Denver 24, Carolina 10.
Thoughts:
— In all, a disappointing game … and I’m not saying that because I picked the Panthers to win, either. But all of the turnovers, dropped passes, penalties, failures on third down. I know both teams had terrific defenses this season, and we saw plenty of outstanding ‘D’ in this one. But wouldn’t you agree that both teams’ offenses were dull and sloppy? Too many mistakes had little to do with defense.
— Those who predicted a Denver victory were confident in the Broncos’ defense, and that faith was rewarded. The Broncos defense held the league’s No. 1 offense to a one touchdown and one field goal in 16 possessions, scored a defensive touchdown, grabbed the football for four takeaways, bagged seven sacks, forced seven punts, and rattled Panthers QB Cam Newton all night.
— The key to all of this, at least in my view, was Denver putting Carolina in a bunch of third-and-long situations — and then destroying the Panthers’ offensive line to turn Newton into a jumpy, uncomfortable, ineffective quarterback. In the Panthers’ huge wins over Seattle and Arizona in the NFC playoffs, Newton was simply spectacular on third-down throws, completing 13 of 18 passes (72.2%) for 250 yards — an astounding average of 13.8 yards per attempt — with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 153.9. But in Sunday’s embarrassing loss, Carolina O-line and Newton could not cope with Denver’s pass rush. Newton’s numbers on third down tell the story: he completed 4 of 10 for 61 yards, had a passer rating of 60.8, got sacked four times and lost two critically important and damaging fumbles that the Broncos turned into 14 points.
— Newton was immature and disappointing in defeat, giving mostly one-word (or dismissively short) answers in the post-game media scrum before bailing out of the session in a huff. Look, I don’t care about whether Newton is nice to the media. I wasn’t there. I didn’t cover the game. None of that is the point. Other than the team’s head coach, no one has more responsibility than the quarterback in representing the franchise, and speaking for the franchise, after games — especially after terrible days. That’s one of the duties of a team leader. And we are talking about the league’s MVP here; winning the award further elevated Newton’s status. When his Panthers win, Newton is very happy to dab, dance, strike a Superman pose, give footballs to Carolina fans, taunt fans of the opposing team, and generally throw a pep rally after every touchdown. Winning is easy. Winning is fun. Winning leads to endorsements, commercials, fame, fortune, etc. And all of that is deserved. But you can’t have it both ways, wanting to be the team star and the No. 1 centerpiece, and the commercial pitchman when things are going your way — only to turn petulant and sour when things don’t go your way. It isn’t much of a challenge to handle winning … how do you handle losing? Newton flunked the test Sunday.
— I like Cam Newton a lot, and hardly qualify as a ‘hater’ but he still has some growing up to do. For those that would say, ‘Give him a break, he just lost the biggest game of his life,’ … no, sorry. There’s no reason for pity here. I covered every Super Bowl from 1983 through 2014 except for one, and I’ve seen future Hall of Fame quarterbacks get taken down harder than this, and every one of those guys stepped up after the loss to put in their 10 minutes with the media to talk about the game and represent their franchise and their league. Those quarterbacks were just as upset, and down, as Newton was on Sunday. In his first three appearances in the Super Bowl, Hall of Fame QB John Elway and the Broncos lost the three games by an average of 32 points. Elway played miserably, with two TDs, six interceptions and a 49.5 passer rating in those three humiliating defeats. But Elway always made the trip to the media-area podium after those losses to take questions, and he was a gentleman about it. And that’s the point here. If Newton is going to go into the Superman mode when he wins, then he can at least go into the gentleman mode when he loses. Not that every QB has been perfect, post-game after losing a postseason game. I sat in the media gallery after Indianapolis got upset at home (by Pittsburgh) in the division round, and Peyton Manning pointed a finger at his poor pass protection after the game. That was bad form by Manning — and he was criticized for it too. No, it wasn’t close to the childishness we saw from Newton, but Manning slipped up by at least partially blaming teammates. (Manning also criticized his own play in that defeat.) So this isn’t just a picking-on-poor-Cam thing.
— It wasn’t a good look for Newton, when he declined to dive into a scrum for his lost fumble late in the game. I don’t know what he was thinking — did he want to avoid taking on DeMarcus Ware? — but it wasn’t a good look. Not with the game and a Super Bowl title on the line. When Denver recovered that fumble, it was over for Carolina. This will haunt Cam for a while. Maybe haunt him for a longer period of time than he realizes. Bad day. Really bad day.
— I think many of Newton’s critics are irrational and dislike him for the wrong reasons … the celebrations, the over-the-top-style in expressing himself. As I’ve said 5,000 times the last two weeks, I don’t have a problem with Newton’s demonstrative personality. But the way he handled adversity during and after Super Bowl 50, Newton gave his haters a wonderful gift. They’ll have a basis to malign him — and to insist that they were right to disparage him all along.
