Super Bowl 50: 5 bold predictions
By Brad Rowland
Long evening for Peyton Manning.
At this point, you probably know the drill with Peyton.
He is physically limited to the point where even his good throws wobble and hang in the air seemingly forever, and when it goes bad, it goes very, very bad. Still, Manning has been able to captain the Denver offense to two playoff wins on the strength of largely avoiding mistakes, and as mentioned previously, the Broncos would be wise to lean heavily on the running game (and C.J. Anderson, more specifically) to avoid putting it all on Manning.
However, it is tough to envision a scenario where Manning enjoys any sort of success against Carolina through the air in the Super Bowl.
The Panthers ranked as the second-best pass defense in the NFL according to DVOA and, well, Manning was brutal this season. His play has been decent in the playoffs, but during the regular season he issued 17 interceptions compared to just nine touchdown passes, and the Broncos posted just the 20th-best offensive season according to the folks at Pro Football Focus. In other words, this is a (very) bad match-up for a physically limited quarterback.
On the bright side for Denver, Manning has been markedly better with additional time to rest, and the two-week break definitely helps. The Panthers will have that additional time to game-plan, though, and Carolina’s defense has the tools to make life miserable for Manning and his receivers in this spot.
Next: Denver's pass rush vs. Cam