Five for the 50th
Super Bowl 50’s matchup is set with the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos squaring off Feb. 7. Here are five storylines to watch: 1. Manning Bowl: The dominant subplot in the NFL’s golden Super Bowl celebration is sure to be Peyton Manning’s quest to become the 12th quarterback to win multiple times on Super Sunday. A second ring would comfortably validate Manning’s place among the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. But the knock on Manning in the debate of QB legends — especially in comparison with Tom Brady — has been his relative lack of jewelry. One more win would change the calculus. 2. New school vs. old school: Super Bowl 50 could also be a referendum on style points. Manning is your classic, dropback, pocket passer — viewed as the ultimate field general who allows his play to speak for itself. Panthers’ counterpart Cam Newton is the deserved MVP front-runner, even if his “look at me” dab TD celebrations and cocky persona have drawn the ire of opponents and many fans alike. The personalities of their leading men are also indicative of each team’s personality. Denver has a veteran-laden roster that largely takes it cues from team leaders like Manning and OLB DeMarcus Ware.
The Panthers’ brash persona — dabbing, bats on the field, group photos on the sideline before games end — largely stems from Newton and all-pro CB Josh Norman. 3. Strength vs. strength: The NFL is about matchups, and this game should be full of compelling ones. No team scored more points in 2015 than the Panthers. No team allowed fewer yards (overall or through the air) than the Broncos, who were also murder on opposing ground games. Manning may be the game’s grand chess master, yet Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly will be a worthy adversary on defence. Linebackers Ware and Von Miller will present quite a threat off the edge to the ever-mobile Newton.
4. The supporting casts:
Both teams are studded with stars far beyond the marquee names. The Broncos start a pair of Pro Bowl cornerbacks with Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. They promise to be more than a match for Carolina’s receivers, not the most formidable group without Kelvin Benjamin. That likely means Newton will lean on another Pro Bowl duo, Greg Olsen, whose 1,104 receiving yards led NFC tight ends, and tailback Jonathan Stewart, rejuvenated in the playoffs after missing a month due to a foot injury.
5. Protect the ball: 36-4 — that’s the record of teams who win the turnover battle in the Super Bowl. No team had more take-aways in the regular season than the Panthers’ 39. They added nine more in two playoff contests and victimized the Arizona Cardinals seven times in the NFC championship game. That has to be a point of concern for the Broncos, who watched Manning get picked off on 5.1 per cent of his passes in the regular season, easily the league’s worst figure. But Manning wasn’t alone in his carelessness — only two teams had more giveaways than Denver’s 31, though the 27 turnovers the defence forced help them nearly break even. Newton’s careerlow 10 interceptions helped feed the Panthers’ league-best plus-20 turnover differential.