Super Bowl L, 2016: Denver 24 Carolina 10

Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers, 24–10. The game was played on February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As this was the 50th Super Bowl game, the league emphasized the "golden anniversary" with various gold-themed initiatives during the 2015 season, as well as suspending the tradition of naming each Super Bowl game with Roman numerals (under which the game would have been known as "Super Bowl L"), so the logo could prominently feature the number 50 in more familiar Arabic numerals.

The Panthers finished the regular season with a 15–1 record, racking up the league's top offense, and quarterback Cam Newton was named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP). They defeated the Arizona Cardinals 49–15 in the NFC Championship Game and advanced to their second Super Bowl appearance since the franchise began playing in 1995. The Broncos finished the regular season with a 12–4 record, bolstered by having the league's top defense. The Broncos defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 20–18 in the AFC Championship Game, joining the Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, and Pittsburgh Steelers as one of four teams that have made eight appearances in the Super Bowl- then an NFL record for most appearances. This record would later be broken the next season, in 2017, when the Patriots advanced to their ninth Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl LI. This marked the fourth time in history that the Super Bowl pitted the top defense against the top offense, after Super Bowls XXV, XXXVII and XLVIII.

In one of the most defensive matchups in Super Bowl history, the Broncos took an early lead that they never lost. Denver recorded seven sacks and forced four turnovers. Carolina likewise kept pace by recording five sacks and forcing two turnovers. Denver linebacker Von Miller was named Super Bowl MVP. This game was also the final game of Peyton Manning's career; the Broncos quarterback, who also won Super Bowl XLI, announced his retirement in March 2016.

CBS' broadcast of the game was the fourth most-watched program in American television history with an average of 111.9 million viewers. The network charged an average of $5 million for a 30-second commercial during the game. It remains the highest-rated program in the history of CBS. The Super Bowl 50 halftime show was headlined by Coldplay, with special guest performers Beyoncé and Bruno Mars.

Game summary
First half
Denver took the opening kickoff of Super Bowl 50 and started out strong. Quarterback Peyton Manning completed an 18-yard pass to tight end Owen Daniels and a 22-yard throw to wide receiver Andre Caldwell. A pair of carries by running back C. J. Anderson moved the ball up 20 yards to the Panthers 14-yard line, but Carolina's defense dug in over the next three plays. First, linebacker Shaq Thompson tackled running back Ronnie Hillman for a 3-yard loss. Then after an incompletion, linebacker Thomas Davis tackled Anderson for a 1-yard gain on third down, forcing Denver to settle for a 3–0 lead on a Brandon McManus 34-yard field goal. The score marked the first time in the entire postseason that Carolina was facing a deficit.

After each team punted, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton appeared to complete a 24-yard pass to wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery, but the call was ruled an incompletion and upheld after a replay challenge. CBS analyst and retired referee Mike Carey stated he disagreed with the call and felt the review clearly showed the pass was complete. Two plays later, on 3rd-and-10 from the 15-yard line, linebacker Von Miller strip-sacked Newton, and defensive tackle Malik Jackson recovered the ball in the end zone for the first touchdown of the game, giving the Broncos a 10–0 lead. This was the first fumble return touchdown in a Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXVIII at the end of the 1993 season.

After a punt from both teams going into the second quarter, Carolina got on the board with a 9-play, 73-yard scoring drive. Newton completed all four of his pass attempts for 51 yards and rushed twice for 25 yards, while running back Jonathan Stewart finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, cutting the score to 10–7 with 11:28 left in the half. Later on, Broncos receiver Jordan Norwood received Brad Nortman's short 28-yard punt surrounded by Panthers players, but none of them attempted to make a tackle, apparently thinking Norwood had called a fair catch. Norwood had not done so, and with no resistance around him, he took off for a Super Bowl record 61-yard return before Mario Addison dragged him down on the Panthers 14-yard line. That record would be broken seven years later when Kadarius Toney returned a punt 65 yards in the late stages of Super Bowl LVII. Despite Denver's excellent field position, they could not get the ball into the end zone, so McManus kicked a 33-yard field goal that increased their lead to 13–7.

On Carolina's next possession, fullback Mike Tolbert lost a fumble while being tackled by safety Darian Stewart, which linebacker Danny Trevathan recovered on the Broncos 40-yard line. However, the Panthers soon took the ball back when defensive end Kony Ealy intercepted Manning, returning the ball 19 yards to the Panthers 39-yard line with 4:23 left on the clock. The Panthers could not gain any yards with their possession and had to punt. After a Denver punt, Carolina drove to the Broncos 45-yard line. With 11 seconds left and no timeouts, Newton was sacked by linebacker DeMarcus Ware to end the first half.

