Who would have thought it possible? The Super Bowl came down to who had the better defence. Not who had the better offensive team, a rarity in a game that has put a great emphasis on the scoring team.
The Broncos and the Panthers both had the best defensive teams in the league. The Broncos’ defence held off Brady and The Patriots, they were strong. But if The Patriots had played the kicking game, it would have been them at Super Bowl 50, and not The Broncos. Couldda, wouldda, shoulda… The Broncos were there due to bad strategy by The Patriots, not because they were the better team. But that’s the game, a beautiful combination of brains and brawn.
The Panthers kicked The Cardinals in their division final, an incredibly convincing win. Cam Newton was a quarterback that was unstoppable. He’s got the arm, the legs and the determination. A first round pick that is fulfilling all the potential that was placed on him. A future champion, no doubt.
The smart money was on The Panthers. It’s plain and simple. You stack the teams up against each other, The Panthers were just stronger. Their division has The Cardinals, The Packers, The Seahawks. Come on! A crazily strong division.
So, this was not quite a fair fight… well, at least in the eyes of the average pundit. But hey, The Broncos did beat The Patriots, not once, but twice this year.
The Broncos started strong, Peyton driving the ball down the field, no touchdown, but a field goal got them on the board.
And with this, the defence were clearly pumped. And boy were they pumped! Sacking, turnovers, fumbles. They were fantastic. They fought off Cam Newton and his offence, holding them back, giving The Bronce’s offence many chances.
When the unexpected happened, and the Bronco’s defence scored a touchdown, having forced Cam to fumble the ball, it was absolutely epic. This game was almost one sided. It was about the Broncos defence beating up the regular season’s MVP. It was evident that Cam was holding his team up, and getting absolutely pummelled. His defence was unable to hold back the pure force of rushes. I cringed as I watched him sacked, scrambling about the pocket. I even cheered (begrudgingly) as he made some amazing throws.
In my opinion, if it was The Patriots they had played in Super Bowl 50, it would have been an easy win for The Panthers. Their defence would have held off The Patriots, not enough to keep the score so low. The Patriot’s defence however, would not have been able to hold off Cam’s game. The man has game, a lot of it. He is arguably the best quarterback in the league.
The star of this game is clearly Von Miller, the man is the sacking and fumbling machine. He and his crew were amazing to watch. I would shout out “Sack him!”, and there they were, sacking Cam Newton. Seriously? I was stunned. This defence team was ready for anything and everything Newton sent their way. Von was the second pick after Newton in their draft year (or so I’m told), and I felt that it was a battle of the titans. I only wish I had recorded the game, I was so nervous for the Broncos, I couldn’t quite get the anxiety out of my chest until Peyton walked off the field for the last time.
I never thought it would be the case, but Taco was right. It’s time to invest in the kicker people. With amazing defence teams, you have to kick your way to victory. 3 points is still points on the board, and they start to add up fast.
The game aside, this being the 50th Super Bowl, there was a great element of history and tradition. They started the proceedings with a who’s who of Super Bowl MVPs. With the 49 previous winners introduced and majority coming on to the field. It was great to see greats of the past, some I knew, most I didn’t. It is going to be an incredibly rare occasion where so many past MVPs will be able to stand together. Let’s face it, a lot of them are old. On such an occasion, I am disappointed to see how Brady behaved. He, and his fellow Patriot teammate were the only ones to come out wearing sunglasses. The MVP class waved happily to the fans, but one hand was distinctly lacking and its owner seemingly annoyed. No-one likes a sore loser.
As for the half-time show. In all honesty, I couldn’t wait for the game to continue. I love Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars. But combined, the show was not enjoyable for me. It was a mess, the only thing I liked about it was Bruno Mars. The rest was just not entertaining for me. They should have just sung “We are the world”.
It made me long for a solo Beyonce or Buno Mars performance. And I had to compare their performances with that of Katy Perry, and Katy wins hands down.
Honestly, I think they should have had Bruce Springsteen or Bon Jovi perform. That would have been more appropriate, given the demographic of the audience. Performers who can really get the viewers pumped and ready for the second half.
None of us were pumped for the second half, we actually lost interest as the performance wore on. I kept watching, hoping for more Mars type enthusiasm. But alas, I was thinking more politically and just not enjoying myself.
For those of us who are fans of NFL, the game had a lot to offer us, it was exciting and we watched on as it seemed to be a battle between Cam Newton and The Bronco’s rushing team. It was a battle that was won the almighty rushing Broncos!
A game where anything that could go wrong, does go wrong (without too many injuries), it always seemed like it was anyone’s game. Irrespective of the score, it was still anyone’s game. And that’s the beauty of this sport. You can still be two touchdowns behind, with two minutes spare, with a great quarterback and defence, you can make up that difference. Don’t believe me? What Super Bowl 49, and the last 2 minutes of that game. So much happened in the final 2 minutes, it was a nail bitter up until the very end.
It was a victory that is a sentimental favourite for fans across the sport. We all know that this could very well be Peyton Manning’s last NFL game. We all know that this is not the team that lost to the Seahawks two years ago. This is also not the Peyton Manning of two years ago. Plagued with injury and damaging salacious rumours, it has not been the best year for this great player. And it warms the heart to see him win his second Super Bowl. He’s now tied with his younger brother, Eli.
Now, Cooper, steal all four “family rings”, wear them when you invite yourself over to Drew Brees’ house. As for Drew Brees, don’t open the door when he comes knocking with the Fox crew.
Ranter & Banter 