By Paul Sondhi
After two very different games Sunday, the matchup for Super Bowl 50 is set: Denver plays Carolina in Santa Clara, California on February 7th for the Lombardi Trophy. It’s an interesting, if surprising, matchup, considering who the early Super Bowl favorites were. Many people thought we would see a repeat of last year’s big game, featuring either New England or Seattle — or even both. Considering the way Peyton Manning played during the regular season, Denver certainly wasn’t the most enticing contender. Though Carolina nearly went 16–0, they, too, were not favored versus other NFC teams.
Yet, here we stand. It is officially the start of the awkward two week gap between Championship Sunday and Super Bowl Sunday, and the sporting world has begun dissecting what Manning and Cam Newton could do come game time. The two quarterbacks could not be on more the opposite ends of the spectrum right now, with Peyton a shell of his former physical self, relying on his off-the-charts football knowledge to win, and Newton perhaps the most athletically gifted player in the entire NFL.
To his credit, Manning had a bit of a throwback game in the AFC Championship Game against the Patriots. He threw for two touchdowns en route to a tight 20–18 win, and though the second half wasn’t exactly an explosive one for the Broncos’ offense, Manning guided them to the victory. His yardage was low (176), but his decisions made up for a poor backfield performance. As Denver’s vaunted defense pounded Tom Brady to the tune of two interceptions, four sacks, and many more hits, №18 did not give away the win. This “game manager” version of Manning may be foreign to us all, but you can’t argue with yesterday’s result.
Newton, on the other hand, is anything but a manager. His full range of abilities was on display in a 49–15 thrashing of the Arizona Cardinals, where the former Auburn QB threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as he added another chapter to the book that is his magical season. Many consider Super Cam to be the favorite for league MVP, and he lived up to that caliber. Time and time again Newton made dazzling throws downfield to various wide receivers whom no one pays much attention to (Corey Brown? Ted Ginn Jr.? Devin Funchess?). This, coupled with his spectacular ability to run the ball, and you’ve got all the makings a classic performance.
Most of the talk surrounding the upcoming Super Bowl will be about the quarterbacks, but who wins may come down to the studs on the other side of the ball. Denver is widely considered the best defense in the NFL (which they proved to be true Sunday). Huge performances from Derek Wolfe, Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware sealed the deal late in the game against New England, and the focus for these guys coming the Super Bowl will be to contain Newton and negate his running game while forcing him to throw errant passes. Easier said than done.
Carolina will be relying on an array of big names, including Luke Kuechly, Josh Norman, and Star Lotulelei to hold back the Denver offense. All it might take is a few good shots on Manning for the Broncos to be in serious trouble. Jared Allen, who is certainly in the twilight of his career, sat out the NFC Championship game, but he may still play in the Super Bowl, which could be a winning factor.
There is still so much time between now and the time Denver and Carolina take the field at Levi’s Stadium, and you can be sure that most of it will be filled with inane talking heads. I can’t wait.
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