— So what’s next for Newton? More success. He’s a great talent, getting progressively better as a pocket passer and in scoping out the defense in his pre-snap reads. And it’s no shame to lose a Super Bowl. By my count (and I did this in a hurry), 12 quarterbacks that are in the Hall of Fame or will be in the Hall of Fame have combined to lose 23 Super Bowls. The names: Len Dawson, Bob Griese, Fran Tarkenton, Jim Kelly, Roger Staubach, Dan Marino, Elway, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning. Of course, many of the names on that list also won Super Bowls, too. But you can’t take it for granted. When Dan Marino led Miami to the Super Bowl in his second NFL season (1984) and lost to San Francisco, we all believed he’d make it back to the big game, and probably multiple times. But that was it; Marino never got a second shot at the Super Bowl. I hope Newton gets another crack at it.
— Manning didn’t have much to do with Denver’s conquest; if anything his two turnovers helped Carolina stay in the game. Denver won despite amassing only 11 first downs, 194 net yards, scoring one offensive TD, going 1 for 14 on third downs, surrendering five sacks, punting eight times. Manning completed 13 of 23 for 141 yards, with an INT and a lost fumble. He didn’t do much on third down, completing three of eight for 23 yards and the interception. But I don’t care about that. Manning will get a second Super Bowl ring because the Denver defense basically ripped it away from Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Newton in the postseason. This just proves a point that many Manning defenders — including me — have made through the years, when critics wanted to pounce on Manning and blame him after his team’s postseason defeats. This isn’t Wimbledon singles finals. This isn’t the Master’s golf tournament. It’s a team sport. And sometimes, even if you’re the best QB in the league, you can’t win games by yourself. You need some strong parts around you, be it a stout defense, bullying rushing attack or shrewd coaching. Why do you think Brady lost to Manning in this season’s AFC Championship? Brady was the better QB that day but was operating behind a woeful offensive line and had no running game. That Manning — nearly 40 years old, and diminished physically — could win a championship in the twilight of his career is a testament to team football.
— Manning became the first QB in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two teams … now he’s one of 12 starting quarterbacks to have multiple Super Bowl victories … the triumph over Carolina was No. 200 of Manning’s career, regular season and postseason. That broke a tie with Brett Favre, who had 199 wins. Manning, who almost certainly will retire, will finish his career with a winning postseason record. And now Peyton can bring two Super Bowl rings to the family Thanksgiving — just like little brother Eli. Peyton’s so-called legacy was already secure, but the final victory cleaned up his postseason record a little, and I was happy that it ended this way for one of the all-time kings of this league. I hope the LA Rams will leave this guy alone and let him retire — and apparently sip Budweisers — in peace and happiness.
— The MVP of the postseason: Denver defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. What a comeback. One of the better DCs in the last 25 years or so of NFL football, Phillips was out of work in 2014. And the truth of the matter is, Phillips wasn’t even head coach Gary Kubiak’s top choice for the job last offseason. This postseason Denver faced three opponents led by Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Newton and went 3-0 while allowing only 14.6 points per game. The Broncos forced seven turnovers, attacked for 14 sacks, and put three great quarterbacks under extreme duress. Newton was pressured on 43 percent of his dropbacks in Super Bowl 50, sacked six times, hit 19 times overall. And the heat was an obvious factor in Newton’s three turnovers, his lack of accuracy (he completed 44 percent of his throws) and shaky pocket awareness. There’s a lot of talk about where the Broncos rate among the post-merger defenses. I don’t think the Broncos are up there with the 1985 Chicago Bears or 2000 Baltimore Ravens, but it’s a great defense. And it’s the No. 1 reason why they’re planning a Super Bowl parade in Denver. Looking back, no one will remember that Denver faced Roethlisberger at an advantageous time; he had a sore shoulder and went against the Broncos without his incredible receiver, the injured Antonio Brown. And the shorthanded Steelers were down to their third RB. And Brady and the Patriots didn’t even try to establish the run, and tried to win it with a one-dimensional passing game and a weak offensive line that was easy prey for Denver. But the Broncos were full metal jacket against Carolina, and this ranks
— I thought Carolina was a “momentum” team in 2015. Start fast, jump on opponents early, get the lead, and run away. And really, the numbers validate that perception. During the regular season the Panthers were a plus 29 in the first-quarter point differential, and an amazing plus 116 in second-quarter differential. Add that up, and the Panthers had the best first-half points differential in the NFL this season at +145. And that gap reached ridiculous proportions in the NFC playoffs, with Carolina outscoring Seattle and Arizona 31-0 in the first quarter, and 55-7 in the first half. But Denver landed the first punch in Super Bowl 50, with an opening drive for a field goal and 3-0 lead. And the Broncos staggered the Panthers with the Von Miller’s sack-strip-fumble of Newton recovered for a touchdown and 10-0 lead. The Panthers had to play catch-up against a defense that already had established its supremacy over the Carolina offensive line. And poor coaching (namely lack of adjustments in pass protection) made Carolina’s comeback bid more difficult.
— Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula didn’t have much of an answer for anything Sunday. Carolina’s dull rushing attack was surprising. Trying to block a Denver defensive end with a running back (at times) was insanity.
— Kony Ealy, Carolina’s second-year defensive end, did the Mizzou football program proud in Super Bowl 50 with three sacks, an interception, two quarterback hits, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and two tackles for losses. Just a superb performance from a player on the losing side.
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
Read More: 10 Takeaways from the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 Win
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