Super Bowl 50: 5 bold predictions
By Brad Rowland
The Panthers will claim their first championship.
Carolina is simply better.
To be candid, “fading the public” is something that is often a good idea when handicapping football games and, well, the public is all over the Panthers in this game. Still, that does not inherently increase Denver’s ability to upend a team that is 17-1 and churning on all cylinders.
The Broncos have the better defense in this match-up, and that is noteworthy. However, the offensive disparity between the two teams is absolutely jarring with a physically underwhelming Peyton Manning on one end and the league’s would-be MVP in Cam Newton on the other. Denver made its mark on the AFC Championship Game with a completely dominant pass rush, but Newton helps to neutralize that, and when all things are equal (in a way they weren’t two weeks ago), I simply can’t pull the trigger on a Broncos upset pick.
This has been, for better or for worse, the year of Cam Newton and, beyond that, the year of the Carolina Panthers. Ron Rivera’s club has been the best team in the NFL from start to finish, and it is only fitting that they would send the league’s MVP out with a Super Bowl victory. It may not be a blowout and it may not be pretty, but the Panthers are claiming the NFL title this season and they will have earned it on the field.