NFL Conference Championships Recap

Written by John Edward Betancourt

There really was something special about the Conference Championships yesterday and everything that happened on the field simply reinforced that fact for me. After all, we got Manning vs. Brady XVII and the incredible game that that turned out to be and the Carolina Panthers finally had a chance to silence the doubters in one important game. The end result is that the Broncos and Panthers will square off in Super Bowl 50, but before we begin to preview that epic game, let's look back at the wonder of Championship Sunday one more time.

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All the hype leading up to the AFC Championship revolved around Peyton Manning and Tom Brady squaring off for what could be the last time and how this should be a gunslinger's match up for the ages. But surprise, surprise...this game never came down to their vast skill set or ability to will a team to the win, it simply came down to defense and in the end...it was all about Denver's defense. The Broncos D was utterly magnificent on the field, doing things to the Patriots offense that you rarely see. 

They blanketed the Patriots receiving corps to the point where Tom Brady was horribly confused and to top if off they punished him all day long, and credit needs to go to Defensive Coordinator Wade Philips for coming up with the wild schemes that allowed Von Miller to sack Tom Brady 2.5 times. It's a loss that will hang over the head of this Patriots squad for a long time as they ponder over lost opportunities. But while we can talk all day about that final drive, or the lack of field goals from the Patriots, when all is said and done, the defense won this game for the Broncos and they gave Peyton Manning, who had an efficient and average day, one more shot at glory. 

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It was going to be one of two outcomes at the NFC Championship game, either Arizona was going to put up a fight and impress us all with a quality game or find themselves blown out in embarrassing fashion. As it turns out, we were in store for the latter since Carolina completely and utterly dismantled the Cardinals on their way to Super Bowl 50.

The Carolina defense managed to squeeze seven takeaways out of the Arizona offense and when the D wasn't scoring points, Cam Newton and the offense handled the rest. It was an ugly loss for the Cardinals, who looked lost and confused on basically every single play...but a sweet victory for the Panthers who were happy to keep their foot on the pedal and punish Arizona at every single turn. In the end, a QB that no one believed in, and a team that so many wrote off, including myself, will finally get their shot at the title and it should be one hell of a game.

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