Super Bowl

Super Bowl 50 is upon us, bringing us an intense matchup between the stellar defense of the Denver Broncos and the MVP season in Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. While it’s disappointing that the Patriots fell short of their second straight Super Bowl appearance, I can’t wait to see how Cam will perform against the #1 Broncos defense. This football season flew and I really can’t believe there’s only one game left.

The Broncos started off the season extremely strong, going 6-0 before their week 7 bye. Even with Peyton Manning’s early struggles, the Broncos were still able to thrive. Howevr, they lost four out of their next 8 games (weeks 8-15). Their run game was very inconsistent and their quarterback situation was underwhelming. Then they won their final two games of the season, clinching the #1 seed and home field advantage throughout the tournament. Even though the Broncos were the top seed in the AFC, they still weren’t favored. They were barely able to squirm past the injured Steelers on their final drive. Next, they had to beat the defending champs in the Patriots. This was easily their toughest matchup of the season. How dominant was the Broncos defense? The entire country witnessed Tom Brady being hit a total of 20 times (the most times a QB was hit in the whole 2015 season.) Even while taking this beating and throwing two interceptions, the Patriots still remained in the game and came so close to going back to the Super Bowl for the 2nd consecutive season. Most people say that defense wins championships. This theory was proven on point during this game. The Broncos made Brady look like Nick Foles (quarterback for the St. Louis Rams who badly struggled this season), throwing 2 interceptions and completed only 42.21% of his passes.

In my opinion, I think the Broncos will have to play at their best this on Super Bowl Sunday. They haven’t faced a team with the level of all around talent as the Carolina Panthers. While the Broncos defense is dominant, it’ll have to contain the MVP front runner in Cam Newton. The Panthers defense is also having a huge season, so Manning is going to have to step up his game. Manning doesn’t have much left in him and I think he’s going to struggle.

The Panthers on the other hand have been consistently dominant all season and haven’t gone through any struggles. The former #1 overall pick of the 2011 draft has had an up and down career and has struggled with turnovers and his throwing motion. Cam Newton is coming off his worst season in 2014, where he missed a few games and only had 5 wins out of 14 games (worst record in his 4 year career). However he had a huge bounce back season leading his team to a 16-1 record in the regular season and on his way to his first MVP. While Cam is a big reason why his team is playing for the NFL Super Bowl, he’s not the only reason. The running game led by Johnathan Stewart has been fabulous this season along with their stingy defense. The Panthers defense ranks 6th in yards per game, 4th in rushing yards per game, and 6th in points per game. They have the top linebacker core in the NFL including Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis (both pro bowl selections) along with a stellar secondary led by cornerback Josh Norman. The Panthers only lost one game this season; a divisional matchup against the Atlanta Falcons in week 16. In the divisional round of the playoffs, the Panthers shut out the Seahawks in the first half 31-0. While the Panthers were then shut out in the second half, they were still able to come out with the victory. After that, the Panthers faced the top notch offense in the Arizona Cardinals and were still able to destroy them 49-15.

I think we all know what team is expected to win this game, but the NFL has no script. Cam has had a marvelous season, but he hasn’t faced a defense at the level of the Broncos. The Panthers offensive line is up for a big challenge. This game is bigger than Cam Newton. The Panthers run game and defense must continue their dominance.

Do you want to hear my Super Bowl predictions? I project the first half to be a score of 20-7 with the Panthers on top. The Broncos will be able to tie the second half 10-10, but that won’t be enough. The final score of Super Bowl 50 will be Panthers: 30 Broncos: 17.

Here are my projected top players and their stats for both teams:

 

Carolina Panthers: 30

Passing    Cam Newton: 18/32 285 2 TD

Rushing    Johnathan Stewart: 18 carries 62 yards 1 FUM

Cam Newton: 8 rushes 32 yards

Mike Tolbert: 5 rushes 10 yards 1 TD

Receiving   Devin Funchess: 2 catches 28 yards

Ted Ginn: 5 catches 86 yards

Corey Brown: 3 catches 31 yards 1 TD

Greg Olsen: 6 catches 105 yards 1 TD

Kicking    Graham Gano: 3/3 FG 3/3 PAT

Denver Broncos: 17

Passing    Peyton Manning: 18/38 200 yards 1 TD 1 INT

Rushing    C.J Anderson: 15 carries 63 yards 1 TD

Ronnie Hillman: 10 carries 33 yards

Receiving    DeMaryius Thomas: 4 catches 44 yards

Emmanuel Sanders: 6 catches 88 yards 1 TD

Owen Daniels: 4 catches 55 yards

Kicking    Brandon McManus: 1/1 FG 2/2 PAT