CHARLOTTE, N.C., and SAN JOSE -- Thomas Davis felt his body trembling as trainers examined his right arm midway through the Carolina Panthers' NFC Championship Game with the Arizona Cardinals. Davis prayed that it wasn't as bad as it seemed, but he knew something had gone dreadfully wrong. As it turned out, a bone in his right forearm snapped the second he slammed into Cardinals tight end Darren Fells midway through the second quarter. It was an injury that literally splintered Davis' arm and potentially shattered his hopes of playing in his first Super Bowl.

It was fitting that middle linebacker Luke Kuechly was one of the first players to reach Davis as the pain coursed through the 32-year-old vet's damaged limb. After all, these two embodied the very brotherhood that Panthers head coach Ron Rivera had preached all season. Davis had been next to Kuechly earlier this season, when the star linebacker was stretched across the field after sustaining a concussion. Now it was Kuechly's time to return the favor, and Davis left him with two words before leaving the field: "Just finish."

The Panthers didn't disappoint Davis -- their 49-15 victory put them in position to face the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 -- because they know full well what he means to that team. As much as Cam Newton has dominated the headlines this week, the heartbeat of the Panthers actually can be found in the middle of their vaunted defense. It's there where you'll find not one but two unassuming stars who form the best linebacker combination in the league. Simply put, Carolina wouldn't be here without Kuechly and Davis.

In many ways, they are the perfect players for Rivera, who coached two great linebackers as the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator from 2004 through '06 (Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs) and also played with a tenacious linebacker corps as a member of the 1985 Chicago Bears.

"I've always shied away from comparing guys from different eras, but the similarities are there," Rivera said. "There are guys that are aggressive, that play fast and play physical. Back in the day, [former Bears linebackers] Mike Singletary, Wilber Marshall and Otis Wilson played fast and physical. I like our guys, too."

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak added: "They're as good as there is in this league. Those guys play stack. They play on the ball. They play in the A-gap. Thomas is a big edge rusher for them. ... Kuechly is as good as I've seen, watching him run the show and the things that they do. It's a big task for our [running] backs."

Kuechly and Davis are so tight today that Kuechly was one of the first people to know Davis planned on playing in this Super Bowl. They stood on the Carolina sideline in the final minutes of that win over Arizona, soaking in the celebration already growing inside Bank of America Stadium. Davis had undergone X-rays during the game -- "The doctor said, 'You still have a chance,' so that's all I needed to hear," Davis said -- but his optimism kept brewing as the game neared its conclusion. Even though his right arm was immobilized in a sling, he couldn't stop smiling. Davis was just as gleeful when the Panthers went through a light practice on Monday morning.