Super Bowl 50: Five early storylines in Broncos-Panthers matchup

By Eric Edholm
Shutdown Corner

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Super Bowl 50 is set, and it looks like a fascinating matchup — the top seeds in each conference meeting in Santa Clara for the Lombardi Trophy. The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos took different paths to get to this point, but they defended their home-field advantage and played their best against teams led by Russell Wilson, Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady to get to this point.

Although we have two weeks to dissect the matchup, here are some early talking points as we get ready for just the fifth-ever meeting of the Panthers and Broncos:

Super Bowl droughts

The Panthers lost their only franchise appearance, falling 32-29 to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII 12 years ago. The Broncos made it two years ago but were blasted by Wilson’sSeattle Seahawks, 43-8. Prior to that, the Broncos won their only two Super Bowl titles in back-to-back years after the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, 79, famously promised that the Panthers would win a championship in the franchise’s first decade. This has been the team’s 21st season — and by far their finest so far at 17-1, counting playoffs. Broncos majority owner Pat Bowlen, 71, is seldom heard from these days as he battles Alzheimer's Disease. Both Richardson and Bowlen are giants in league circles. Richardson, the first former player to own an NFL team, was a member of the 1959 NFL title-winning Baltimore Colts, so winning the Super Bowl would represent a nearly 50-year championship circle. When the Broncos won their first Super Bowl, Bowlen honored quarterback John Elway by saying, “This one’s for John.” Now Elway, if the Broncos win, can return the favor and honor the man who has owned the franchise for more than 30 years.

Storybook ending?

Slideshow: Best of the Conference title games.

Elway walked off into the sunset after his two titles, and he was the man responsible for bringing Peyton Manning to Denver — and, ultimately, in bringing him back this season for what we assume is one final run at a ring. Few remember it this way, but Elway was something of a game manager, too, when the Broncos won it all after the 1998 season. Manning has played two straight turnover-free playoff games after turning the ball over 18 times in parts of 10 games this season. He played a cleaner game in the AFC championship than his rival, Brady, and has endured foot, shoulder and rib injuries (as well as public ribbing over his arm strength) to get back to his fourth Super Bowl. Manning is 1-2 in the big game, and though there are great quarterbacks such as Fran Tarkenton and Jim Kelly with worse Super Bowl win-loss records, this one clearly weighs heavily — fairly or not — in the public perception of Manning’s legacy all time. Could he walk after Super Bowl 50, win or lose? It’s very possible.

Passing of the torch?

As great as Manning has been in his career, there’s little question he’s the second-best QB right now in this game. Cam Newton capped what could be an MVP campaign with another scorching performance in the NFC title game by dicing up a good Arizona Cardinals defense. This has been Newton’s breakout season without doubt, and he reaches this game at a clear flashpoint in his career. Is he a star? Without a doubt. But has he convinced all of his former naysayers? Doubtful. A Super Bowl win over Manning and an excellent Broncos defense might just do that, especially if Newton turns in a Super Bowl MVP performance. If this indeed is Manning’s swan song, it’s perhaps fitting that this stage could be a torch passing of sorts from Manning’s generation to that of Newton, who was 8 years old when Manning was drafted. Wilson already has played in two Super Bowls, winning one, as he and Newton appear to be in the early stages of their own Brady-Manning-like rivalry.

Which defense is better?

The Broncos and Panthers ranked first and sixth, respectively, in yards allowed and fourth and sixth in points allowed during the regular season. The Broncos led the NFL in sack percentage. The Panthers led the league in interceptions and fumbles. Each unit is terrific front to back. The Broncos pressured Brady relentlessly, sacking him four times, hitting him 20 times, deflecting 10 passes and picking Brady twice. Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware combined for seven of those hits. They’re the top pass-rushing duo in the league at their best, and yet the Broncos have stars on all three levels, assuming both starting safeties, T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart, are not badly hurt. Coordinator Wade Phillips is a terrific assistant who has brilliantly brought this group together. The Panthers also are loaded, as they forced seven Cardinals turnovers in the NFC title game and feature four Pro Bowlers on defense — defensive lineman Kawann Short, linebackers Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly and cornerback Josh Norman. Davis (broken right arm) will be a serious question for the game, as will Jared Allen (foot), and it would be a shame and a shock if either or both long-tenured veterans chasing a ring cannot play in the game. But even if they can't go, the Panthers have playmakers everywhere on that side of the ball.

Coaching vindication

The Broncos’ hiring of Gary Kubiak was seen as Elway hiring his friend. Although Kubiak had a solid run with the Houston Texans as a head coach, he was fired after a 2-11 start in 2013 and a 61-64 overall mark. Frankly, many called it an uninspiring hire, but Kubiak has disproven that — all while navigating Manning’s injuries and yo-yoing between him and Brock Osweiler late in the season. That was a high-wire act that many coaches might not have handled well. Only three first-year head coaches — Don McCafferty with the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V, George Seifert with the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV, and Jon Gruden with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII — have won it all. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, as you’re likely to hear for the next two weeks, had eight head-coaching interviews before he got his chance in Carolina. He almost didn’t make it, though, riding through two rough seasons (including a humiliating loss to the Broncos in Year 2) before changing his stripes as it pertains to aggressiveness and taking a turn. The Panthers have a chance to become the first 18-1 champion in 30 years. Rivera is coaching a terrific football team.

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