UNITED STATES—Oh, it was an interesting weekend of football for America. In one corner it was the defending NFL champions the New England Patriots versus the underdogs in Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not a fan of Tom Brady and the Patriots. I feel time and time again, this is a team that has gotten away with doing things that most of us would consider ‘cheating.’
An apology for the digression, but it was a nail-bitter of a game, which is one thing I must say about the Patriots; this is a team you can knock down a million times, but they get up and fight like hell to the end. With less than a minute in the game, Brady did what he did best to drive the team to touchdown, which cut the Broncos lead to only 2, 18-20, thanks to Patriots star Rob Gronkowski.
The Patriots knew the only way to stay in the game was to go for a 2-point conversion. Sitting on the couch I was secretly telling myself that the Broncos have this in the bag, but my gut was telling the Patriots is about to pull off something amazing. Nope. Brady threw for the additional points, but found the ball being intercepted. People around the country were cheering, but wait, a fumble across the field could spell disaster for the Broncos. Meaning yet again, the Patriots would get another opportunity to head right back to the Super Bowl.
But a kick-off gave the Broncos the edge and with a snap of the finger the Patriots fell to a superior team. Yep, the Broncos were putting beatings on the Patriots the entire game with Brady getting hit and sacked more times than I can count. When panic ensues, it never makes a great sign of a strategy.
So it looks like Manning might get that swan song everyone has been hoping for; another Super Bowl ring and the possibility of retiring while on top. I mean there is nothing better than that. In the other corner, I had high hopes that the Arizona Cardinals would pummel though the Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, but the NFC Championship game was a brutal one to watch. Newton and his teammates put a beating on the Cardinals who just never seemed to gather enough steam to put up a fight.
I mean the Cardinals scored 2 touchdowns and a field goal in the 1st quarter giving them a 17-0 lead. When the Cardinals finally scored, they were still down 14 points at half-time. They went scoreless in the third quarter, as the Panthers continued to add to their lead.
During the 4th quarter, the Panthers put the nail in the coffin adding another 15 points to the score board giving them a 49-15 lead over the Cardinals. I mean when you have a quarterback who can throw 2 TDs in the game and then score 2 TDs in a championship game, he’s a dangerous player.
So on February 7, 2016, the Denver Broncos will do battle against the Carolina Panthers, who has the best record in the league this year. Quarterback titan Peyton Manning will duke it out with rising star Cam Newton. Place your bets people because this looks like a Super Bowl battle that might go down as one of the best in years.
