Panthers crush Cardinals, advance to Super Bowl

And his Carolina Panthers are headed for the big game.

Carolina’s run to being favored in the Super Bowl capped a season that surprised some bookies.

Newton will take the dab to Santa Clara, Calif.

“We’ve been dreaming about this moment since Day 1”, Newton said.

Manning threw two touchdowns but the 39-year-old QB’s best play may have very well been his 12-yard scramble on third down in the third quarter — his longest playoff run since he was a rookie.

At one point, the Cardinals had turnovers on three consecutive plays: the muff, Palmer’s fumble, and Coleman’s first of two picks.

Capping the barrage was Kuechly, who returned an interception 22 yards for a score. Carolina is favored by four points. That always seems to become part of the narrative in the two-week slog leading up to the Super Bowl.

Newton indicated the Panthers won’t be going to northern California to hang out with Steph Curry or take a trip to wine country. “We’ve been playing on a bigger stage lately, had some things happen the last couple of years and he’s gotten the notoriety he deserves”.

One thing the Cardinals do need, however, is a pass rusher. He also had 52 yards on two receptions.

Newton’s flip was extraneous – he bopped center Ryan Kalil on the head on his descent and took an unnecessary shot from safety Rashad Johnson. Any momentum that was gained from the score was quickly diminished when Newton responded with a one yard touchdown of his own that brought the score to 24-7.

Norman has been garnering attention since training camp, when he and Newton got into a much-publicized fight during practice.

Turns out, it was just the start of a horrific night, with Arizona giving up more points and yards (476) than it had all season.

And it doesn’t really matter.

“When you give a guy a contract like that, what are you saying to him?” general manager Dave Gettleman asked. “There will be some intriguing story lines and I’m sure we’ll be booked to the gills”. We trust you. We love you. He found Greg Olsen and Ted Ginn and Corey Brown and Devin Funchess for chunk plays to move his team down the field. Besides being Newton’s favorite receiver in 2014, Benjamin is one of Newton’s closest friends on the team.

“I don’t put it past Thomas”, Short said.

They say hindsight is 20/20 and when the Arizona Cardinals wake up tomorrow they are definitely going to want a redo. “He went and did it”.

In his first season with the Panthers, Ginn caught 36 passes for 556 yards and five touchdowns, his best season to that point.

Even without Davis, the Panthers managed to finish the game with seven takeaways – six of those on defense.

MILLER TIME: Broncos linebacker Von Miller was terrific Sunday, getting 2 1/2 sacks and an interception in a 20-18 victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the AFC title game.

Cam Newton is at the opposite end of his career, just 26, making his debut in the big game. Most folks figure Manning’s fourth Super Sunday appearance will be his last game as a pro. And Newton’s ready for his close-up.