Broncos and Panthers Advance to Super Bowl

The Broncos will play Arizona or Carolina, who met later in the NFC title game.

By no means was he a one-man show.

“He’s going to do what he has to do to win, ” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said.

“We’ve been dreaming about this moment since Day 1”, Newton said. It’s not over yet. “This was a big game, but in two weeks, it’s the biggest”. Seven receivers caught a pass from Newton, capped by Corey Brown’s 86-yard touchdown that closed the first quarter.

“The Super Bowl is always going to sell itself no matter who is in it”, Kornegay said. “We are a complete team”.

The seven turnovers by Arizona tied the most ever in an NFC championship set by the 1978 Los Angeles Rams against the Dallas Cowboys, and helped Carolina reach their second Super Bowl after a 32-29 loss to the Patriots 12 years ago. They lost to New England in 2004.

This time, the Panthers will meet another quarterback destined for the Hall of Fame. The Panthers opened up as 5.5-point favorites.

The Panthers dominated the early portions of the game by dominating both lines of scrimmage, and they never let up. The Panthers converted five plays later on Newton’s 1-yard touchdown leap, pushing the lead to 24-7.

However, Brady converted a pair of fourth-down plays on the Patriots’ final drive, including a four-yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski on fourth-and-goal with 12 seconds left.

The Cardinals were the victors in one of the best postseason games in recent memory, surviving an Aaron Rodgers miracle to run out with a 26-20 overtime victory.

“Oh wow. Playing the sheriff”, he said of the man 13 years his senior in a sideline interview. “I’m excited and ready to go, man. We still have one more thing to do”. Carolina’s first possession resulted in an eight-play, 39-yard drive and Graham Gano’s 45-yard field goal.

It wasn’t just that Palmer was a turnover machine, it was the ineptitude that made his performance all the more incredulous.

Capping the barrage was Kuechly, who returned an interception 22 yards for a score.

That left it to one play, and after the Broncos took a timeout to give DeMarcus Ware time to rest and get back in the game, Aqib Talib stepped in front of Brady’s pass and deflected it skyward. His Pro Football Focus grade of negative-15.5 ranked 85th among 88 safeties who logged at least 25 percent of their team’s defensive snaps. “I didn’t have to say anything…I really liked the way we were aggressive at the end of the game”.

The quarterback’s first giveaway came in the second quarter, when he fumbled while the Cardinals trailed 17-0.

“I know the big buzz all week was about their receiving core and quarterbacks and how they take a lot of shots deep”, cornerback Robert McClain said.

Arizona looked set to cut the Carolina advantage before halftime after Peterson intercepted an overthrown Newton pass and ran it back 72 yards.