SANTA CLARA—Peyton Manning cemented his place in the pantheon of quarterback greats as the Denver Broncos produced a magnificent defensive display to stun the Carolina Panthers with an upset 24-10 victory in Super Bowl 50 here Sunday.
Manning, 39, sealed the second Super Bowl title of his 18-year National Football League career on the back of a phenomenal display by the Denver defense, who racked up a record-equalling seven sacks at Levi’s Stadium.
“I’m just glad we didn’t have to play against our defense,” said a delighted Manning, the NFL’s all-time passing yards record holder.
Denver running back C.J Anderson crashed over for the decisive touchdown late in the fourth quarter as the Broncos defense harried Panthers superstar quarterback Cam Newton into a string of mistakes on a night of high drama.
The much-anticipated duel between Manning—the oldest starting quarterback in Super Bowl history—and NFL Most Valuable Player Newton never materialized.
Instead it was left to Denver’s suffocating defense to decide the contest, with Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware smothering the Panthers at every opportunity.
Panthers superstar Newton, who had been tipped to dominate in his first Super Bowl appearance, cut a dejected figure afterwards.
“They just played better than us,” Newton said. “I don’t know what you want me to say…we got outplayed.”
Miller—named Super Bowl MVP—ultimately set up the crucial Denver touchdown, forcing Newton into a fumble which the Broncos recovered close to the Carolina goal line.
“It was tough offensively but defensively we were tremendous,” Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said.
“It was just another grind-it-out win.”
Panthers coach Ron Rivera blamed a failure to make scoring opportunities count.
“We had opportunities, we didn’t take advantage of it,” Rivera said. “They took advantage of their opportunities. We didn’t.”
Manning was largely a peripheral figure throughout, struggling to make any impression with his passing game as defenses dominated.
The veteran quarterback is widely expected to call time on his career at the end of the season, and can now do so with a second Super Bowl ring to set alongside the one he earned with the Indianapolis Colts in 2007.
“It’s very special, I’m very proud of these guys,” said Manning, who said he was unwilling to make a decision about his future plans in the heat of the moment.
“I’ll take some time to reflect,” he said. “It’s been an emotional week and it’s an emotional night.”
An absorbing first half saw defenses exert a vice-like grip, with Denver’s vaunted unit rattling the Carolina offense.
Denver took a 3-0 lead through a 34-yard Brandon McManus field goal after Manning mounted one of his few long-distance drives of the game early on.
