The almost perfect Panthers Vs Denver’s dynamic defence
A week 16 loss to the Atlanta Falcons robbed us of a tantalising side script to Super Bowl 50, in which the Carolina Panthers would have been looking to emulate the 1972 Miami Dolphins and complete the perfect season.
Make no mistake though, there remains no shortage of stories.
That this would not have been many pundits first choice match up for the Super Bowl shouldn’t take away from the fact both teams have well and truly earned their place.
Through week 6, an NFL record six teams remained undefeated.
By week 7 it was five and by week 8, we were down to four.
The Broncos and Panthers were two of them, the Patriots and Bengals the other.
Of those four teams, it was the Panthers credibility as a powerhouse which was still being questioned.
By week 12, they were the only team remaining with an unblemished record and not only were they winning, they were steamrolling teams. Week after week.
When Cam Newton was thrown into the league MVP conversation mid-season there were many who scoffed.
A couple of months later, and with Carolina sweeping all before it, there was no doubt the Panthers quarterback was indeed the league’s most valuable player.
An undefeated run to the playoffs looked a formality until the Falcons, who themselves started the season with five consecutive wins before crashing and burning in spectacular fashion from week 6 on, produced that stunning upset.
Perhaps the metaphorical shackles were released with the perfect season no longer a possibility because, since then, Ron Rivera’s men have again appeared invincible.
They disposed of ‘also rans’, Tampa Bay, with relative ease in week 17, which was no surprise, but when they did the same to the two-time reigning NFC champions and Super Bowl 48 winning Seahawks in the divisional playoff, it was clear this team was an indisputable force.
Still, the Conference Championship game against the Arizona Cardinals was thought to be a flip of the coin match up.
In reality, it was a rout.
They made arguably the most talented roster in the league, albeit with an underperforming quarterback in Carson Palmer, look second-rate.
The Panthers now enter the NFL’s showpiece event with people not only no longer questioning their credibility, but with those same folk asking, how the hell do the Broncos stop this team?
And that leads us to Denver. The team who possess one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
A future Hall of Famer who has made a mess of defences across the league for almost two decades.
However, that same man, Peyton Manning, is now viewed by many experts as a liability for the Broncos in their quest for the title.
At 39 years of age, his battle weary body and once fine right arm have consistently failed him.
That his week 10 foot injury, which sidelined him for almost two months, was considered by those same experts as a blessing for the Broncos would make the casual observer wonder, how did this team make it to the final game of the season? Certainly, backup quarterback Brock Osweiler didn’t set the league alight.
The answer is simple. Defence.
What the Broncos have lacked on offence, they have made up for with a stunning secondary.
It brutalised Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, in the AFC Championship game, in turn producing a shock result.
A lesser quarterback wouldn’t have finished the game, such was the beating Brady took from the Denver D.
But that has been the story of their season.
With Manning and Osweiler sharing the duties behind centre, the Broncos have put up an average 26.5 points per game, whilst conceding 18.5.
Only once have the Panthers scored less than 20 points this season and it was in their only loss, when they managed just 13 against the Falcons.
While it seemed so unlikely for so many reasons the Broncos could make the Super Bowl, even when they were 7 and 0, it shouldn’t really be a surprise.
This is the league’s best defence against the league’s best offence to determine the best team in the land.
This is the Denver defence’s greatest challenge. But if they can shut down this Cam Newton led offence the way they have so many others, maybe Manning, against all Super Bowl odds, will farewell the game with a second Super Bowl win and somehow walk away with his legacy enhanced when many thought he’d spent the season doing it irreparable damage.
