Denver vs. Dallas is the best possible Super Bowl match-up
By Zac Wassink
The Denver Broncos vs. the Dallas Cowboys isn’t the Super Bowl we deserve, but it is the Super Bowl we need this winter.
There are a plethora of tasty potential Super Bowl match-ups heading into the Divisional Round of the 2015 National Football League Playoffs. A game involving the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts would, as an example, showcase two young quarterbacks facing off on pro football’s biggest stage. Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers could make for a Super Bowl shootout for the ages. Seeing if the Seattle Seahawks could repeat as Super Bowl champions in an era where parity is king would be fascinating.
Face it. You want to watch the Denver Broncos take on the Dallas Cowboys on Super Bowl Sunday, and you are not alone.
The Broncos are the only real redemption story remaining in the NFL playoffs. Denver didn’t just lose the Super Bowl last February. Seattle stole Denver’s lunch in that game, to the point that neutral observers had little reason to continue watching halfway through the third quarter. Even the thought of a Denver vs. Seattle rematch makes me want to consider making other plans on Super Bowl Sunday, and watching the Seahawks repeat as champs doesn’t offer a ton of excitement for those of us with no ties to the northwest.
It is virtually impossible to root against Denver quarterback Peyton Manning so long as he is not playing against your favorite team. Manning is, by all accounts, as good a guy as he is a player and a teammate. The best regular season quarterback in the history of pro football is also the star of national advertising campaigns. How many times have you found yourself singing “Chicken parm, you taste so good” throughout the current campaign? Manning is a true sports superstar, one who attracts attention and one who could have only one more opportunity to win a Super Bowl before he calls time on his playing days.
Manning has given no indications that he is planning on hanging up his football cleats following the postseason even if the Broncos don’t advance to the Super Bowl. With that said, Manning will turn 39-years old this coming spring, and there are whispers around the league that age is finally catching up with the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback. Every game that Manning takes the field as a starting quarterback is a gift for NFL fans, one that should not be brushed off during what is the twilight of a historic career. Manning riding off into the sunset with the Vince Lombardi Trophy in hand would be a storybook ending for an all-time great.
At the opposite end of this thus-far potential Super Bowl showdown are the Cowboys. Dallas is truly America’s Team in that both diehard football fans and casual observers tune in to root on and cheer against the Cowboys whenever they take the field, especially during postseason play. You may love them. You may hate them. History has shown that, if you are reading this sentence, you will plan to watch Dallas play January football whenever the opportunity arises. That makes any Super Bowl including the Cowboys that much more of an event, just as when the New York Yankees are part of a World Series.
No pro football franchise, not the Pittsburgh Steelers or any other club, is as iconic as are the Cowboys. The Dallas Lone Star and “How ’bout dem Cowboys?!?” are part of what drives sports talk radio ratings and what draws eyes for playoff games. The Cowboys playing in a Super Bowl in 2015 could, apologies to Kim Kardashian, literally break the Internet. Good luck trying to get on Twitter and Instagram on that Sunday if Dallas is playing in the final game of the 2014-15 season.
Just as with the Broncos, the Cowboys have a quarterback looking to cement a legacy during what is the latter part of his career. Tony Romo has a reputation for falling apart in December and January games, but that has not yet occurred this season. Romo, statistically one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the franchise, threw 12 touchdown passes and only a single interception in the final month of the 2014 regular season. He went for a pair of touchdowns and a 114 QB rating in a playoff victory over the Detroit Lions last weekend.
This could be the best chance Romo has had to win a Super Bowl since he threw an interception on the final Dallas offensive drive of a playoff game against division rivals the New York Giants in January 2008. It could also be Romo’s final opportunity to win a title. Romo turns 35-years old next spring, and he has a history of back injuries. A veteran quarterback with back problems does not have a long NFL future ahead of him. Add in that the Cowboys could be on the verge of losing either running back DeMarco Murray or wide receiver Dez Bryant to free agency, and this could be Romo’s last stand as a potential Super Bowl winner.
Even the week leading up to the Super Bowl would be that much more entertaining if Denver vs. Dallas were to be the match-up. Media Day would include Manning being asked if he was days away from playing in his final game, reporters pestering Murray and Bryant about their futures with the Cowboys, and Romo having to declare to the world that he believes that he can, in fact, win the Big One. Football fans would take an early lunch on that Tuesday just to catch the highlights from those interviews.
No event in North American pro sports matches the hype and magnitude of a Super Bowl. It is a global event, one that fans are watching regardless of the teams involved. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t want the game to be the biggest spectacle possible. Denver versus Dallas — Manning versus Romo — could make for a Super Bowl that is discussed for generations to come, especially if one of those quarterbacks has a chance to win the game for his team late in the fourth quarter.
Next: Where do the Cowboys and Broncos rank among all 32 franchises all-time?