Just like that, only the top two seeds in the NFC remain. There won't be any Cinderella teams this year as the No. 1 seed Carolina Panthers and No. 2 seed Arizona Cardinals have advanced to the NFC Championship game.

The Panthers have been the best team in the NFL all season long. The team's only loss was in divisional matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. Can the Cardinals find a way to beat Panthers this upcoming weekend?

Carson Palmer picked up his first career playoff win in the NFC Divisional round against the Green Bay Packers. It was a terrible defensive display late in the game to allow nearly a 100-yard drive, which sent the game into overtime, but the Cardinals are just one game away from their second Super Bowl appearance.

The biggest advantage the Cardinals have over the Panthers is wide receiver depth. The Panthers are missing their best wide out from last season whereas the Cardinals are spoiled with great receivers. Larry Fitzgerald continues to stun everyone. He had 176 receiving yards against the Packers, and he even scored the game-winning rushing score in overtime. Some believe he is the greatest receiver of the 21st century. It's hard to double team Fitzgerald because Michael Floyd has exceptional speed, and John Brown has emerged into one of the most underrated players in the game.

The Cardinals have to win the passing game if they are going to beat the Panthers on Sunday. Still, establishing a run game is critical. David Johnson didn't have a huge game against the Packers, but he did help move the chains with a few pounding runs up the middle.

Defensively, it won't be easy without Tyrann Mathieu. The Cardinals' No. 1 priority is stopping tight end Greg Olsen. He's been Cam Newton's favorite target the entire season, and you just can't let a tight end beat you in today's NFL, especially considering the Panthers don't have an elite wide receiver core. The Seattle Seahawks shut out the Panthers in the second half doing just that. Bruce Arians is one of the best head coaches in the NFL, and we may be in store for a few trick plays.

The Cardinals will be the slight underdogs, and that's fair considering the Panthers have an exceptional 16-1 record this season. We saw these two teams go at it last postseason in Carolina, but don't let that outcome fool you. Palmer wasn't playing for the Cardinals, and every football fan knows they had zero chance to win that game.

This is the matchup everyone has wanted to see all season long. The Cardinals and Panthers have been the two best teams in the NFC since September, and now we finally get to see them on the field in the biggest game of the year so far. I think It will likely be a very close game with time of possession being the ultimate factor in who wins and advances to Super Bowl 50.

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