NFC offers super matchup too
Newton-led Panthers, Palmer-led Cardinals deserve to be in spotlight
charlotte, n. c. » Hey, don’t forget about us.
As in, yes, while Brady vs. Manning XVII takes place earlier in the day, the teams with the best records in the NFL go at it in the NFC championship game Sunday.
That would be the host Carolina Panthers, that rare team to go 15-1 in the regular season, and the Arizona Cardinals, who were next in the NFC and overall standings at 13-3. Maybe it isn’t the juiciest story line dominating the football world, but there are plenty of reasons to be intrigued by this one too.
“One guy (Tom Brady) is playing in his 10th and there are two guys that are playing in their first,” Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer said of reaching the last step before the Super Bowl.
Palmer, in his 13th NFL season, and Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, in his fifth, are newbies at conference title games.
“Everybody has a different journey,” Palmer said. “Everybody has a different path, and however it works out is the way it works out. Everybody has different roads.”
That’s also true for the coaches. Arizona’s Bruce Arians has a long and winding coaching road that goes back to his time at Alabama under Bear Bryant. Ron Rivera, a linebacker for the awesome Chicago Bears defense of the mid-1980s, spent time on three coaching staffs before getting the Carolina gig.
Both franchises have been to the Super Bowl and lost close games. New England beat Carolina 32-29 at the end of the 2003 season. Pittsburgh edged Arizona 2723 for the 2009 league crown.
“I think we are the better team,” said Cardinals all-pro cornerback Patrick Peterson. “I’m pretty sure (the Panthers) are saying the same thing, that they are the better team. We’ll find out Sunday.”
This is the firstmeeting of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks in a conference championship game. Palmer won the Heisman at USC in 2002. Newton won it at Auburn eight years later.
This has been the best pro season for both. Newton, now an allpro, threw for 35 touchdowns and ran for 10, an unprecedented total for his position. Palmer has the highest passer rating (104.6) of the four remaining quarterbacks — yes, higher than Hall of Famebound Brady of New England and Peyton Manning of Denver— and also threw for 35 touchdowns.
A severe winter storm rocked the Charlotte area this weekend. Conditions should be fine by the start of the game but a bit chilly.
Both teams could turn to the running game if the weather is problematic, which might be an advantage for the Panthers, with Jonathan Stewart over Arizona rookie David Johnson. Stewart’s 59-yard sprint on the first play of Carolina’s NFC semifinal game against Seattle lastweekend catapulted him toward a 106-yard performance and set the tone for a decisive first half. Carolina took a 31-0 lead into the second half and held on for a 31-24 victory.
Carolina all-pro Josh Norman emerged this season as one of the NFL’s best shutdown cornerbacks. Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald reemerged as one of the league’s most dangerous wide receivers.
When they match up Sunday, with a berth in Super Bowl 50 at stake, it could be the most entertaining and significant battle of the NFC championship game.
Norman likes to get physical, as his antagonistic showdown with New York Giants star Odell Beckham Jr. showed last month. But Fitzgerald doesn’t get intimidated.
“Josh Norman is a premier cornerback,” Fitzgerald said. “There’s a reason he’s going to be the highest-paid free agent come this offseason. Whatever team he goes to, I hope it’s in the AFC so we don’t have to deal with him.”