THE DENVER BRONCOS have won their third Super Bowl thanks to a phenomenal defensive performance from a unit that has proven time and again this season that it was the best in the league.
Von Miller was the star of the show for the AFC champions with 2.5 sacks and two more forced fumbles and was rightly given with the Most Valuable Player award.
In a game that was poor by recent standards, the usually potent Carolina offence struggled time and time and again to score despite numerous drives of 40 yards or more.
After winning the toss, the Panthers elected to kick the ball to Denver and the Broncos, primarily through the passing of Peyton Manning, worked their way down the field but had to settle for a Brandon McManus field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
The next two drives ended in three-and-outs before a very big call denied the Panthers a first down on what looked like a catch from Jerricho Cotchery.
The decision was upheld after review, even though it appeared to be clearly a catch, and two plays later the Panthers were punished even further when Von Miller sacked Cam Newton, forcing a fumble.
The ball was recovered by Malik Jackson for the touchdown to give Denver a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Panthers finally started to move the football on their next drive with a couple of big plays from Cam Newton both through the air and on his feet. However, the NFC’s best team really benefited from a 15-yard facemask penalty from Aqib Talib to give them first and goal.
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SBNation
Jonathan Stewart took full advantage, crossing over from just a yard out to make it 10-7.
The Broncos had a massive break when the Panthers special teams failed to play to the whistle and allowed Jordan Norwood return a punt 61-yards, the longest punt return in Super Bowl history.
Instead of kicking a short field goal, the Broncos went for it on fourth down but cost themselves with a holding penalty so had to settle for three points to extend their lead to 13-7. It was a lead they would hold until half-time.
Second half
The Panthers made a good start to the second half with Ted Ginn making two big catches before a Cotchery drop and missed Graham Gano field goal cost them any points.
Denver went into hurry-up mode on the following drive but, once again had to settle for three points off the boot of McManus to take a 16-7 lead.
The Panthers worked their way into scoring position on their next drive before Ginn tipped a pass into the hands of TJ Ward who then fumbled. Luckily for the Broncos, Danny Trevathan was there to recover the football.
After Kony Ealy forced his third sack of the game — to go with an earlier interception, and all this on just 16 snaps at the time — the Panthers recovered the fumble and Newton brought them into field goal range.
A defensive holding penalty resulted in a fresh set of downs and CJ Anderson scored the Denver offence’s first touchdown to make it 24-10 after a successful two-point conversion.
Though Manning’s part in the victory was negligible, it is his second Vince Lombardi trophy and he likely ends his career — though he’s yet to announce his retirement — with a 2-2 record in the sport’s showpiece event.
It's Miller time as the Denver defence leads the Broncos to Super Bowl 50 glory
Denver Broncos 24 – 10 Carolina Panthers
THE DENVER BRONCOS have won their third Super Bowl thanks to a phenomenal defensive performance from a unit that has proven time and again this season that it was the best in the league.
Von Miller was the star of the show for the AFC champions with 2.5 sacks and two more forced fumbles and was rightly given with the Most Valuable Player award.
In a game that was poor by recent standards, the usually potent Carolina offence struggled time and time and again to score despite numerous drives of 40 yards or more.
After winning the toss, the Panthers elected to kick the ball to Denver and the Broncos, primarily through the passing of Peyton Manning, worked their way down the field but had to settle for a Brandon McManus field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
The next two drives ended in three-and-outs before a very big call denied the Panthers a first down on what looked like a catch from Jerricho Cotchery.
The decision was upheld after review, even though it appeared to be clearly a catch, and two plays later the Panthers were punished even further when Von Miller sacked Cam Newton, forcing a fumble.
The ball was recovered by Malik Jackson for the touchdown to give Denver a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Panthers finally started to move the football on their next drive with a couple of big plays from Cam Newton both through the air and on his feet. However, the NFC’s best team really benefited from a 15-yard facemask penalty from Aqib Talib to give them first and goal.
Jonathan Stewart took full advantage, crossing over from just a yard out to make it 10-7.
The Broncos had a massive break when the Panthers special teams failed to play to the whistle and allowed Jordan Norwood return a punt 61-yards, the longest punt return in Super Bowl history.
Instead of kicking a short field goal, the Broncos went for it on fourth down but cost themselves with a holding penalty so had to settle for three points to extend their lead to 13-7. It was a lead they would hold until half-time.
Second half
The Panthers made a good start to the second half with Ted Ginn making two big catches before a Cotchery drop and missed Graham Gano field goal cost them any points.
Denver went into hurry-up mode on the following drive but, once again had to settle for three points off the boot of McManus to take a 16-7 lead.
The Panthers worked their way into scoring position on their next drive before Ginn tipped a pass into the hands of TJ Ward who then fumbled. Luckily for the Broncos, Danny Trevathan was there to recover the football.
After Kony Ealy forced his third sack of the game — to go with an earlier interception, and all this on just 16 snaps at the time — the Panthers recovered the fumble and Newton brought them into field goal range.
This time, Gano made no mistake to make it 16-10 Denver.
However, Von Miller stopped any thoughts of a comeback with a strip sack of Newton which set-up the Broncos inside the ten-yard line.
A defensive holding penalty resulted in a fresh set of downs and CJ Anderson scored the Denver offence’s first touchdown to make it 24-10 after a successful two-point conversion.
Though Manning’s part in the victory was negligible, it is his second Vince Lombardi trophy and he likely ends his career — though he’s yet to announce his retirement — with a 2-2 record in the sport’s showpiece event.
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