Cam dabs on them for first trip to a Super Bowl

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Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (No. 1) led an offensive assault on the Arizona Cardinals for a 49-15 victory in the NFC championship game on Jan. 24. The Panthers are the eighth team in the Super Bowl era to win by at least 30 points in a conference championship game.

    It is official. The Carolina Panthers are Super Bowl bound as they drubbed the No. 2 seed Arizona Cardinals 49-15 at Bank of America Field at the NFC championship game. Quarterback Cam Newton had a game for the ages as he proved to so many doubters that he is in fact a superstar in the NFL.
    Newton passed for 335 yards and two touchdowns while adding two rushing touchdowns as Carolina has punched their ticket to meet with the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl L at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Feb. 7.
    All season long the Panthers have dealt with doubters and non-believers who either criticized their strength of schedule or just plain did not buy into their winning ways. None of that criticism seemed to have any effect on Carolina -- or Newton -- as they just kept winning in a rather impressive manner. The Panthers have lost twice in their last 24 games.
    Many expected a more competitive game -- especially from Arizona -- as the Cardinals also showed critics of their own that they could be a contending team. The result was nothing but that as Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer had a game many Arizona fans would rather forget than relive from seeing reminders on highlights on tv. Palmer spent nearly the entire evening fighting for his life as the Arizona offensive line could not protect him from the Panthers front seven. Palmer turned the ball over six times (four interceptions and two fumbles) to tie an NFL postseason record, was sacked three times and finished with a QBR of 5.0 on the loss.
    "I kept digging us in a hole and we just couldn't come out of it," Palmer said in a post-game interview.
    Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who had a breakout performance in the divisional round versus the Green Bay Packers, was virtually non-existent as Carolina did not look to make the mistakes the Packers made. Fitzgerald had four receptions and 30 yards in the loss.
    "We wanted to come out and play a complete game," Panther linebacker Luke Kuechly said, "there was pressure all day." Kuechly was the star on defense as he had eight tackles (three for a loss), recovered a fumble and returned an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
    The Panthers will now turn their focus to the Broncos who were victorious in their AFC championship game with the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 20-18. The last time Carolina and Denver met was in the 2012 regular season as the Broncos won easily 36-14.
    With so much more on the line and more experience behind them, the Panthers are a 56 percent favorite to win the Super Bowl. Newton has a chance to make history as well as he is one win away from becoming the only quarterback to win a Heisman trophy, an NCAA National Championship, the NFL MVP and a Super Bowl in a career.

*All information was borrowed from espn.com, @ESPNStatsInfo and @JohnHayesESPN.