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Defense dominates Newton, Panthers to give Peyton his second NFL crown
Von Miller forced two fumbles to set up Denver’s two touchdowns and the Broncos defense frustrated Cam Newton all game to carry Peyton Manning to his second Super Bowl title with a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Manning threw for just 141 yards and committed two turnovers in one of the least productive games of his brilliant career that could be coming to an end.
But with Miller leading a defense that recorded a Super Bowl record-tying seven sacks and forced four turnovers for the Broncos (15-4), Manning ended an up-and-down, injury-riddled season with another title to go with the one he won with Indianapolis nine years ago.
Newton’s MVP season ended in disappointment for the Panthers (17-2). He lost two fumbles, threw an interception and failed to produce a touchdown for the only time this season.
The game was an upbeat end to a rough season on and off the field for the NFL.
The headlines hit in a persistent stream this season, and the onslaught only grew steadier as the Super Bowl approached.
Concussions scrambling the brains of current and former players. Fantasy football under siege. Poor officiating. Ugly football.
A commissioner still not fully trusted by the players and public to handle it all.
And yet, with the 50th edition of the NFL’s title-game extravaganza on tap Sunday, the league has never looked in better shape.
The values of TV contracts are still rising. The league is bringing at least one, and probably two, teams to Los Angeles and getting new stadiums in Minnesota and Atlanta.
More than 110 million people were expected to tune in to watch the Broncos play the Panthers for the title, and when the game is over, an offseason filled with the mundane business of contract negotiations, scouting combines and training camps will draw as much or more interest than all the other U.S. sports.
Conclusion: The NFL, despite all its problems, is essentially made of Teflon.
“You look at all the things that have happened over the course of five to 10 years that would appear to have thrown bad light over the NFL,” said Dennis Deninger, who teaches a class at Syracuse called The Super Bowl and Society. “And each time, the NFL has recovered and moved forward.”
It’s not to say there aren’t issues, and that the league isn’t trying to “get better,” as commissioner Roger Goodell emphasized in the opening of his annual Super Bowl news conference Friday.
“To me, player safety is always going to be No. 1, no matter what else happens,” said John Mara, a co-owner of the New York Giants.