The Denver Broncos rode their dominant defense, not the golden arm of quarterback Peyton Manning, to a 24-10 dismantling of the Carolina Panthers and NFL MVP Cam Newton in Super Bowl 50.
Denver sacked Newton seven times and forced four fumbles to secure their third Super Bowl championship, while Manning won his second in what was likely the final game of his career.
Broncos defensive end Von Miller, who was the No. 2 overall pick behind Newton in the 2011 draft, had 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, both of which led to touchdowns.
Manning was just 13 of 23 for 141 yards with an interception.
Miller’s sack and strip of Newton in the first quarter resulted in Malik Jackson falling on the ball in the end zone for a 10-0 lead. But the bigger one came with 4:04 remaining and Denver clinging to a 16-10 lead. T.J. Ward recovered the ball at the Carolina 9, and four plays later C.J. Anderson bulled in for a 2-yard touchdown. Manning hit Bennie Fowler with a two-point pass for the final points of the game.
DeMarcus Ware had two sacks for the Broncos, who held the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense to a season-low 10 points.
Newton was just 18 of 41 for 265 yards and an interception.
Update 3:08 left 4Q — Von Miller’s third sack of Cam Newton and second forced fumble leads to a 2-yard C.J. Anderson touchdown, and the Broncos are on the verge on celebrating another Super Bowl championshp.
A two-point pass from Peyton Manning to Bennie Fowler makes it 24-10 with time running out on the Panthers.
Update 4:51 left 4Q — The Panthers stop Denver on third down for the 12th consecutive time to get the ball back at their own 24 needing a touchdown and PAT to go ahead.
The Broncos are 1 of 13 on third down and haven’t converted one since their opening drive.
Update: 10:21 left 4Q — Carolina defensive end Kony Ealy has given the Panthers a spark with a sack and strip of Peyton Manning that leads to Graham Gano 39-yard field goal, cutting the Denver lead to 16-10.
The sack was Ealy’s third of the game. He recovered the fumble at the 50, and Cam Newton drove Carolina to the Broncos 16 before the drive bogged down.
The Manning fumble was the fifth turnover of the game. The Panthers have three and the Broncos two.
Update: End 3Q — Denver is 15 minutes away from its third Super Bowl championship. The Broncos hold a 16-7 lead and have the ball at their own 32 heading into the final quarter.
Peyton Manning is just 11 of 20 for 123 yards, but the Broncos defense has been dominant, forcing three turnovers and sacking Carolina quarterback Cam Newton five times.
Update 5:57 left 3Q — Another deep drive results in nothing for the Panthers as Cam Newton has a pass go off the hands of Ted Ginn Jr. and right to waiting Denver safety T.J. Ward at the Broncos 10-yard line.
Carolina has outgained Denver 261-166, but the Panthers have three turnovers, the first of which resulted in the Broncos’ only touchdown.
Update: 8:18 left 3Q — Denver captailizes on Graham Gano’s missed field goal with a seven-play, 54-yard drive that ends with Brandon McManus drilling a 30-yard field goal for a 16-7 lead.
Peyton Manning hooked up with Emmuel Sanders on completions of 25 and 22 yards to spark the drive.
Sanders has game highs in catches (five) and receiving yards (67).
Denver still has just six first downs and is 1 of 9 on third down.
Update: 10:48 left 3Q — A strong start to the second results in nothing for the Carolina Panthers as Graham Gano’s 44-yard field goal attempt clangs off the right upright.
Cam Newton hit Ohio State product Ted Ginn Jr. with a 45-yard pass for the longest play of the game, and the two hooked up on a 14-yard reception a few plays later to get to the Broncos 25.
But Newton lost a yard on first down and threw back-to-back incompletions leading to the field goal attempt.
Update: Halftime — The Denver Broncos are 30 minutes away from a championship as they take a 13-7 lead into halftime of a defense-dominated Super Bowl 50.
The Broncos have just 117 total yards of offense and are 1 of 8 on third down.
The Panthers have 140 total yards are are 3 of 9 on third down while committing a pair of turnovers, one of which resulted in the only touchdown of the first half when Von Miller sacked and stripped Cam Newton and Malik Jackson fell on the ball in the end zone.
Newton is 8 of 19 for 95 yards and has been sacked four times.
Denver quarterback Peyton Manning is 9 of 16 for 76 yards with an interception, which came with the Broncos at the Carolina 24-yard line.
Carolina will get the ball first to start the third quarter.
Update: 3:25 left 2Q — The two teams trade turnovers on their most recent possessions but neither can capitalize.
Carolina was driving at midfield when Mike Tolbert fumbled at the end of an 11-yard run, giving the Broncos the ball at their own 40.
They marched to the Panthers 24, but on third and 8 Peyton Manning was picked off by Kony Ealy.
The Denver defense held, and the Broncos offense is back on the field, starting at its own 20.
Update: 6:58 left 2Q — Jordan Norwood’s Super Bowl record 61-yard punt return gave Denver the ball at the Carolina 14, but a holding call on fourth and 1 at the 5 negated a first down conversion and forced the Broncos to settle for another Brandon McManus field goal.
McManus drilled the 33-yarder for a 13-7 lead.
Norwood’s punt return broke the record San Francisco’s John Taylor set with a 45-yarder in Super Bowl XXIII against the Bengals.
Update: 11:25 left 2Q — The Panthers go 73 yards in nine plays to get on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Stewart, cutting the Broncos lead to 10-7.
Cam Newton was 3 of 3 for 52 yards on the drive and ran twice for 23 yards.
Update: End 1Q — The Broncos have blanked the NFL’s top-scoring offense and own a 10-0 lead heading to the second quarter.
Carolina has just 28 yards of total offense and is 0 for 4 on third down, but the Panthers have the ball near midfield at their own 46.
Update: 6:27 left 1Q — Denver’s Von Miller, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 draft, sacks Cam Newton, the No. 1 overall pick in 2011, and forces a fumble that Malik Jackson recovers for a touchdown to give the Broncos a 10-0 lead.
The Panthers have minus-6 yards after two possessions, and starting running back Jonathan Stewart hopped off on the play before the touchdown.
Update: 10:47 left 1Q — The Carolina Panthers and the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL won the coin toss but elected to defer, and the Denver Broncos capitalized with a scoring drive to open Super Bowl 50.
Peyton Manning drove the Broncos 64 yards in 10 plays before the offense bogged down in the red zone, forcing Denver to settle for a Brandon McManus 34-yard field goal for an early 3-0 lead.
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