D-lightful!

Elway’s stout defense erases the pain from Denver’s last Supe try

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Two years ago, John Elway was sick to his stomach.

He’d just watched his Broncos get dismantled by the Seahawks 438 in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in a game that was not even as close as the final score indicated.

His recordsetting quarterback, Peyton Manning, never had a chance. Manning watched the first snap of the game sail over his head for a safety and a 20 Seattle lead. That was as close as the Broncos would be the rest of the way.

Elway, the Broncos executive vice president, had seen enough. If his team was going to win a Super Bowl it was going to have to do it a different way — a defensive way.

So Elway swiftly changed the complexion of his team. He added defensive studs, linebacker DeMarcus Ware, cornerback Aquib Talib and safety T.J. Ware. Those three cost $110 million in contracts. He drafted defensive linemen Derek Wolfe and Malik Jackson in 2012.

All five of those players made significant contributions Sunday night in a 2410 Broncos’ victory over the Panthers in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium.

It’s as ironic as it is impressive that Elway, one of the best offensive players of our generation, had the wherewithal not to be seduced by the Broncos’ prolific offensive numbers.

Elway was smart enough to know the prettiest girl at the dance does not always end up with the longestterm marriage. Glitz and gaudy offensive numbers do not win championships. Defense does.

And the Broncos’ defense, ranked No. 1 in the NFL this season, wasted little time asserting itself against the Panthers on Sunday.

In what can only be described as one of the best, most dominant defensive plays in Super Bowl history, Denver linebacker Von Miller dusted Panthers right tackle Mike Remmers with a power move and blew up Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

Miller didn’t even try to sack Newton as much as he violently ripped the ball out of his hands. He looked like a man possessed causing that fumble. Jackson recovered the ball in the end zone for a 100 Broncos lead just 8:23 into the game.

There were other defensive plays that defined this game, but none as crazy-good as that one.

Miller later would clinch the game with yet another sack and forced fumble on Newton with 4:04 remaining and Denver leading by only six points. This one led to another Denver touchdown and a twopoint conversion to make it 2410.

Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby, the endgame hero in Denver’s AFC divisional playoff win over Pittsburgh, had himself a game, breaking up thirddown pass after thirddown pass. The first was a breakup on Carolina’s Jerricho Cotchery on a thirdand4 from the Panthers 19.

Later, in the second quarter, Roby crunched Carolina receiver Corey Brown on a pass breakup on thirdand10.

Then there was the work of Broncos safety Darian Stewart, who slapped the ball away from Panthers tight end Greg Olson on thirdand11 in the second quarter. On the Panthers’ next offensive possession, Stewart separated Carolina fullback Mike Tolbert from the ball with a jarring tackle — the second turnover forced by the Denver defense.

The first half ended — fittingly — with Ware sacking Newton for a 10yard loss, preventing him from pushing the Panthers into fieldgoal range. The Panthers were out of timeouts and the half ended, with Denver leading 137.

Ward thwarted a potential Carolina scoring drive in the third quarter when he picked off Newton in the red zone to preserve a 167 Denver lead.

Two years ago, in 13 of the Broncos’ 18 games before that Super Bowl loss, they scored at least 30 points. No team in the history of the league scored more over the course of a single season (606). No quarterback had ever thrown for as many yards (5,477) or touchdowns (55) as Manning did.

Perhaps the best move Elway made had nothing to do with a player acquisition at all. It was hiring 68yearold Wade Phillips as his defensive coordinator before this season despite the fact that Phillips had been completely out of football in 2014.

Elway traded all of those sexy numbers away for more substance. Defensive substance.