Bucking up: Broncos win Super Bowl

By: Kyle Tooley ~Staff Writer~

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Photo courtesy of nydailynews.com | Manning holds the Lombardi trophy. In interviews after the game, he refused to say whether he was retiring.

If you’re a fan of high scoring, shootout style football games with scores that look like the halftime of a basketball game, then Super Bowl 50 was not your type of game.

The landmark event taking place in Santa Clara, Cali., featured the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers, with the six point underdog Broncos coming out on top by a score of 24-10. Assuming most everyone caught a bit of the third-most-watched television program in TV history, let’s skip the play by play and look at a few storylines from the game.

Basically everyone was picking the Panthers to win this game, due to a combination of the Broncos having statistically the worst offense in Super Bowl history (they are the first team to ever win the Super Bowl after gaining less than 200 yards of offense), and because Cam Newton, the NFL MVP, is a dynamic and loveable player that younger fans of the game can rally around.

Yet, the Broncos did not mind being the underdogs. It was a title they felt they did not deserve, but they were okay with being overlooked. Several players stated that they felt the Panthers were putting on a show and that the Broncos would win the dogfight. They felt that their defense and Peyton Manning’s will to win in what was possibly his final professional game would put them in a good spot to defeat the Panthers. Their predictions turned out to be spot on.

Super Bowl MVP Von Miller led his “Orange Rush” defense against the No. 1 offense in football. A mixture of pressure up front and Carolina’s receiving corps having a poor game led to the Panthers being unable to move the ball with any fluidity, matched with four turnovers and their 3-15 conversion rate on third down.

Even though the Broncos really couldn’t get the ball moving themselves, they didn’t really have to. They had two defensive touchdowns, plus a perfect performance from their kicker that was able to secure the victory.

This game was also evidence that Cam Newton, though dubbed “Superman,” can’t do it himself. The Broncos were able to completely eliminate any passing option he had, as well as forcing the team to a season low in rush yards and points scored.

They say defense wins championships, and in Super Bowl 50, it was true.