No Seattle Seahawks. No Green Bay Packers. No San Francisco 49ers. Instead, we have two teams who haven't represented the NFC in the Super Bowl in at least seven years and it's refreshing. The Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers have been two of the best teams in the NFL this season and absolutely deserve their places in the NFC Championship game. Below are five reasons why this will be an amazing matchup.
5. We Get to Watch Evolution of NFC
In the AFC, we'll get to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos or New England Patriots win and move on the Super Bowl. Woo... Things haven't changed too much there. In the NFC, however, things are evolving quickly. Teams like the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks aren't as dominant as they had been in the recent past; the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants didn't even make the playoffs.
Instead, we have two teams that have been building the past few years and everything has clicked into place. The Cardinals and Panthers are the new faces of the NFC, and it's nice to see the change.
4. Two Former Heisman-Winning, No. 1 Overall Pick Quarterbacks
Another exciting aspect to this game is that it'll feature not only two former Heisman-Trophy-winning quarterbacks, but two players who were taken No. 1 overall in their respective drafts. This doesn't happen often, and it just adds to the excitement of the game. Though Carson Palmer and Cam Newton played at much different times in college, their days at USC and Auburn, respectively, were part of two historical runs for those programs and ended in national titles. Will their two runs this year in the NFL also end in a championship?
Cam Newton. Carson Palmer. Battle of former No. 1 picks & Heisman winners.
A photo posted by SportsCenter (@sportscenter) on Jan 17, 2016 at 1:29pm PST
3. Underrated Panthers Have Chance to Prove Themselves
The Carolina Panthers may have the best record in football over the past 21 weeks of regular season football, but that doesn't mean people have completely bought them. There were many skeptics even heading into the playoffs, thinking they'd fall apart or just didn't play all that great of competition during the year.
Let me just say this: to win 19 of 20 regular season games is an incredible feat even if you played the worst handful of teams in the league all year long over and over (which they didn't). This is the NFL and parity is the reality. That type of winning takes consistency at the highest level, and they're as big of a threat as anyone to win the Super Bowl.
2. Carson Palmer's Redemption
On the other side, though, is a man who has been through quite a bit in his NFL career. The high expectations with the Cincinnati Bengals that, just as they were started to be realized and overcome, were shot down to earth due to injuries was thought to cripple Palmer's career. He was no longer viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
He was traded to the Oakland Raiders, and things were plain bad there. Palmer was on a bad team that he couldn't make better, and he needed to regain his confidence that was lost after the major injury with Cincy.
Ultimately, he was provided a way out -- and onto a team that not only needed a quarterback, but had a budding defense. Arizona is Carson Palmer's place of redemption, and he's finally won his first playoff game of his career with them. After a fantastic season, he has a legitimate chance to make it all the way to the Super Bowl if he can overcome the beast that is Carolina.
1. Two Best Teams in the NFC -- Maybe the NFL
Finally, the best thing about this NFC Championship game is purely that the two best teams in the conference are going head to head. These teams might even be the best two in the NFL overall, and that's saying something. No matter who wins, both of these squads have earned their way there, and we all get the treat of being able to watch elite talent on the football field. You can't ask for much more as a fan of football.
