Sunday’s matchups between the four remaining teams fighting for the chance to hold the Superbowl Title on Feb. 7 turned out to be anything but expected.
The earlier game between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots was close all four quarters, but not close enough for the Patriots. In the first quarter, Denver scored first, followed by a responsive touchdown from New England with a failed extra-point attempt by Stephen Gostkowski, who hasn’t missed an extra point in nine years. Setting them back 6-7 was just the start of their fall to the Broncos. With 12 seconds left in the game, the Patriots managed to shrink their deficit to 18-20. Their attempt to go for two failed. Although Tom Brady did outperform Manning in terms of passing yards, he was also New England’s rushing leader, unfortunately, with three carries for 13 yards.
The later game, between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals, was definitely one of the most unexpected NFC Championship games in history, the final score being the first ever. After scoring 17 unresponsive points in the first quarter, the Panthers proved to be their relentless selves, even against a solid team. Holding the Cardinals to seven until the fourth quarter, Carolina created a margin impossible to come back from.
The final score was a shocking 15-49. Panthers fans have Carson Palmer to thank for that. While he wasn’t his best self in Sunday’s event, no one imagined four interceptions were in the cards. Palmer has thrown eight picks in his last four games.
Luke Kuechly, who completed a pick-six against Arizona, told the Associated Press, “We wanted to come out and play a complete game and I think the guys up front played exceptional.”
In two weeks, the Panthers will face the Broncos in an unpredictable Super Bowl. Although Carolina did masterfully portray their range of skill on both sides of the ball against Arizona, Denver did the same against New England. Cam Newton and Peyton Manning, the young and the old will face off to attempt to reach their first and third championships. In fact, Manning will be the oldest quarterback to start a Super Bowl in history.
My new prediction, as my previous one proved to be incorrect, has the Panthers still winning, this time by 14 to beat the Broncos and take home their first title.
