Broncos With Chance To Send Peyton Manning Out Into Sunset A Winner
By Brad James
Sunday afternoon, the Denver Broncos touched down in the Bay Area, looking poised and ready to win a Super Bowl title, which perhaps may be the last time legendary signal-caller Peyton Manning laces them up as an NFL quarterback.
Word emerged Monday per the official Twitter of “Around the NFL,” that Manning has told “close friends” he expects to retire after the Super Bowl, win or lose.
In that vein of thought, the Broncos have a chance to send out Manning the same way they did current executive vice president of football operations/general manager and former legendary quarterback, John Elway 17 years ago when Denver won back-to-back Super Bowls with a 34-19 rout of the Atlanta Falcons.
Nevertheless, in comments last week, Manning said it was up to the offense to assist the Broncos’ top-ranked defense in contributing to a potential Super Bowl championship.
The Broncos’ offense has been adequate in the postseason thus far, scoring 21.5 points and surrendering only one turnover which only occurred because New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick challenged a purported incomplete pass late in the 1st Quarter of the AFC Championship game which proved successful.
In any event, the Broncos have their work cut out for them in combating the Panthers’ offense which is the highest-scoring in the NFL and averages 40.0 points in the postseason, a +8.8 increase from the regular season. Additionally, the Panthers had the second-best rushing offense in the NFL during the regular season at 142.6 yards while in the playoffs, this has increased by +5.4 yards per game. The Broncos can possibly counteract that component as they have been the second-best postseason team against the run, surrendering only 64.5 yards per game in the playoffs on the ground.
The X factor for the Panthers is quarterback Cam Newton, who is equally dangerous as a runner and passer and had the NFL’s highest percentage of passes going for touchdowns in the 2015 season, posting a 7.1 percent mark. The 6’6″-260 pounder in his fifth year out of Auburn is playing better than he ever has in his career but if the Broncos can remember to hit him early and often, they have a way of getting in a signal-caller’s head.
Time will tell what this Super Bowl will bring but if nothing else, it should be a good game, although perhaps a bit more low-scoring than NFL fans are accustomed to with the Broncos giving up only 17 points per game in the postseason and the Panthers checking at 19.5 points. Therefore, I expect the team that scores 20 points, if either does, will be hoisting the Lombardi trophy Sunday evening.