entering the season, with only nine teams bigger long shots, according to the betting analysis site Pregame.com. Meanwhile the Panthers continued to add to their lead and went on to win 49-15.
We going to the ‘ship what???
The Panthers (17-1) have written quite a story so far. They have won at least 10 games in each of his three seasons and made the playoffs the last two.
Panthers led the entire game and easily squashed an attempted Arizona fourth quarter comeback with two scores to boost the final score to 49-15 – the most ever scored in an NFC Championship game since the Super Bowl began. That’s where they’ll face Denver in Super Bowl 50. Denver, of course, has made a habit of going to Super Bowls, reaching it for a record-tying eighth time. He was the guy and still is the guy that everyone looks at. He drafted guys like Cam Newton, Johnathan Stewart, Luke Kuechly.
He followed with a dab or two, handed the ball to a fan in the end zone, and ran to the sideline to chants of “MVP!” Newton fired a dart to Philly Brown. He finished 19 of 28 for 335 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. On Sunday, all of those talents were on display. “I don’t know what the game plan is right now, I’ll talk to the trainers after I get showered up and we’ll figure something out but I’m going to figure out a way to get into that game, I can promise you that”, Davis said. “Watching him grow each and every year, it’s been incredible, and this has been a big year for him?” The fifth-year coach said he won’t have any more information on his status until after the meeting.
Superman is headed for the Super Bowl.
“I believe in me”, Davis said. “We’re trying to finish this thing off”.
With help from the Denver Broncos defense. Against Arizona, Carolina produced seven takeaways. Palmer threw for 235 yards on 23-40 attempts, one touchdown and four interceptions.
There were also three sacks.
Charles Johnson forced a fumble.
“The public normally bets what they saw last and they liked what they saw in the Panthers”, said Jay Kornegay of the Westgate Las Vegas Super Book. “It’s a very solid group”.
Ginn caught 14 passes – the third lowest of his career – for 190 yards and no touchdowns last season for the Cardinals, who cut him after the season. He hooked back up with Carolina, where Ginn spent 2013.
Cam Newton is at the opposite end of his career, just 26, making his debut in the big game.
Capping the barrage was Kuechly, who returned an interception 22 yards for a score. Manning finished 17 of 32 for 176 yards and two touchdowns. “We came out here and fought our tails off and we did what a lot of people said we couldn’t do”. “They sent me back out to the wolves”.
And his defense couldn’t come up with the hard-hitting stops needed to salvage any momentum.
“This is as low as you can feel”, Palmer said. “To leave the way we’re leaving, it just hurts”. He also is expected to earn MVP honors for the first time, part of a new breed of dual-threat QBs as good at running as they are at throwing.
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“Josh Norman is a premier cornerback”, Fitzgerald says. “We’re about winning a championship”.
