Super Bowl 50 Preview and Prediction

Super Bowl 50 is finally here. I can't believe that we are already up to the 50th Super Bowl. I remember it like it was yesterday when I received that 25th anniversary Super Bowl book as a gift for my birthday in 6th grade. Now, we are getting ready for Super Bowl 50 and it features my beloved Denver Broncos. The Broncos are making their 8th appearance in Super Bowl history (2-5) and they are making their second Super Bowl appearance in three years. The Panthers are making only their second Super Bowl appearance in team history and their first since Super Bowl XXXVIII when they lost to the Patriots. The Broncos come in as heavy underdogs, and no one is really giving them a chance to win this game. It almost feels like it is a coronation for the Panthers and their MVP quarterback Cam Newton. I wanted to break this game down like I normally would for every playoff game. I'll present the reasons why the Panthers can win and reasons why the Broncos can win. I'll finish with a prediction based on the spread and a final score. Here we go.....

Championship Sunday Record: 1-1
Overall Playoff Record: 7-3
Regular Season Record:  123-125-11
(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)


SUPER BOWL 50
Carolina Panthers vs. Denver Broncos

A Case for the Panthers:
1) The Panthers have been the best team all season long. They finished 15-1, and now stand at 17-1 after thrashing the Seahawks and the Cardinals in the NFC playoffs. They averaged over 30 points a game and their defense leads the league in turnovers. They have been as dominant as a team we have seen in the NFL in recent memory. They are simply the better team in this game.

2) They have the best player in the NFL in Cam Newton. Newton is the MVP of the league and he is the ultimate weapon at quarterback. If it wasn't for Cam, then the Panthers would be lucky to be 8-8. He is playing at such a high level that you wonder if this Super Bowl and MVP are just a sign of things to come for him. Perhaps this is his moment and the beginning of a long string of Lombardi Trophies. He can win this game all by himself.

3) Once the Panthers beat the Seahawks in Seattle in October and they continued their run at an undefeated season, it felt like this was the Panthers year. They started 6-0, then 10-0, and were at 14-0 with a legitimate shot at going undefeated. Only a Week 16 loss at Atlanta kept them from going undefeated. Every time you looked up on Sunday at the games and the scores, the Panthers were rolling the opposition. Even when they were tested, the Giants game in December comes to mind, they came through and won the game. It felt like it was their year and now that feeling this exists as they head into Super Bowl 50. It has been a storybook year all year for Carolina. They have had the look of a Super Bowl winner all of 2015.

4) In most aspects of this game, the Panthers have an advantage. They offensive line matches up favorably against the Broncos defensive line. They have big play capability. They can mash you with the run and they go deep and make big plays in the passing game. Their defense has big-time players on every level. They feature a strong interior in their defensive line with Kawann Short leading the way. They have the best middle linebacker in the NFL with Luke Keuchly, and they have an All-Pro corner in Josh Norman. And, they have the league's best player in Cam Newton. It is a very favorable matchup for the Panthers in many areas.

5) They are young and confident. They play fast and loose and that is a product of Newton and their coach, Ron Rivera. They jump on you early, get a lead, let their defense tee off and get turnovers, and then let Newton take the game over. They won't be afraid of the moment and of the enormity of the Super Bowl. It doesn't seem like they will be caught up in the aura of the Super Bowl.


A Case for the Broncos:

1) The Broncos have the best defense in the NFL, and they have been great all year. They carried this team to the Super Bowl. They put up one of the best defensive performances in playoff history with their game against the Patriots in the AFC Championship. Great defenses have beaten great offenses in the past, and Cam Newton has never faced a defense like this unit this year. The Broncos are athletic enough to be able to track Cam down and pressure him. They matchup well in their secondary against the Panthers receivers. This defense can get the job done one more time-even if Newton poses their most dangerous threat.

