Super Bowl 50 prediction: Broncos rally to defeat Panthers

Jake Elliott, Staff Reporter

Super Bowl 50. The Denver Broncos will take on the Carolina Panthers, Peyton Manning will lead his team into battle for possibly the last time. On the other side, Cam Newton is gearing up for his first Super Bowl. Newton, who is likely going to be named NFL MVP on Saturday, looks to hand Manning his fourth Super Bowl loss.

Denver comes into the game as a heavy underdog; however, they have the number one defense in the league led by pass-rushers Von Miller, and Demarcus Ware. What has killed this team is offensive inconsistency, the aging Peyton Manning has played more of a game-manager role this season. The run game led, by C.J Anderson and Ronnie Hillman, has been ineffective for most of the season, but has come alive as of late. The Denver secondary is no joke either with three pro-bowlers– Aqib Talib, Chris Harris Jr., and T.J Ward.

The Denver defense is going to have to play flawlessly, they are going to need to be flying downhill to stop the run and force Carolina into 3rd and longs where they are forced to test the Denver secondary. Receivers Demaryius Thomas, and Emmanuel Sanders will be huge on Sunday, they will need to find ways to get open against the tough Carolina secondary. Thomas finished 7th in the NFL with 1,304 receiving yards, while Sanders finished 15th with 1,135.

What it all comes down for Denver is:what are they going to get from Peyton Manning? Will they get Peyton from the regular season who threw just 9 touchdowns to 17 interceptions, or will they get Peyton from the playoffs who has managed the game well but hasn’t put up great numbers.

As The Carolina Panthers come into this one as the most hyped-up team in the NFL. Their offense has been prolific and their defense? Just as good. Cam Newton has had arguably the best season ever by a quarterback, throwing for 3,800+ yards, rushing for 600+, while having 50 total touchdowns. Their defense is led by cornerback Josh Norman, Luke Kuchely, and Thomas Davis; all three of them were pro-bowl selections.

What Carolina lacks and will kill them in this game is a true number one receiver. Losing Kelvin Benjamin in training camp with a torn ACL was huge. I don’t see guys like Ted Ginn Jr., Philly Brown, or Devin Funchess being able to get open. Cam Newton and the Panthers will need a strong performance out of running back Jonathan Stewart  who finished 8th in the NFL in rushing with 989 yards. He would have cracked 1,000 yards had he not missed three games due to ankle and knee issues.

These teams make for a great match-up. I think Denver will pull away with the win in a low-scoring 17-13 game. Linebackers Miller and Ware will be all over the place, making plays on the Carolina offense. Cam Newton in his first Super Bowl will have at least two turnovers, and struggle to read the swarming Denver defense.

The Denver defense will give Manning every chance to win the game and he will eventually lead a late touchdown drive which will end with an Owen Daniels touchdown reception in the closing minutes of the game. The Denver defense will then come up with one more stop, including a Demarcus Ware sack on fourth down to ice the game away for Carolina. Peyton Manning will play well, but he won’t be the MVP of the game. The MVP will be Aqib Talib who will finish with four tackles and an interception returned for a touchdown.

 

Leave your comments on who you think will win, and be named MVP of the game!