Super Bowl LII: Reasons Panthers fans should watch
Without the Carolina Panthers, the Super Bowl still provides reasons to watch for football fans…
Following an 11 win season for the Carolina Panthers, they were eliminated from Super Bowl contention by divisional rival New Orleans in the wild card round. Their fourth playoff trip in five years, Carolina has an extremely talented core group of players on the cusp of greatness.
Every offseason teams are on a level playing field. Sixteen regular season games separate the contenders from pretenders and two to three playoff games leave just one team from each conference to contend for the title.
This season, the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles face one another for the Lombardi Trophy. Either Philadelphia wins their first Super Bowl or New England adds to their collection. While fans of the Panthers are obviously disappointed their team was unable to advance, there are still many reasons to watch.
Carolina played both representatives during the regular season, winning at New England before falling to Philadelphia, at home, two weeks later. Both took place early in the year and each team has undergone significant changes since but expectations can be drawn for the Super Bowl from both.
The Panthers dominated the Patriots through the air leading 30-16 midway through the fourth quarter. Since, New England has bolstered their defensive play, losing only one other game over the remainder of the season.
Philadelphia took an eight point lead early in the second half before hanging on for a win against a depleted Panthers defense. Linebacker Luke Kuechly exited in the first half after the team used extra precaution pulling him for a potential concussion.
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Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz threw three touchdown passes but is no longer calling the shots for Philadelphia. A torn ACL sidelined him late in the season but backup Nick Foles has his team in arguably their biggest game since the 2004 season, when both teams met for Super Bowl XXXIX. A 24-21 Patriots win.
Carolina fans can tune in knowing they face the Eagles on the road next season. Should they win, the Panthers will have faced the prior year Super Bowl champion for 18 consecutive seasons, at some point during the year.
Expect a similar game as to the Panthers versus Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Both teams will likely struggle to move the ball early but eventually New England will find a way. Just as they did against Carolina earlier this season, expect Brady and his teammates to prove the legendary quarterback has no plans of retirement with his upcoming performance.
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While extremely difficult to admit, Panthers fans should enjoy what could potentially be Brady’s final game or Philadelphia’s finally reaching the mountain top when the final whistle blows.