Sweet Carolina: Cardinals head to Charlotte for NFC Championship

The Arizona Cardinals will head to Charlotte next week with a trip to Super Bowl 50 on the line after the Carolina Panthers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 31-24 on Sunday.

The NFC Championship game will be at 4:40 p.m, with television coverage on FOX and radio coverage on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

It was a game that for the most part was never in doubt, as the Panthers proved why they were the best team in the NFL all season long.

Jonathan Stewart’s 4-yard touchdown run with 12:30 to play in the first quarter gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead. That was followed a few minutes later by Luke Kuechly’s interception of Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s pass and was returned 14 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers’ 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter was extended to a 31-0 at halftime.

However, in the second half Seattle made things interesting — scoring on three unanswered touchdowns to cut the Panthers lead to 31-21 with 2 minutes left.

The Seahawks kicked a 36-yard field goal to cut the lead to 31-24. However, the Panthers recovered the ensuing onside kick and the game was over.

The Panthers will be making their fourth trip to the NFC Championship Game, losing to Green Bay in 1997, beating the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004 and losing to the Seattle Seahawks to end their 2005 season.

The Cardinals one and only trip to the conference title game ended in a 32-25 win over the Eagles which sent them to Super Bowl XLIII.

This will be the third playoff matchup between the Cardinals and the Panthers. Arizona destroyed Carolina 33-13 in an NFC Divisional Playoff game in 2009 as the Cardinals forced six Panthers turnovers.

Last season, the Cardinals’ campaign ended at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte when the Panthers handed them a 27-16 loss. Arizona managed an NFL playoff record-low 82 total yards in the contest.