The Carolina Panthers and their fans celebrated the team's first playoff victory in nine years over the weekend. They beat the Arizona Cardinals, 27-16, in the first round of the NFC Playoffs Saturday.
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton says the team had stretches of good play against the Cardinals, but they have to step up their game.
“This one was great for a lot of reasons,” Newton says. “Yet, we didn't come here just to end it. We have to have a great week of practice. The things we didn't do great we have to come back and get coached up and ready to go.”
The Panthers held Arizona to 77 yards of offense. That’s the lowest total in playoff history.
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera says the team still has work to do.
“We got a tough one coming up next week. But the bottom line is we're playing well at the right time,” Rivera says. “We're going to come in and approach it just like we have the last five weeks. We're going to work on the things we need to work on. We're going to work on our fundamentals.”
The Panthers will take a road trip next weekend to face Seattle for the right to play in the NFC Championship game.