The NFL playoffs are into the championship round and on Sunday the schedule will have the Carolina Panthers battling the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC, while the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots are set for the AFC title game.
The early game has the New England Patriots visiting the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High and that will start up at 3:05 pm ET on CBS. The late game will be the Panthers hosting the Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium and that will start at 6:40 pm ET with TV coverage from Fox. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are matching up for the 17th time, while Cam Newton and Carson Palmer are battling to try and make it to their first Super Bowl.
The Patriots come in after winning over the Chiefs and they will have to hit the road with the Broncos coming in as the number one seed in the AFC. The Patriots are dealing with some injuries for the game, as players like Chandler Jones, Jamie Collins and Rob Gronkowski are banged up. All three players are expected to play, while Jerod Mayo is out for the rest of the playoffs with a shoulder injury.
The Broncos are also dealing with some injuries and the most significant one is to Chris Harris, who has been dealing with a shoulder issue. Harris aggravated the injury against the Steelers last week and John Elway said to ESPN that he will be a game-time decision for the matchup with the Patriots. Brady has a 2-6 career record in Denver and the two teams previously faced off two years ago in the AFC title game, which the Broncos won.
This could be the final matchup between Brady and Manning if Manning retires at the end of the season. This matchup will mark the 17th time that the two have faced off in the NFL. The NFC title game has the Panthers coming in after a win over the Seahawks, while the Cardinals come in after winning in overtime against the Green Bay Packers. Both teams dealt with some wild play last week, as the Panthers allowed the Seahawks to come back after going up 31-0, while the Cardinals won after Aaron Rodgers pulled off an amazing Hail Mary to get the game into overtime.
The Panthers defense has played well all season and after allowing the Seahawks to score 24 straight points in the game last week, they will have to find a way to stop the Cardinals. Arizona has put up some big numbers on offense this season and Larry Fitzgerald will be key for Carson Palmer and he comes in after putting up eight catches for over 170 yards and the winning TD in the divisional round for Arizona.
The Panthers have Jared Allen banged up and there is a chance that he will not be able to play on Sunday while dealing with a broken foot. The team also has Jonathan Stewart, Fozzy Whittaker and Greg Olsen dealing with injuries, but all three players are expected to be active.
Predictions:
Patriots win over Broncos
Panthers win over Cardinals
Super Bowl: Patriots win over Panthers