NFC Championship: Carolina Panthers Slight Favorites Over Arizona Cardinals

USA Today

After an incredible ending to last week’s game against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Round, the Arizona Cardinals will get back to work this weekend against the Carolina Panthers. Although the Cardinals are considered by some to be the best all-around team in the NFC, Cam Newton and company have lost only one game this season and will pose a significant threat to Arizona’s intentions to advance to Super Bowl 50.

At this point, the Panthers are favored to get the win and face either the Denver Broncos or New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Feb. 7. Carolina is currently the favorite with a -3 point spread, according to Sportsbook.ag.

In the NFC Divisional Round, the Panthers were able to live up to the hype. Carolina played host to the defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks. Pete Carroll’s squad may have struggled this season, but were still considered an incredibly tough test for the surging Panthers. Newton didn’t miss a beat leading his team to a convincing win over the Seahawks resulting in putting the league on notice that this team is for real and ready to go the distance.

As for the Cardinals, Carson Palmer and company were taken to the limit by Aaron Rodgers’ Packers. Green Bay forced overtime with some late-game heroics from their star quarterback, but Larry Fitzgerald proved to be too much to handle with two incredible plays resulting in a game-winning touchdown.

Despite Carolina’s dominance during the regular season, Arizona is the better all-around team in my opinion. It will be another hard-fought battle that may come down to the wire once again, but the Cardinals could come out on top. Taking Arizona at +3 is the right play here.