Second half
The Panthers seemed primed to score on their opening drive of the second half when Newton completed a 45-yard pass to Ted Ginn Jr., which was the longest pass play of the game for either team, on the Denver 35-yard line on their second offensive play. However, the Broncos defense halted the drive on the 26-yard line, and it ended with no points when Graham Gano hit the right upright on a 44-yard field goal attempt. After the miss, Manning completed a pair of passes to Emmanuel Sanders for gains of 25 and 22 yards, setting up McManus's 33-yard field goal that gave the Broncos a 16–7 lead. Carolina got off to another strong start after the kickoff, with Newton completing a 42-yard pass to Corey Brown. But once again they came up empty, this time as a result of a Newton pass that bounced off the hands of Ginn and was intercepted by safety T. J. Ward. Ward fumbled the ball deep in Denver territory during the return, but Trevathan was able to recover the ball enabling Denver to keep possession.

There would be no more scoring in the third quarter, but early in the fourth, the Broncos drove to the Panthers 41-yard line. On the next play, Ealy knocked the ball out of Manning's hand as he was winding up for a pass, and then recovered it for Carolina on the 50-yard line. A 16-yard reception by Devin Funchess and a 12-yard run by Stewart then set up Gano's 39-yard field goal, cutting the Panthers deficit to one score at 16–10. The next three drives of the game would end in punts.

With 4:51 left in regulation, Carolina got the ball on their own 24-yard line with a chance to mount a game-winning drive, but they soon faced 3rd-and-9. On the next play, Miller strip-sacked Newton for the second time in the game, and after several players dove for the ball, it took a long bounce backwards and was recovered by Ward, who returned it five yards to the Panthers 4-yard line. Newton was the third player to attempt a recovery (following Ware and Mike Remmers) of the ball and while various angles appeared to show that he had a decent probability of recovery if he'd dived in his attempt, Newton instead hesitated and then tried to drop on top of the ball, which failed. This split-second decision later earned him criticism. Meanwhile, Denver's offense was kept out of the end zone for three plays, but a defensive holding penalty on cornerback Josh Norman gave the Broncos a new set of downs. Then Anderson scored on a 2-yard touchdown run and Manning completed a pass to wide receiver Bennie Fowler for a 2-point conversion, giving the Broncos a 24–10 lead with 3:08 left and essentially putting the game away. Carolina, now playing for pride, had two more drives and managed one first down before the game ended.

Game statistics
Manning finished the game 13 of 23 for 141 yards with one interception, two fumbles, and was sacked five times. Sanders was his top receiver with six receptions for 83 yards. Anderson was the game's leading rusher with 90 yards and a touchdown, along with four receptions for 10 yards. Miller had six total tackles (five solo), 2+1⁄2 sacks, and two forced fumbles. Ware had five total tackles and two sacks. Ward had seven total tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception. McManus made all three of his field goals, making him perfect on all 10 attempts during the post-season.

Newton completed 18 of 41 passes for 265 yards with one interception, two fumbles, and was sacked seven times. He was also his team's leading rusher with 45 yards on six carries. Brown caught four passes for 80 yards, while Ginn had four receptions for 74 yards. Ginn was sacked once on a trick play. Ealy was the top defensive performer for Carolina with four total tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception. Defensive end Charles Johnson had four total tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Linebacker Luke Kuechly had 11 total tackles and a sack, while Thomas Davis had seven total tackles, despite playing just two weeks after breaking his right arm in the NFC title game.

Super Bowl 50 featured numerous records from individuals and the two teams. Denver won despite being massively outgained in total yards (315–194) and first downs (21–11). Their 194 yards and 11 first downs were both the lowest totals ever by a Super Bowl winning team, as the previous record was 244 yards by the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. Only seven other teams had ever gained fewer than 200 yards in a Super Bowl, and all of them had lost. The Broncos' seven sacks tied a Super Bowl record set by the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX. Manning was sacked five times by the Panthers, giving this game highest total (12) of combined sacks in Super Bowl history. Kony Ealy tied a Super Bowl record with three sacks, and is the only such player to do so and record an interception. Jordan Norwood's 61-yard punt return set a new record, surpassing the old record of 45 yards set by John Taylor in Super Bowl XXIII. Denver was just 1-of-14 on third down, while Carolina was 3-of-15. The two teams' combined third down conversion percentage of 13.8 was the lowest in Super Bowl history. Manning and Newton had quarterback passer ratings of 56.6 and 55.4, respectively, and their added total of 112 is a record lowest aggregate passer rating for a Super Bowl. Manning became the oldest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl at age 39, the first quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl starting for two teams, and the first quarterback ever to win 200 games (regular season and postseason) as a starter. Gary Kubiak became the first head coach to win a Super Bowl with the same franchise he went to the Super Bowl with as a player.

Manning announced his retirement from the NFL a month after the Super Bowl. This was also the final game in the career of Panthers defensive lineman Jared Allen, who retired as the NFL's ninth all-time leader in sacks.

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