The Super Bowl is arguably the biggest day of the year. Last Sunday, everyone knew what everyone else in the United States was doing from 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. on the first Sunday in February. The game was unbelievable, and despite being the top contenders, the Carolina Panthers lost the game. Now it's time to breakdown what happened why the Panthers should have been the team to take home the victory.
Super Bowl 50 saw the 17-1, NFC number-one seed Carolina Panthers match up against the 14-4, AFC number-one seed Denver Broncos. This matchup pits Peyton Manning, arguably the greatest quarterback of all time, up against lead MVP-candidate, Cam Newton.
The Panthers have been arguably the best team in the league all season, with a quarterback playing at the top of his game. The field has been a playground for Newton; he can do no wrong this season, whereas the Broncos have been led by a struggling Manning (although he’s been much better since returning from injury). Denver has the league's number one ranked defense, led by Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, who had 11 and 7.5 sacks, respectively. The duo wreaked havoc on the Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the AFC championship game leading the defense that hit him 20 times.
As of last Friday, the Panthers are 5 1/2 point favorites over the Broncos. Personally, I didn't think the game would be that close. The Panthers offense has just been too good all season; they dominated the Seattle Seahawks defense and the Arizona Cardinals defense on their way to an NFC championship. It's still puzzling they lost by 14 points.
The Panthers defense has also been great all season, led by potential defensive MVP candidate Luke Kuechly at middle linebacker, who had 118 tackles in 13 regular season games. This defense should continue to force turnovers, especially with what has been an interception-prone Manning this season, who was second in the league in interceptions even though he missed six games this season. It should have been a give that they would dominate any offensive tactics by the Broncos.
I think the Panthers defense should have forced at least two turnovers in this game, one of which is an interception return for a touchdown. Ultimately, Newton will be too much for the Broncos defense to handle. I predict three touchdown passes for Newton as he continues his dominant play this season.
My initial prediction for this game was Panthers: 31 Broncos: 21, with Newton winning the Super Bowl MVP award. However, in the end, the final score was in Denver's favor with 24-10 and Von Miller took home the MVP. Better luck next year Carolina!
