Feb 7, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller (58) strips the ball from Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
CLARA, Calif. — Super Bowl 50 will be remembered for Peyton Manning (likely) riding out on top, Bruno Mars and Beyonce stealing the halftime show from Coldplay and Von Miller tormenting the league’s newly crowned MVP.
Here are five takeaways from how the Denver Broncos left Levi’s Stadium with the franchise’s third Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night.
5. Poor officiating strikes again: Panthers coach Ron Rivera ended up not getting burned by using his challenges up in the first half, but the officiating certainly didn’t do his team any favors.
Rivera wisely used his first challenge on what appeared to be a third-down catch by wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery with Carolina trailing 3-0 in the first quarter. However, the league office decided to stick with the call of an incomplete pass made on the field, and the Panthers were forced to punt.
Carolina came out of halftime trailing 13-7, and an impressive drive appeared to be stopped on an incomplete third-down pass to the right side. However, a holding flag was thrown in the secondary on the other side of the field, appearing to give the Panthers a fresh set of downs at Denver’s 26-yard line. The officials huddled and somehow decided to pick up the flag. Kicker Graham Gano then clanked a 44-yard field goal off the right upright, and Carolina came away with no points.
On the play, Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib appeared to be offside while rushing from the left side. It would have been his second offside call on special teams and his fourth penalty of the game overall, but no flag was thrown and Denver got the ball back.
4. Fast starts are paramount: The Panthers raced out to four-score leads in each of their first two playoff games, allowing them to focus on their strengths — defense and the power ground game. Their defense was just as impressive against the Broncos despite continually being put in bad situations with the offense turning the ball over four times. However, Carolina was not able to force Denver out of its conservative offensive game plan.
Conversely, the Broncos scored first for the fourth consecutive game, and their 10-0 lead and strong run defense opened the door for their ferocious pass rush to take over the game. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton didn’t have a terrible game, but gross misfires on a pair of early passes were costly.
3. Better to be lucky AND good: Denver built its early lead with suffocating defense, and the help of nearly every ball bouncing its way. Miller’s first strip-sack bounced to teammate Malik Jackson for a touchdown, Panthers fullback Mike Tolbert’s fumble was recovered by Denver, and the Broncos used hustle from linebacker Danny Trevathan to recover a fumble by safety T.J. Ward following an interception. If any one or more of those free balls is recovered by Carolina, the game could have gone an entirely different direction.
Hustle, combined with a little luck, can go a long way … sometimes all the way to the Lombardi Trophy.
2. Fans make another Super impact: Seattle Seahawks fans showed up in force and had a clear impact on the Broncos’ offense two years ago in the Super Bowl. It was one of the rare times fans from one team had a palpable impact in what is traditionally considered a sterile environment with corporate tickets and fans from non-Super Bowl teams gobbling up many of the seats.
The Broncos’ fans were not to be outdone this time around. Orange jerseys clearly outnumbered Carolina’s blue and black contingent by a large margin, and the noise factor was clear early on. Carolina began the game with its offense playing out of the side of the stadium where the Broncos’ fan base was the densest, and the noise certainly appeared to be a factor.
1. Defense still trumps offense: The Panthers entered the game heavy favorites after finishing the regular season with the league’s top scoring offense and jumping all over their first two playoff opponents. The Broncos finished the regular season with the league’s top-ranked defense, and that unit led the drive to Super Bowl 50 by containing Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger and New England’s Tom Brady.
Coordinator Wade Phillips will be rightfully credited with devising a scheme that called for a lot of man coverage in the secondary, stuffing the run on first down and relying on his front four to get to Newton. His troops delivered, tying the Super Bowl record with seven sacks against one of the league’s more elusive quarterbacks.