2) The Broncos are 6-point underdogs going into Super Bowl 50. No one is picking them to win this game. A lot of experts are just "hoping" that this game will be close going into the 4th quarter. They used it as motivation when they were virtually given no chance against the Pats in the AFC Championship. They are still getting no credit at all in this game too. You know they will use that once again to play the game of their lives in the Super Bowl.

3) I know Carolina went 15-1, buried Seattle and Arizona in the playoffs, and now stands as a sizable favorite to whip the Broncos. If you look closer at their season, they swept the NFC East, which was the second worst division in the NFL this year. They swept the AFC South, which was the worst division in the NFL this year. They beat the Packers at home in November, but the Packers weren't the same Packers this year. They did beat Seattle in Seattle in October but the Seahawks weren't playing well at that point in the year. They went 5-1 in their division, but their division featured the 8-8 Falcons, the 7-9 Saints, and the 6-10 Buccaneers. In the playoffs, they got the Seahawks on their third straight road game and second straight cross-country trip in an early start and the Panthers jumped on them 31-0 in the first half. Then, they trounced the Cardinals who were not the same team that they were for the most part of the year. That is about of a cupcake schedule that you can get. No wonder the Panthers are 17-1 heading into the Super Bowl. Conversely, the Broncos had to deal with the 11-5 Chiefs twice, the Steelers twice, the Patriots twice, the Bengals, the Packers, and the Vikings. It is plain to see that the Broncos are more battle tested than the Panthers.

4) Fittingly, the storied and legendary career of Peyton Manning looks like it might be coming to a close, and he gets one more chance to win a Super Bowl in what could be his last game ever. The Sheriff could ride off in the sunset with his second Super Bowl victory-just like his boss John Elway did after Super Bowl XXXIII. If he wins on Sunday, Manning would have his 200th victory as a starting QB in the regular season and postseason, and that would be a record for any QB in NFL history. How perfect would it be for Peyton to finish his career with a Super Bowl after the kind of frustrating season that he has had? From the rocky start to his season with 17 interceptions, to the injury to his foot that sidelined him for almost seven games, to the HGH allegations, and then his return in Week 17 to get his team the #1 seed in the playoffs. The story would be perfect for Manning to finish it off with a victory and leave the game with a Lombardi Trophy and his place firmly cemented in the annals of NFL history.

5) You can say that the Panthers have had the look of Super Bowl champion all year long, it seems like the Broncos have gotten the breaks all year to give them that team of destiny feel. From the miracle win over KC in Week 2, to all the close wins over the Browns, the Vikings, the Bengals, the Pats, the Bears, the Chargers in Week 17, and the two playoff wins over the Steelers and Brady and the Pats once again. They looked like they were dead to rights so many times, and they found a way to grind out close wins every time. Maybe they have lady-luck on their side, and sometimes you need to catch all the right breaks to win a Super Bowl, and Denver certainly has had their fare share.

Prediction: DENVER (+6) over Carolina: It will surprise no one in America if the Panthers come out and punch the Broncos in the mouth, and win this game going away. If this game is 31-10 Panthers in the third quarter, it will not shock anyone watching the game. There is a very likely chance that the Broncos play the Panthers tight for three quarters, but Cam Newton is just too much for them in the end. With that said, I picked against Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII when they lost to Seattle. They got embarrassed by the Seahawks in that game. They come into this Super Bowl with a completely different type of team. The Broncos defense is legit, and they have a Hall of Fame QB who is trying to win his second Super Bowl to close out a legendary career. They are big underdogs to a team that looks dominant, but you only have to beat a team in one game to win the Super Bowl. It isn't a seven game series like the other sports. One game wins the championship and there have been other Super Bowls that looked like mismatches on paper, but the underdog that no one gave a shot pulled the upset. That is why I'm picking the Broncos. A fierce defense, the "Nobody Believes in Us" motivation, and the chance to send Peyton Manning off into the sunset with a Lombardi Trophy will put the Broncos over the top and celebrate a third Super Bowl victory in franchise history.

Final Score: Broncos-22 Panthers-19