Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers have just one more test to pass when they face Peyton Manning and the stingy Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. After man-handling Seattle in their divisional round win two weeks ago – and beating the daylights out of a very good Arizona Cardinals team in their stunning 49-15 NFC Championship game win on Sunday, the Panthers will look to win and cash in one more time as solid favorites. “Yeah, we are going to the Super Bowl. We are not going just to take pictures,” Newton said Sunday after leading Carolina to its commanding win. “We’ve been dreaming about this moment since Day 1. Our pen has a lot more ink left. We are trying to finish this thing off.”
At one point, the Panthers forced the Cardinals into turnovers on three consecutive plays while basically shutting down Arizona’s second-ranked offense (30.6 ppg). Another of the main factors that I believe makes Carolina look like a great pick to cash in on their Super Bowl 50 odds is the outstanding coaching/guidance of head coach Ron Rivera. “You would like to think between our fourth, fifth, sixth season that we would get in this type of position,” Rivera said. “It is part of a vision as a coach. You want to win them all every year, but I tried to map out realistically what I thought we had to do and where we had to be. Timetable? This is about where I hoped we would be.”
Last but not least, I love the Panthers’ confidence, and it all starts with Newton. “I’ve been playing football too long for me to be nervous,” Newton said. “This is why you play football. I idolized the quarterbacks who would be in these positions and just dreamed, ‘Man, I hope and I pray I get the opportunity to do it.’ You see so many different quarterbacks have their chance but yet nothing happens. Who has promised for me to be back in this position again?”
Carolina Panthers vs. Denver Broncos Super Bowl 50
Who: Carolina Panthers (15-1) vs Denver Broncos (12-4) When: Sunday, February 7, 2015 Kickoff: 6:30 PM ET Where: Santa Clara, CA Stadium: Levi’s Stadium Spread: Panthers -3.5 Moneyline: Carolina -185 vs Denver +160 Game Total: 43.5 Watch: CBS Stream: CBS Sports
At one point, the Panthers forced the Cardinals into turnovers on three consecutive plays while basically shutting down Arizona’s second-ranked offense (30.6 ppg). Another of the main factors that I believe makes Carolina look like a great pick to cash in on their Super Bowl 50 odds is the outstanding coaching/guidance of head coach Ron Rivera. “You would like to think between our fourth, fifth, sixth season that we would get in this type of position,” Rivera said. “It is part of a vision as a coach. You want to win them all every year, but I tried to map out realistically what I thought we had to do and where we had to be. Timetable? This is about where I hoped we would be.”
Last but not least, I love the Panthers’ confidence, and it all starts with Newton. “I’ve been playing football too long for me to be nervous,” Newton said. “This is why you play football. I idolized the quarterbacks who would be in these positions and just dreamed, ‘Man, I hope and I pray I get the opportunity to do it.’ You see so many different quarterbacks have their chance but yet nothing happens. Who has promised for me to be back in this position again?”
