Could it be that The Sheriff helped to enforce Murphy’s Law against the Carolina Panthers on Super Bowl Sunday?
What could go wrong, did go wrong for the Panthers, or at least It seemed that way. Think about it, The Panthers had every advantage. A young, dynamic quarterback fresh off of winning his first MVP in Cam Newton, a scary defense and a swagger that no one in the league could match. They weren’t just players, they were showmen, and they were performing on the biggest stage in sports. They danced, cheered and dominated their way to a 17-1 record (including playoffs) and a chance for their first Super Bowl Championship in franchise history.
Then, in the opposing corner, were the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning, a man who had arguably the most tumultuous season of his waning career. The 39-year-old is arguably the greatest to ever play his position, but a host of injuries, poor play and HGH allegations plagued Manning in a season where he threw 17 interceptions and just nine touchdowns in nine starts (ten games total). It was Manning’s fourth Super Bowl appearance and what many, including myself, speculate to be his final game under-center.
The matchup was one like we’ve never seen before – first-seed going up against first seed, #1 draft pick against #1 draft pick, and the biggest age discrepancy by the quarterbacks to ever play in the Super Bowl. It was historic on so many levels.
It was also ugly on the highest level.
David J. Phillip / Associated Press
Both offenses played with such sloppiness, it looked like spectators at Levi Stadium paid their life’s savings to watch a preseason game. Newton was missing throws, making bad reads, and for once wasn’t able to use his legs to make plays. For the first time all season, Newton was sacked a surprisingly high seven times, two of which were strip sacks, and one of those strip sacks resulted in an easy defensive touchdown. Not to mention the interception that was thrown on a key drive that would’ve gotten Carolina back into the game. There was virtually no running game, which may be attributed to halfback Jonathan Stewart sustaining what looked to be an ankle or knee sprain relatively early in the contest. Things just weren’t working out for the Panthers.
That’s not to say that things were going great for the Broncos offense either. Manning completed only 13 of his 23 passes for less than 150 yards. On top of that, He didn’t find the endzone, but did manage to throw one interception. Honestly, given how the rest of the season went for Manning, I expected him to do a little better than he did, but the performance came at no surprise.
Still, Manning did just enough. He squeezed whatever gold was left in his throwing arm and the defense did the rest. Defense does in fact win championships, but at the end of the day, with the confetti was falling and players were hugging and crying, even when he didn’t win the Super Bowl MVP, this win was about Manning and his legacy as one of if not the greatest ever.
The Sheriff won his last standoff. Good for him.
Jacob can be contacted at jbarrett@kscequinox.com
