Charlotte, NC -- Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers defense completely dominated the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship 49-15.
"Yeah, we are going to the Super Bowl. We are not going just to take pictures," Cam Newton said Sunday after leading the Carolina Panthers into the big game with a 49-15 rout of Arizona for the NFC championship. "We are trying to finish this thing off."
The Panthers now see one team in their way from a Super Bowl win, the Denver Broncos.
"Playing the sheriff," Newton said of Manning. "We're going to live in the moment right now. We're going to be excited."
Cam Newton ended with a stat line of 335 pass yards and 47 rushing yards. Olsen was his big receiver with 6 catches for 113 yards. Jonathon Stewart rushed for 83 yards on 19 carries, and Cam added two rushing touchdowns to his total.
"We wanted to come out and play a complete game and I think the guys up front played exceptional," linebacker Luke Kuechly said. "There was pressure all day."
The Panthers defense was not going to be stopped in tonight's matchup. Arizona had no answer for it and Carson Palmer had no answer for them. "I kept digging us in a hole and we just couldn't come out of it," Palmer said.
This sets up a very exciting Super Bowl. The Denver Broncos' defense was incredible against Tom Brady and his Patriots' offense, and now we look at two of the top defenses in the league playing in the Super Bowl. The saying "defense wins championships" will win on no matter who wins. This also features the first Super Bowl in which the QB's were both selected first overall in their respective drafts. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Cam Newton will be the 4th player to win a Heisman, be drafted no. 1 and play in a Super Bowl. The others were Billy Cannon, Jim Plunkett, and George Rogers.
It will be interesting to see where the money goes in Vegas. One would think after the Panthers performance, the money will come piling in on their side, but some may want to support Peyton Manning and his ferocious defense.