Carolina looks to defeat the favored Patriots

For the past two weeks, the only thing that I’ve been hearing and reading in the hours of… For the past two weeks, the only thing that I’ve been hearing and reading in the hours of Super Bowl XXXVIII coverage that I’ve seen has been variations of the old cliche “defense wins championships.” However, while I certainly believe that this adage is true, the men on the other side of the ball, the offense, will decide this year’s Super Bowl.

And it’s for that reason that the Carolina Panthers will win Super Bowl XXXVIII to secure their first World Championship.

Now, before you go off and conclude that I’ve spent too much time out in the cold dodging snow banks, hear me out.

In a game that will feature two of the NFL’s top ten defenses, each defense will rely on its offense for field position, points, and, ultimately, the Vince Lombardi trophy.

During the playoffs, it’s an undeniable fact that the Panthers have played better offensively than the New England Patriots despite playing against arguably better defenses. In Carolina’s first playoff game, against the Dallas Cowboys, running back Stephen Davis ran for 104 yards, and quarterback Jake Delhomme threw for 273 yards against a defense that allowed 89 total rushing yards and nearly 250 total yards per game during the regular season, both league bests. Delhomme’s quarterback rating during the playoffs is higher than 100, while he’s completing more than 60 percent of his passes.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, on the other hand, has struggled during the playoffs to the tune of a rating below 75 percent and a completion percentage of just above one-half. Against two average defenses Brady struggled as New England relied on its own defense for victory.

For the Panthers to win, Delhomme does not have to play a perfect game. The Patriots can count on seeing a heavy dose of smash-mouth football in the form of the two-headed monster that is Davis and teammate DeShaun Foster. Against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship, Davis and Foster combined for 136 yards on 33 carries. While New England has allowed only one 100-yard rushing game this season, that game came against a Denver Broncos team that was very similar to Carolina. The Broncos, like Carolina, featured a strong running game led by Clinton Portis and complemented by Quentin Griffith and Mike Anderson.

Meanwhile, against the Eagles, Delhomme completed only nine passes for 101 yards, including a touchdown strike to Muhsin Muhammad. Should Delhomme perform similarly against New England, the Panthers would have a hard time not leaving Houston victorious.

Conversely, for the Patriots to win, Brady must play a virtually perfect game. Against Carolina’s defensive line, considered by many to be the best in the league, New England will have a hard time running for more than 40 yards, meaning the pressure will be on Brady to move the Pats down the field. At this point, one of the most underrated secondary defenses in the league awaits Brady – the same defense that intercepted the St. Louis Rams’ Marc Bulger and the Eagles’ Donovan McNabb three times apiece on their own home fields. Led by rookie Ricky Manning, the Panthers’ top-ten pass defense stymied the NFC’s leading pass-offense and shut down one of the NFL’s most talented players. When Carolina’s aggressive pass-rush is not forcing Brady to make quick decisions, the Panthers will be forcing him to make near-perfect passes under heavy pressure. The Panthers defense will prove to be the best defense Brady has faced all year, and head coach John Fox will have Brady more confused than Peyton Manning in the AFC Championship game.

Lastly, one cannot forget the intangibles. Two years ago, an underdog Patriots team went to the Super Bowl in a dome after defeating the top seed of their conference on the road in Pennsylvania. In that game, a first-year starting quarterback, aided by one the NFL’s top defenses, beat a heavy favorite and previous Super Bowl Champion to claim its franchise’s first championship.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, history will repeat itself when the underdog Panthers will play under a closed roof at the Super Bowl after defeating the top seed of its conference on the road in Pennsylvania. And once again, a first-year starting quarterback, on the play of one of the league’s strongest defenses, will narrowly defeat another heavy favorite and former Super Bowl Champion to claim the Carolina Panthers’ first Super Bowl title.

In a defensive battle, Tom Brady becomes the third star quarterback to be intercepted three times in a game this postseason by Carolina, and kicker John Kasay kicks a field goal as time expires. The Cats beat the Pats, 23-20.

David Shearouse is a staff writer for The Pitt News. Being from New Hampshire, he actually hopes the Pats destroy the Panthers and thinks that if Tom Brady does win his second Super Bowl in three years, he should be considered a better quarterback than Peyton Manning. He can be reached at dcs45@pitt.edu.