There were plenty of story lines going into Super Bowl 50: Cam Newton‘s dab dancing, Peyton Manning‘s possible last game of his career, how the Denver Broncos defense would fare against the Carolina Panthers, etc. Most were predicting that the Panthers were going to blow out the Broncos. Unfortunately, that’s not how it played out.
Denver got on the board first, kicking a field goal to break up the 0-0 tie. Newton and the Panthers couldn’t muster up any offense in the first couple drives, as the Broncos defense was pressuring the Carolina offensive line and making it hard for him to move.
Von Miller then came through for the defense in a big way, forcing a Killa Cam fumble new the Panthers’ own goal line and the Broncos scored the touchdown taking the 10-0 lead. The Denver defense actually forced two fumbles in the first half.
Carolina struck back, scoring a touchdown from a Jonathan Stewart 1-yard rush.
After a few missteps from both teams, the Halftime score was 10-7, as the defenses controlled a good portion of the first half and both quarterbacks struggling.
The second half was a story of defensive turnovers and field goals. Both teams knocked down some field goals, and both quarterbacks committed two huge turnovers (fumbles), but the biggest was V. Miller stripping Newton and the Broncos recovered at the 4 yard line.
C.J. Anderson then ran in his first touchdown of the day, giving Denver the definitive 24-10 lead. The score stayed the same until the final whistle.
Peyton Manning now records his 200th win of his career (counting both regular season and post season), surpassing Brett Favre on the all-time win list. Whether this is his final rodeo is yet to be seen, but all signs are pointing towards it.
Von Miller won Super Bowl 50 MVP for his contributions to the Broncos mauling defense, including 5 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.