I enjoy good defensive football games. I enjoy good defensive football games so much more than games in which two teams scoring at will against what amounts to air. Maybe I'm alone. Maybe I'm not. Super Bowl L was an excellent defensive football game. Congratulations to the Denver Broncos on winning it.
Denver Broncos 24
Carolina Panthers 10
Broncos pass rushing linebacker Von Miller was outstanding and he walked away with the MVP award. The honor had to go to a defensive player and he was an easy choice for the award.
His stat line: 2.5 sacks, 6 tackles, 2 forced fumbles.
Miller's forced fumbles set up the Broncos two touchdowns. Both were strip sacks of Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. The first directly resulted in a touchdown when defensive end Malik Jackson recovered the fumble that Miller forced for a touchdown. That made the score 10-0 in the first quarter. Miller's second strip of Newton came with just under five minutes to play. Broncos safety T.J. Ward recovered that one and gave the offense the ball at the Panthers 4-yard line. That turnover and the eventual touchdown sealed the game for the Broncos.
Miller harassed Newton all game.
Without Miller's strip sacks the final score might have been 10-9 Panthers. Maybe not. Simple math shows that it would. There's no way to know for sure but both plays were critical in the Broncos win.
Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning doubled his Super Bowl win total. One of the real negatives of the media overload leading into the Super Bowl was the constant chatter about whether this game was Manning's last game. It was tiresome. I wish that the talking heads had left him alone and let him prepare for and play in this pretty important game. I wish that they had left the possible retirement talk for after the game. Leave the man alone and let him decide on his own.
Congratulations Peyton Manning.
Manning did just enough. The biggest thing that he didn't do was let the game get away from his team. He did have a couple of turnovers. Unlike Newton he didn't turn have those turnovers deep in his own territory. That big difference was the difference in the game.
Miller might have been the brightest defensive star for the Broncos but he was hardly the only star. DeMarcus Ware chipped in two sacks and was routinely around Newton. Safety T. J. Ward had seven tackles, an interception, and that game-clenching fumble recovery. Defensive end Derek Wolfe got in the way of several things that the Panthers wanted to do.
Anonymous Broncos inside linebackers Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan were their usual solid selves. The all-stars in front of them and behind them get all of the attention but these two football players often make it possible for those those stars to do what they do. Marshall and Trevathan clean up everything in the middle of the field.
When the Panthers offense had a big play, and they had a couple of 40+-yard gains, they rarely had a following big play. It's tough to keep a player as talented as Newton contained on an every down basis but the Broncos never let him get him in a rhythm.
The Broncos defense was simply fantastic. Between this game and the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots, I'd put this Broncos defense against any that I've seen. Including the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, the 1985 Chicago Bears, the late 90s-early 2000s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the 2000s Baltimore Ravens. This Broncos defense might need some sustained excellence to truly rank with those all-time greats but their last two games put them in the conversation. There's a lot of talent on this team but defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has done a marvelous job.
The Carolina Panthers defense was great too. If they had somehow managed to pull out this game defensive end Kony Ealy might have taken home the MVP award. 3 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and six tackles. He was outstanding.
The Panthers defense forced the Broncos offense into seven three-and-outs. An eighth ended in an field goal rather than a punt thanks to terrific field position for the Broncos.
About the only thing that the Panthers defense didn't do was make a couple of game-changing plays. Something that the Broncos defense did.
Cam Newton had a great season. MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, leading his team to the Super Bowl. He was his team's offense yesterday. He probably faced more pressure in this game than he faced all season. He was under pressure all game long. Nothing his linemen did slowed the Broncos pass rush. Under that constant pressure Newton completed 18 of 41 passes for 265 yards. He was sacked six times for 64 yards in losses. He ran six times for 45 yards. He was the Panthers offense just as he's been all year but he had consistent help from his teammates all year. The Broncos defense took that help away yesterday. Especially tight end Greg Olsen.
The Panthers managed to move the ball successfully in the third quarter. About 125 yards mostly on a couple of nice drives. Neither drive ended in points. That might have been the game. The Panthers started rallying and the Broncos defense shut down those rallies.
It's often been said that defense wins championships. It doesn't seem like anybody really believes it. Most people seem to think that defense winning championships is a thing of the past. That it's all about the quarterback and scoring points now. This game might change those thoughts.
Both defenses in Super Bowl L were great. The Broncos defense just made a few more things happen.
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