February 7, 2016, 10 years ago: Super Bowl 50 -- I guess they didn't want to use the Roman numeral for this one, since "L" can also mean "Loss" -- is played at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, in suburban Santa Clara, California. (It might have been appropriate if the 49ers had won Super Bowl XLIX, but they didn't make the Playoffs.)
The Denver Broncos, who had lost the Super Bowl 2 years earlier, play the Carolina Panthers. It's an old master vs. a new jack: Peyton Manning, a few days short of turning 40 years old, and the oldest quarterback ever to start the game to that point, vs. Cam Newton, 26.
Only one quarterback had ever won NFL Championships with 2 different teams: Norm Van Brocklin with the 1951 Los Angeles Rams and the 1960 Philadelphia Eagles. And none had done it since the start of the Super Bowl in 1967.
Manning had led the Indianapolis Colts to win Super Bowl XLI, but lost Super Bowl XIV. Two years before this, he had led the Denver Broncos into Super Bowl XLVIII, but they, and he in particular, flopped, and they lost to the Seattle Seahawks.
In contract, this was the 1st Super Bowl for Newton, although it was the 2nd for the Panthers, who lost Super Bowl XXXVIII to the New England Patriots in 2004. Newton had reached the Super Bowl in his 5th NFL season. And he had already exceeding Manning in college football: In 2010, he had led Auburn University to the National Championship and won the Heisman Trophy; only in his senior year, 1997, did Manning even win a Southeastern Conference title, and he finished 2nd in the Heisman voting.
Ultimately, though, for quarterbacks, it is Super Bowls that matter. The Broncos got on the board first: Manning led them into field goal territory, and Brandon McManus kicked a 34-yarder. Later in the 1st quarter, with the ball on the Panthers' 15-yard line, Von Miller stripped the ball from Newton, and Malik Jackson recovered the ball in the end zone, giving the Broncos a 10–0 lead.
The Panthers recovered, and Newton led them down, and Jonathan Stewart ran the ball in from the 1, making it 10-7. But McManus kicked a 33-yard field goal to make it 13-7 Denver at halftime. The only score in the 3rd quarter was another field goal by McManus, 30 yards. In the 4th quarter, Graham Gano kicked a 39-yard field goal, to close the Panthers to within 16-10 with 10:21 to go. But Manning led another touchdown drive, completed by a 2-yard run by C.J. Anderson and a 2-point conversion, with 3:08 to go. The Broncos won, 24-10, for their 3rd title.
Newton completed 18 of 41 passes for 265 yards, and also had 45 yards rushing. Manning completed 13 of 23 for 141 yards. Each threw an interception, and neither threw a touchdown pass. Manning was not especially impressive in victory, and Miller received the game's Most Valuable Player award.
With 2 fumbles, Newton was blamed by many for losing the game. This was unfair. His receivers didn't exactly cover themselves with glory. Head coach Ron Rivera was calling the plays, and was totally outcoached by the Broncos' Mike Shanahan. What's more, the Broncos, especially Manning, were much more experienced. This game was won by the Broncos more than it was lost by the Panthers, or any personnel thereof.
Nevertheless, there was some irony: A man named Newton undone because his body stayed too long at rest, and fell victim to an outside force, then to gravity.
Manning retired, with 2 Super Bowl wins to his credit, just like his brother, Eli. Granted, Eli had won his against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, while Peyton was known for losing to the Pats, especially in the Playoffs. But Peyton had won with 2 different teams, which had only been done before by Van Brocklin, and that was before the Super Bowl.
Newton was young, and looked like he would get another chance. He never got back to the Super Bowl, and threw his last NFL pass at age 32. He and Manning have both gone on to work for ESPN.
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