Super Bowl 50, to say the least didn’t go as expected. The consensus was that the Carolina Panthers were going beat the Denver Broncos by at least six points. However, it was the Denver Broncos who ended up winning the iconic game 24-10.
It was also expected that the electrifying Carolina offense was going to put up major points on the board, although, the Panthers were shutdown by the strong Denver defense led by the game’s MVP, Von Miller, who finished the game with six tackles, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one pass deflection.
Super Bowl 50 was likely Peyton Manning’s last game of his historic career and what a great way to end it—winning the Super Bowl.
While Peyton Manning didn’t play too well in the game, recording 13 completions out of 23 attempts and throwing for 141 yards with one interception and a fumble.
Like all of the great competitors say, “it’s not how you start, its how you finish.” When asked about her thoughts about the game, Brooke Koble, a freshman at Bucks says, “The game was pretty exciting, especially because Peyton Manning got his 200th win. Breaking a tie with Brett Favre to have the most wins by a Quarterback in NFL history.
For the Carolina Panthers, there was nothing to dab about. The defense played well enough but the offense looked unprepared.
Panther’s quarterback, Cam Newton, didn’t play up to his normal standards. Newton, the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player, completed just 18-of-41 passes, lost two fumbles and threw an interception while being sacked six times.
Perhaps Newton’s worst mistake came when having the ball batted from his hand in the fourth quarter. As the ball hit the ground, Newton hopped away from the loose ball while Denver’s defense recovered the fumble and scored on the next possession. “It was a move that the MVP should’ve never done, it actually makes Cam look soft,” says Wayne Watro, 19, from Yardley.
He was in no mood to talk after the loss and that just fueled his haters and Newton has taken some extreme heat from the media ever since. “When you win games and have a big smile on your face, never stop celebrating, and always willing to talk to the media, that’s okay. But when you lose a game and act like a sore-loser, not willing to talk, that’s when you’ve crossed the line,” says Kevin Kania, 19, from Yardley, when asked about his thoughts on Cam Newton walking out on his post-game news conference.
For the casual fan, Super Bowl 50 was boring to watch. There weren’t a lot of points on the board and that’s what draws the fans to the game. “Points! Points! Points! That’s what I want to see in a football game, especially in the Super Bowl,” states Pat Kania, 19, from Morrisville. Like Pat, most fans want to see each team drive down the field and score a touchdown on every single possession. That was certainly not Super Bowl 50 due to both teams being strong defensively.
However, for fans like Collin Murray, 18, from Fairless Hills, the game was fun to watch, “I thought the game was a lot more entertaining than the other Super Bowls. I think there was a lot more storylines in this game, whether if Cam Newton can continue to be an unstoppable force and if this will be Peyton’s last game.”
While it still remains unclear if Peyton Manning played his last game, it was a pleasure to watch a legendary player win a world championship to cap off his career and famously, “ride into the sunset.”