Sunday’s NFC Championship was supposed to be a classic matchup of two evenly matched teams with high scoring offenses and play-making defenses. The Panthers had other plans. From the opening kickoff, the game was dominated by Carolina. On paper, these teams appeared to be fairly even coming into this matchup. The box score following Sunday’s game would lead spectators to believe otherwise.
A quick three-and-out by the Carolina defense forced Arizona to punt, after having the ball for just 1:34 on their opening possession. By the time Arizona recorded their 16th play from scrimmage, Carolina had already jumped out to a 17-0 lead.