Super Bowl 50. An impressive milestone for the National Football League. A perfect excuse to get together with friends and talk trash. Christmas in February for Super Bowl commercial lovers across the country. A 15-1 Carolina Panthers team, led by league MVP Cam Newton, taking on Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. The stage was perfect. However, the 24-10 losing performance of Cam Newton and the Panthers was far from perfect. For a number of reasons, the Carolina team that took the field this Sunday in San Francisco was not the same team that America has fallen in love with over the course of this season. Here are a few takeaways from the sports holiday of the year:
1. The Panthers' offensive line is horrible.
One thing that the entire nation discovered this weekend was the weakness of the Carolina Panthers that prevented them from having a perfect season: their offensive line. Only one of the Panthers starting offensive linemen has played more than two full years as a starter (Ryan Kalil). This unit, featuring Michael Oher from "The Blind Side," was bombarded in the Super Bowl, allowing seven total sacks (the most allowed by the Panthers this season). This was greatly due to the powerful pass rush duo of Von Miller and Demarcus Ware, who had a combined 4.5 sacks. The constant pressure in the backfield prevented Cam Newton from having enough time to make plays down the field, which is something that their offense relies heavily on. Carolina has to be thinking about drafting a few linemen in April's NFL Draft.
2. Turnovers really can change a game.
The second area in which the Panthers struggled was the turnover battle. Though this problem stems from the lack of protection for Newton, the Panthers turned the ball over four times and took it away just twice. Only two teams have ever won the Super Bowl turning the ball over four or more times (Colts in SB V, Cowboys in SB XII), so the odds were not in their favor. One of these turnovers even led to a defensive touchdown on a fumble recovery by Malik Jackson following the strip by Von Miller. Miller alone was responsible for 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, making him the easy choice for this year's Super Bowl MVP. Denver dominated the turnover battle and consequently dominated Super Bowl 50.
3. Cam Newton is not invincible.
Cam Newton won the league's Most Valuable Player award in a landslide, and it was well deserved. Newton posted career highs in many categories including passing touchdowns (35), total touchdowns (45), and passer rating (99.4). For a large part of the season, he seemed unstoppable. In 13 of the team's 16 games, Newton was responsible for at least two touchdowns. He also threw for five touchdowns three times. But the Denver Broncos changed that last Sunday as they were able to bring Newton to the turf seven times. The constant pressure did not allow the young quarterback much time to throw the ball deep down the field, which is where the majority of Newton's big plays happen. Newton completed only 43.9 percent of his passes and did not throw or run a touchdown. The Broncos executed their game plan to perfection as they turned the league MVP into a total non-factor. One would have to think that the teams scheduled to play Carolina next year will be watching Sunday's game film religiously.
4. The Broncos defense is a force.
All the attention in Denver over the past few years has been on Peyton Manning and the high-scoring offense of the Broncos. But when Manning got injured this year, the Broncos had to find another way to win games; so they decided to lean on their defense. Led by Von Miler and Demarcus Ware (pictured above), the Broncos led the league in total defense with the best pass defense and third best run defense by yards per game. The Broncos also ranked first in sacks (52) and tied for first in defensive touchdowns. This unit did not have a lot of respect around the league before this year, but they definitely do now. One of the oldest adages in the game says, "Offense wins games, but Defense wins championships." These words have never rang truer.
5. Fairy-tale endings do exist.
When Peyton Manning went down with his neck injury in 2011, things did not look great. The Colts drafted Andrew Luck number-one overall and that marked the end of Peyton's tenure as an Indianapolis Colt. So after sitting out of the 2011 season, Peyton Manning entered free agency and eventually signed with a stacked Denver Broncos team. Manning went on to set the single season record for passing touchdowns in 2013 (55) as well as break nearly every career passing record previously held by Brett Favre. But just as the Broncos were slated for a Super Bowl run this season, he went down with a foot injury that caused him to miss six games and severely wound the Broncos offense. However, Brock Osweiler still played well enough to keep the Broncos in contention for the number-one seed in the AFC until Peyton returned in the second half of their Week 17 matchup against the San Diego Chargers. The Broncos then proceeded to beat the Steelers and the Patriots only to find themselves in the Super Bowl against the 15-1 Panthers. Despite the show being stolen by the defense, it is still heartwarming to see "The Sheriff" Peyton Manning get another ring to cap off his illustrious career. A great ending for an even better player. There was not a better way to send one of the all-time greats out of the National Football League.
