Just a few days ago was the biggest sporting event in North America. Over a billion chicken wings and a million gallons of beer were consumed. We at the Iron Warrior are not football people on average, but myself and our editor Raeesa love the game, so we decided to pick sides and debate who was going to win. Raeesa chose the Denver Broncos of the AFC, and I chose the Carolina Panthers of the NFC. I thought that Carolina trumping Denver in every way was a sure thing. Well, I was wrong. Very wrong. So irrefutably wrong that now I’m stuck writing an article about just how wrong I was. Fun times ladies and gentlemen, fun times. I want to preface this article with an apology regarding my blind faith in the power of Cam Newton and the Panthers offence. You shouldn’t have listened to me if you did. As the saying goes, “defences win championships”.
Super Bowl 50 was altogether underwhelming. Analysts said it had the potential to be the best football game ever, but no one delivered. I have no general hate for low scoring games, but this one was just brutal. With a final score of 24-10 in favour of the Broncos, this game honestly got a bit dull.
The Denver Broncos as #1 seed in the AFC brought their 2015 #1 ranked defence to San Francisco. They started the game on offence and marched slow and steady down the field for the first score of the game, a 34 yard field goal. It was then Carolina’s time to shine, but nothing connected. The Broncos had a three and out before Carolina got the ball back for what might have been the most important drive of the game. On third and ten at his own fifteen yard line, Cam Newton got stripped of the ball by Denver linebacker Von Miller, which turned into a defensive touchdown for the Broncos. The Denver defence had stuck like glue to their assignments across the field and scored on the offence that was the most used to scoring.
The rest of the first half went by slowly, with only one dangerous drive. Carolina managed to back up the Broncos to their one yard line and Jonathan Stewart leapt over the offensive and defensive lines for a touchdown. It was 10-7 for the Broncos, but wouldn’t stay that way for long. On a punt by the Panthers, punt return specialist Jordan Norwood set a new Super Bowl record with a 61-yard return, going down just 14 yards from Carolina’s end zone. Denver wasn’t able to get anything going and had to settle for a field goal. 13-7 was the score and it remained that way until halftime.
Neither team had spectacular offensive showings, but Carolina definitely put up the better half. Peyton Manning, Denver’s veteran quarterback, wasn’t able to find many holes in Carolina’s defence and had only 4 first downs. Despite being regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, Manning barely made an impact. The 39-year-old was hurried out of the pocket and hit so frequently that he wasn’t able to settle into his routine.
Carolina’s young star, Cam Newton, did not fare that much better. He was able to make a few plays with his feet, but after losing the fumble that was returned for a touchdown, he seemed more conservative. This is why I deemed that the most important drive of the game. Newton generally takes risks throwing the ball, and scrambles out of the pocket with the best in the league. Carolina is able to use this to their advantage every time they play and as a result, build fast leads. However, the more cautious role didn’t suit him. He wasn’t holding onto the football for long if his receivers weren’t open, and most of the time he simply threw it away. The lead was still only one play away from them, so he was likely waiting for the perfect play, which never materialized.
The halftime show was pretty good. Coldplay started everything off, and was about as underwhelming as the game itself. Bruno Mars and Beyonce were able to rile up the crowd more, but as a whole it wasn’t amazing. Katy Perry’s show last year was a tough act to follow, and the late afternoon sunlight meant that lasers and effects had less of an impact.
Carolina started the second half on the march, but missed what would have been a 44 yard field goal. The ball bounced unceremoniously off of the right upright and Denver got to start their next drive right near center field. Manning hit his longest throw soon after, and that along with a personal foul on a Carolina defender led to another Bronco field goal. The score read 16-7 and the Panthers had dug themselves into a 2-score hole.
I don’t know if I’ve really emphasized how in control of this game the Denver defence was. Carolina, a team that usually has a very confident and somewhat cocky offence, was unable to get into their rhythm. Denver played their game, finished tackles, and didn’t lose coverage after the first few seconds. They also brought blitzes that Newton didn’t anticipate. The Panthers were finally able to gain some life in the fourth quarter when defensive end Kony Ealy sacked Peyton Manning and recovered his own forced fumble at midfield. Newton was able to get down to Denver’s 21 yard line, but was stopped short of the end zone and held to a field goal. We were back to a one score game with just over ten minutes to play and all timeouts remaining. There was a comeback brewing.
After a series of three and outs, the Panthers were looking for a deep pass, but instead Cam Newton was sacked and lost another fumble to Von Miller. Denver recovered inside of the Carolina 5. Peyton and the boys rushed in a hard fought touchdown, and decided to run the 2 point conversion, putting themselves up 14 points with just over 4 minutes left. Sloppy time management by the Panthers, a long three and out by the Broncos, and a forced clock rundown after a personal foul left one second on the clock and that was game.
The nice thing about this outcome is that Peyton Manning gets to end his career on a high note. It’s long been thought that he would retire after this year, and now his brother Eli can’t lord his second ring over him at Christmas dinner. Peyton also passed Brett Favre’s 199 win record, establishing his 200 as the number to beat. There are only a few athletes who have been as good as long as Manning has, and he revolutionized the way that quarterbacks, and football players in general, prepare for games. I wish him the best in his retirement, which is kind of self-serving considering he plays in the same division as the Chargers, but whatever.
Now that the football season is finally over, I can get back to wishing that it was football season. See you all next year.
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