Every February, the top two teams in the NFL play in one of the nation’s most televised events and compete for the title of, “Super Bowl champs.” The two teams competing in Super Bowl 50, were the, Carolina Panthers and the, Denver Broncos. The Panthers were lead by quarterback, Cam Newton and linebacker, Luke Kuechly, while the Broncos were lead by quarterback, Peyton Manning and outside linebacker, Von Miller. There were over 70,000 people in attendance for the big game.

This game was a little more special to Manning than the other players. The future Hall of Fame player, likely played in his final football game. There could not be a better way to leave the league, than to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the game. He also was the oldest quarterback to start in a Super Bowl. The Panthers finished the regular season, 15-1 and entered the game with an overall record of 17-1. The Broncos finished the season, 12-4 and entered the game, 14-4. The Broncos came into the game with the best overall defense.

I thought that this years’ Super Bowl was pretty boring. There was hardly any offense and it was a pretty low scoring game. I would have like to seen more of the Panther’s offense that we were accustomed to seeing in the regular season. –Nick LeBlanc

From the opening kickoff, the Denver defense was swarming Cam Newton. They sacked him six times and forced him to fumble twice. The Panthers’ offense was unable to find any kind of rhythm for the entire game. The Broncos striked first with a field goal from kicker, Brandon McManus. Minutes later, Von Miller sacked Newton, forcing him to fumble, which was recovered in the end zone by Malik Jackson. The Broncos lead, 10-0 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Panthers finally put a drive together, which resulted in a, one yard touchdown run by, Jonathan Stewart. A record was broken about halfway through the quarter, when Jordan Norwood returned a punt for, 61 yards, which was the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. At the half, the Broncos lead, 13-7.

The second half was not any kinder to the Panthers. They only managed to put up three points. A key rushing touchdown by, CJ Anderson in the final minutes along with a two point conversion put the Broncos up by two touchdowns with hardly any time left. The Panthers, once again, were unable to produce any offense, and gave the ball back to Manning and the Broncos, who ran out the clock.

The Broncos claimed the title of, “Super Bowl champs,” and the MVP award was given to linebacker, Von Miller, who finished the game with, six tackles, two and a half sacks and two forced fumbles. I thought that this years’ Super Bowl was pretty boring. There was hardly any offense and it was a pretty low scoring game. The Panthers only put up, 315 yards, while the Broncos put up a mere, 194 yards of total offense. I would have like to seen more of the Panther’s offense that we were accustomed to seeing in the regular season. But thanks to the Bronco’s tenacious defense, I was unable to see any of that.

Although there were mistakes made by both sides, Kyle Friesen, ’19, feels that Broncos were tougher than the Panthers and this is the reason why they came out with the win.

“There were mistakes made by both sides,” Friesen said. “The Broncos came out tougher and were ready to play and scored more points early on and that is why I think they were able to win.”

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Despite all of the celebration that happened after the game, the post game interviews were quite the opposite. During his interview, Cam Newton walked out of the room while being asked a question. Reporters believe that it may have been due to the reason that, Bronco cornerback, Christ Harris Jr, was talking loudly in the room next to Newton. Whether or not this is true, Newton should have stayed in the room until the interview was over.

Not many people expected the outcome to this years’ Super Bowl. From the first quarter, the Bronco’s defense was all over Cam Newton. Now that the NFL season is over, the teams will have a chance to rebuild, recover and plan for the upcoming season.

For last week’s World of Sports, read: World of Sports: Buchanan defeats powerhouse, works towards state title.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @nick_leblanc1 and via email: Nick LeBlanc.