Von Miller (left) and Peyton Manning celebrate Super Bowl 50 win |
Von Miller forced fumbles that set up both of Denver's touchdowns, led a defense that harassed MVP Cam Newton and helped carry Manning to his second Super Bowl title with a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Von Miller forced fumbles that set up both of Denver's touchdowns, led a defense that harassed MVP Cam Newton and helped carry Manning to his second Super Bowl title with a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.So perhaps it was fitting that after carrying teammates for most of his career, he was carried over the finish line in this game by Miller and the coordinator Wade Phillips' "Orange Rush" defense.
"I certainly knew that (with) this defense, this team would have a chance," Manning said. "Our defense has just been, from the get-go, they've been nothing but awesome. Being hurt and struggling early in the season wasn't a lot of fun so I was grateful to get back healthy and to try and play my part these last couple of weeks."But now after throwing for more yards, more touchdowns and winning more starts than any other quarterback in NFL history, Manning could be ready to hang it up. Manning wouldn't say after the game whether this was his final one.
"I got some good advice from Tony Dungy," Manning said of the first of four coaches with whom he's been to the Super Bowl. "He said, 'Don't make an emotional decision.' This has been an emotional week, an emotional night. I'm going to take some time to reflect."
Miller set the tone early when he blew past right tackle Mike Remmers and ripped the ball out of Newton's grasp. Malik Jackson recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown to put Denver up 10-0.Then in the fourth quarter with the Broncos protecting a 16-10 lead, Miller struck again. Once again, he got around Remmers and knocked the ball out of Newton's hands. T.J. Ward recovered at the 4 and C.J. Anderson sealed it with a TD run.
"In my opinion, we're the greatest defense to ever play the game," linebacker Brandon Marshall said. "Ever. It's a bold statement but top to bottom, we have the greatest talent — from rushers to safeties to linebackers. Better than anybody's ever done it.
Denver recorded 14 sacks, forced seven turnovers and allowed just four touchdowns in the three playoff wins."This is the rawest defense ever. Ever," Denver tight end Owen Daniels said. "To do that to the guy that's changing the game, unbelievable. Our defense, you have to put them up there with the best ever."The Panthers defense was just about as stingy, but couldn't come up with the game-changing turnovers that Denver provided. Carolina held Denver to 194 yards — the fewest ever for a Super Bowl winner — and didn't allow a first down on eight of 14 drives.
But it wasn't enough.
"It's so gut-wrenching and hard to swallow that," All Pro cornerback Josh Norman said. "There were chances and opportunities there and we just didn't capitalize on them."It didn't help that Newton's receivers dropped passes and the running game never got going against Denver's stout front.
"They made more plays than us and that's what it comes down to," Newton said during a brief three-minute interview. "We had our opportunities and it was nothing special that they did. We dropped balls. We turned the ball over. We gave up sacks. We threw errant passes. That's it."
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Photo Source: Denver Post
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