When Carson Palmer and the Arizona Cardinals take on Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in the NFC title game, it will mark the first time two Heisman-winning starting quarterbacks have faced each other in the playoffs in the Super Bowl era.
The winner will earn the right to play for a championship in Super Bowl 50 two weeks later.
While both Palmer and Newton were selected as the NFL’s first overall draft pick following their Heisman seasons, their journeys to get to this point couldn’t have been more different.
Palmer’s five years at USC were checkered at best until his 2002 senior season, when he threw for 3,942 yards and 33 touchdowns to lead the Trojans to an 11-2 record and a win over Iowa in the Orange Bowl. He then spent eight seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and two with the Oakland Raiders before arriving in Arizona in 2013. Along the way, he overcame two injuries to his knee ligament and one to his elbow that slowed down his development as a quarterback. At age 36, however, he’s better than ever. He threw for 4,671 yards with 35 touchdowns this past season while leading the Cardinals to a 13-3 record.
As for Newton, he spent just one season at Auburn after transferring there from Blinn Junior College (he started out as a teammate of Tim Tebow‘s at Florida). He made the most of this time with the Tigers, throwing for 2,589 yards and 28 touchdowns with just six interceptions while rushing for 1,409 yards and 20 scores as Auburn went undefeated and won its first national title since 1957. Newton was drafted by Carolina and earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2011 after surpassing 4,000 passing yards and 700 rushing yards. Newton steadily improved, leading the Panthers to playoff appearances in 2013 and 2014, before hitting a groove this season. Carolina finished 15-1 and the 26-year-old Newton thew for 3,837 yards and 35 touchdowns with another 636 yards and 10 scores on the ground.
There’s a good chance that either Palmer or Newton will win the NFL’s MVP award this season and, indeed, it could come down to the result of this game.
While it’s the first time that two starting Heisman quarterbacks will face off in a conference championship game, it’s not the first time that two Heisman winners have been involved in such an event.
- The 2002 AFC title game featured not two, but three, Heisman winners as Tim Brown and Charles Woodson led Oakland against Eddie George and Tennessee.
- The 1978 NFC title game featured a Dallas team with Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett against a Los Angeles Rams roster with John Cappelletti.
- Cappalletti and Staubach also faced each other in 1975 when the Cowboys and Rams faced off in the NFC title game.
- In 1970 and 1971, Staubach went up against Steve Spurrier and the San Francisco 49ers in back-to-back NFC championship games.
- In 1969, Billy Cannon and the Oakland Raiders played Mike Garrett, John Huarte and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game.
