Superman is bringing his cape and his pen to Super Bowl 50. He’s leaving behind his camera.
“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 the Arizona Cardinals for the National Conference championship. “We are trying to finish this thing off.”
That would be against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in two weeks.
“Playing the sheriff,” Newton said of Manning. “We’re going to live in the moment right now. We’re going to be excited.”
Newton threw for two touchdowns and ran for two others, and Carolina’s big-play defence stifled Arizona’s top-ranked offence. The 49 points were the most for an NFC title game winner.
The NFL’s new top man at quarterback – Newton is an all-pro this season – goes against five-time MVP Manning. Carolina are favoured by four points.
“We’ve been dreaming about this moment since Day 1,” Newton said. “Our pen has a lot more ink left.”
It will be Newton’s first trip to the Super Bowl and the second for the Panthers (17-1), who lost to the New England Patriots 12 years ago. Denver, of course, have made a habit of going to Super Bowls, reaching it for a record-tying eighth time.
And while the Broncos’ defence carried them past New England 20-18 for the AFC crown, Carolina’s defence was just as destructive. It picked off Carson Palmer four times, forced two fumbles by him, and never let up the assault.
Special teams also had a takeaway, and when Carolina grabbed a 24-7 half-time lead this time, they didn’t back off, as they did in nearly blowing a 31-point margin a week ago against the Seattle Seahawks.
When Newton flew into the end zone for a 12-yard third-quarter touchdown – no, he didn’t have the cape on – he posed like a superhero, dabbed a bit, and pointed the Panthers toward the Bay Area, where the Super Bowl is being played at the home of the San Francisco 49ers.
Newton finished with 335 yards passing and 47 rushing as Carolina won their 13th straight home game, including three in the play-offs.
At one point in the second quarter Newton leaped to extend the ball over the goal line for a touchdown from the 1-yard-line.
He followed with a dab or two, handed the ball to a fan in the end zone, and ran to the sideline to chants of “MVP! MVP!”
There were plenty more of those during the trophy celebration, and fans danced in the stands as the loudspeaker played “Shout”.
In two weeks time, it’ll be an even bigger celebration if Cam Newton can be as super at Super Bowl 50.
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