Panthers’ Davis, Harper, Kalil leave game with injuries

The road to the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl has been determined.

The most compelling reason – perhaps the sole one – to like the Carolina Panthers left Sunday’s NFC Championship game in the second quarter, holding his right arm.

Earlier, Denver and veteran quarterback Peyton Manning edged last year’s champion New England Patriots and their signal caller Tom Brady 20-18 for the AFC title.

But Arizona still had one more step to take before they can make it back to their first Super Bowl since the 2008 campaign, and they learned that in the most painful way possible against the Panthers.

Levi’s Stadium will play host to the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos on February 7, 2016. They were denied their second berth in the Super Bowl. At one point, the Cardinals had turnovers on three consecutive plays: a fumbled punt, Palmer’s fumble, and Kurt Coleman’s first of two picks.

“I kept digging us in a hole that we just couldn’t come out of”, Palmer said. I ain’t missing the Super Bowl.

“When we have turnouts like this, it makes it all worthwhile”, he said.

Nine years ago, he got back to the big game with a clipboard and headset.

In addition to his TD run, Ginn had two receptions for 52 yards, including a 39-yarder.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, the Panthers came up with seven turnovers, including Luke Kuechly returning an interception 22 yards for a touchdown with just over five minutes left in the game.

Despite the Cardinals managing to score via Brandon LaFell from a touchdown catch and getting a two-point conversion, the Panthers ran all over their defence for the remainder of the game.

On a team of preening peacocks, where the quarterback has more ham in him than a Publix deli counter and where players pose for group photos while the game is still ongoing, Davis was the weighty counterbalance.

Palmer was inconsistent in taking his first career playoff win in last week’s overtime thriller against Green Bay in the divisional round. The punt return team didn’t fare so well either as highlighted by Patrick Peterson’s fumble in the second quarter which only hurt the morale of the Cardinals who at the time trailed 7-17.

Newton, arguably the best quarterback in the National Football League today, threw for two touchdowns and ran for two others as the Cardinals had no answer to the persistent attack. Newton accounted for four touchdowns, as the Cardinals defense couldn’t find a way to stop Carolina’s offensive juggernaut.

Arizona’s defense may have lost some of its sting when Pro Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu went down with a season-ending ACL tear last month.

“There’s no question this is a sweet day; this was a sweet victory”, Manning said. He was responsible for four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) and had one interception.