Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was being hailed as the NFL’s new unstoppable QB, and that him and his team would pose a severe challenge to veteran QB Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos during this year’s Super Bowl 50.
Nevertheless, the Broncos made this supposed challenge seem very easy, making use of a strong defense that led them to a 24-10 victory over the Panthers on Sunday in a game filled with turnovers from Carolina’s team.
Denver linebacker Von Miller took center stage at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco on Sunday night, with 2.5 sacks and forcing one fumble that left Newton and the Panthers offense stunned nearly the entire game.
The Broncos defense carried an offense that made 194 yards. “I’m so proud of my guys,” Miller said. “We’re gonna celebrate this one all summer.”
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The Broncos forced four turnovers, and the Denver defense sacked Newton seven times and hit him another 13 times.
“These are the kind of things you can’t do,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said of the turnovers. “Especially (against) a defense as productive as they are, they made a lot of things happen.”
Newton clearly appeared to struggle against the Broncos’ solid defense. For the first time all season, he didn’t throw a touchdown or run one in, and ended the game with three turnovers, an interception and two fumbles. The first fumble came with 6:27 left in the first quarter, when Miller and DeMarcus Ware rushed Newton deep in his zone and the ball came loose, and defensive end Malik Jackson leaped onto it in the end zone for a touchdown, which put Denver ahead 10-0.
Miller also basically closed out the game with 4:04 left in the fourth quarter, when he rushed Newton on a third-and-9 play from the Carolina 25 and slapped the ball right from the QB’s hand. Safety T.J. Ward recovered, and running back C.J. Anderson ran the ball in for the final touchdown.
Miller played football at Texas A&M, and was drafted by the Broncos second overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. He is also a four-time Pro-Bowl selection. This is the second Super Bowl Championship for Peyton Manning.
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