Super Bowl 50: Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers Set SB 2016 Showdown
The stage is set for Super Bowl 50, which will be held at the Levi’s Stadium on February 7. The Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos are the two teams left standing after pulling off contrasting victories in the NFC and AFC conferences, respectively.
In the AFC, the Denver Broncos were able to find a way to overcome the favored New England Patriots.
In a match that saw two future Hall of Famers go at it, Peyton Manning proved to be the better quarterback of the game. He came out hot, and threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Owen Daniels in the second quarter.
While the 39-year-old veteran seems to have found a way to recall shades of his old self, his counterpart started off sluggishly. Tom Brady started out sloppy in the first half but was able to get his bearings back in the second half.
Brady almost made a miraculous turnaround, which saw the Pats almost forcing the game into overtime. This came with about 12 seconds left and Brady finding tight-end Rob Gronkowski at the back of the end zone.
However, the Broncos picked off Brady’s pass courtesy of Bradley Roby and then recovered the onside kick of New England to seal the victory, 20-18.
With that, Manning finds himself in a position to possibly win another NFL title.
"It's a great honor to be going back to the Super Bowl -- playing Super Bowl 50," says Manning via CNN. "I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be a fun two weeks."
Standing in their way, however, are the Panthers who are coming off a dominant and statement victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
The Panthers pitted two Heismann Trophy quarterback winners in the persons of Cam Newton and Carson Palmer but it was the former who shone brightly.
Newton starred and his performance was highlighted by his brilliant part in the first quarter. With the Panthers defense doing its thing, such allowed Newton to be fed the ball and convert the opportunities, resulting in four touchdowns, which opened a 17-point spread in favor of Carolina.
When it was all over, the Panthers ran roughshod over the Cardinals as they gear up for Super Bowl 50. The final score says it all, 49-15, in favor of the Panthers.
Will that, however, be something the Broncos should be concerned about?
Sports bookies favor Newton and the Panthers, with Westgate SuperBook seeing the Panthers as 5.5-point favorites. Other Las Vegas sports books had a lower margin though Carolina was still the top pick to win Super Bowl 50 as mentioned via ESPN.
With the Panthers running wild this season, getting the favorite tag is no surprise. In fact, Carolina began the year as high as 60-1 to win the Super Bowl.
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