A defining moment at the beginning of the game, Von Miller stripped the ball out of Cam Newton’s hands during Miller’s tackle, which led to a Bronco’s defensive recovery in the end zone putting Denver up early.
Throughout the game, Newton did not seem to look as poised in the pocket and this continued as he watched his receivers drop multiple passes.
Peyton, on the other hand, continued to stay poised in the pocket completing 13 of his 23 attempts compared to Newton’s 18 of 41 attempts.
Despite being known not to hesitate to scramble when needed, Newton stayed in the pocket and out-threw Manning 281-141 in passing yards.
The running game was used by both sides to penetrate the inside with successful results to gain field position and a touchdown by both teams but the Panthers led in rushing with a team total of 118 led by Cam Newton as he scrambled for a total of 45 yards.
Both quarterbacks suffered from taking sacks during the matchup with Manning getting hit in the backfield five times and Newton taking two more licks for a total of seven in the game.
In the first quarter, the Carolina’s defense shut down Manning’s aerial attack which led to his first interception in 164 post-season passes.
The Bronco’s defense attacked Newton’s long passing game, causing his receivers to drop passes throughout the game along with a blindside sack by DeMarcus Ware just before halftime.
Not long after halftime, Newton got his own taste of an interception when he threw his one and only pick of the night.
A pivotal moment was when Miller stripped Newton once more while Newton was at the beginning of his motion to throw the ball with just four minutes on the clock.
After the strip, Newton chased after the ball but, did not dive for the ball as players from both teams dove to gain possession.
Whether this was to avoid injury or because he thought the ball may be ruled dead quickly became the topic among many about Newton’s actions.
After T.J. Ward recovered the stripped ball, the Broncos made a drive from the 7-yard line for a touchdown followed by Manning successfully completing a 2-point conversion pass to keep the Panthers from having any chance of coming back.
This was Manning’s fourth appearance in the Super Bowl with his last appearance in 2013 in Super Bowl XLVIII as a Bronco and his last win in Super Bowl XLI as a Colt against the Bears making this his second Super Bowl win.
This was a monumental game for both quarterbacks as there are many rumors surrounding the fact that this could be Manning’s last game, while Newton is still fresh on the scene leading a team that has potential for the next Super Bowl if they continue to play at the caliber they had throughout this season.
