Denver Broncos’ Peyton Manning walks off the field during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 50 football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, in Santa Clara, Calif.
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Two of the sacks resulted in lost fumbles by Newton, with the first of those recovered by Denver defensive end Malik Jackson in the end zone for touchdown and a 10-0 Broncos lead.
Six days before kickoff, Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips was asked about the connection between Carolina quarterback Cam Newton and Denver outside linebacker Von Miller. That play led to the Broncos’ first offensive touchdown of the game – with 3 minutes, 8 seconds to play – a score that gave the Broncos a 24-10 lead when C.J.
It was all part of quite a display by Denver’s defense, making the NFC champion Panthers (17-2) and the league’s top-scoring offense look decidedly mediocre.
Constant pressure and smothering secondary coverage kept Newton and his top-ranked offense from establishing a rhythm.
Ealy tied the Super Bowl record with three sacks and became the first player to record multiple sacks and an interception in a Super Bowl.
“I certainly knew that (with) this defense, this team would have a chance”, Manning said.
Carolina scored its touchdown in the second quarter following a 73-yard drive in the second quarter, with running back Jonathan Stewart leaping over the line from the 1-yard line.
Peyton Manning triumphantly completed what could be his final season with a Super Bowl title.
“I got some good advice from Tony Dungy”, Manning said of the first of four coaches with whom he’s been to the Super Bowl.
The key for Denver was bursting Carolina’s happy bubble, racing to an early lead and putting the Panthers in a spot with which they weren’t familiar: playing from behind.
“Hey, when things don’t go his way, we see the body language – it’s obvious”, Broncos safety T.J. Ward said.
And like Elway, Manning was not able to ascend the peak again until he got the kind of help he rarely had in his career. The group, which led the league in numerous categories this season, came up big with 7 sacks and 4 takeaways. He also lost both of his fumbles, failing to hold onto the ball when Von Miller, the Super Bowl MVP, forced fumbles while recording sacks against Carolina right tackle Mike Remmers.
“Their defense was stout like I thought they were”, Manning said. “They made more plays than us, and that’s what it came down to”, he said. I watched the film all week, man. They did not play nobody on defense that plays like us. On Sunday, he was responsible for three of the Panthers’ costly turnovers. We won the division, we won in the playoffs and we made it to the Super Bowl.
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“I told our guys, this is the same (Broncos) team that a couple of years ago got beat”, coach Ron Rivera said.
