Just six weeks ago the Denver Broncos were a genuine chance of missing the playoffs altogether. Today they stand before us as Super Bowl champions.
They can lay claim to that title thanks to their outstanding defence. The defence dominated all that came before them during the regular season and then turned the dial up to 11 during the playoffs.
After the AFC Championship game, I discussed how the Broncos were able to shut down Tom Brady by putting him under pressure and ensuring he never felt comfortable standing in the pocket.
Heading into the Super Bowl it was clear that the only way the Broncos would have a chance of winning the match was if they shut down Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
How exactly to do that was the major issue for the Broncos. For 18 weeks teams have been trying to answer the puzzle that is Cam Newton and for 18 weeks teams have failed to do so.
But this time, it was different. The Denver Broncos have a defence better than any other side the Panthers have faced thus far this season. The Broncos possess two of the best pass rushers in the league, an outstanding defensive line, and defensive backs who are able to shut down almost any player in the competition.
On the other side of the ball, Newton and the Panthers offence is the best in the league for a reason. No other quarterback is as mobile as Newton and no other team employs the read-option offence as efficiently and effectively as the Panthers.
This game was shaping up as a major chess puzzle and it did not disappoint. As expected Denver defensive coordinator Wade Phillips dialled up a raft of defensive looks and played to his team’s strengths. He ensured that Newton was constantly under pressure and he backed his secondary to defend the Panthers receivers in man coverage.
The only times the Panthers were able to pick up big plays were when Newton was able to escape the pocket and pick up yards with his feet. Or when Denver receivers made an error and were beaten one on one. Or when they simply misread the opposing wide receiver and cut the wrong way.
More often than not, the Panthers’ big plays came as a result of improvisation after the play broke down or a Denver error. The Panthers wide receivers very rarely beat their man one on one. And if they did it was too late because Newton was sitting on his backside.
Post match there has been plenty of criticism fired at Newton. Some of it is deserving and his post-match press conference simply gave fuel to the haters. But most of it is not. Yes, he missed a few easy throws, but no quarterback goes an entire match without missing an open receiver at least once.
Overall, Newton didn’t play badly, he was just simply dominated by a far superior opposition. The Denver pass rush, led by deserving MVP Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, hit Newton a whopping 13 times. He was sacked seven times and there could have been many more.
Every time Newton found himself under pressure he looked up and could not see any open receivers. He tried to scramble and a few times in the second quarter he was successful in doing so. A few more he was able to dump the football away. But overall, Denver did an outstanding job keeping him in the pocket and got to him so quickly that Newton had very few chances to scramble.
On the 16 plays in which both Miller and Ware rushed Newton, the Panthers lost 33 yards, suffered four sacks and two fumbles. They simply had no answer for these two behemoths.
One major factor that is important not to overlook is the injury to Jonathon Stewart. Stewart left the game early in the first quarter after being twisted awkwardly in a tackle and was a non-factor the remainder of the game. This meant the Panthers were unable to establish the running attack or their read-option offence.
Such an injury placed a huge amount of pressure on Newton, he knew that he was going to have to win his team the match with his feet and his arm. And Denver knew that too.
Much like the rest of the season, Denver won this match because of their defence. One intercept, three defensive fumble recoveries, seven sacks, 13 quarterback hits, 197 passing yards against. These stats are phenomenal.
But we must not discount the role of the offence in this victory. On the whole, Peyton Manning did a good job controlling the football. The team ran the ball reasonably well, with CJ Anderson picking up 90 yards. They were atrocious on third down but were rescued on fourth down with eight outstanding Britton Colquitt punts and three Brandon McManus field goals.
Colquitt shut dangerous return man Ted Ginn Jr out of the match in terms of punt returns. Colquitt’s punts averaged 45.9 yards per punt while Ginn Jr was able to pick up just two yards on three returns.
While Denver clearly won the giant game of chess being played out in Santa Clara there was very little Panthers coach Ron Rivera could have actually done to change the course of this match. The Denver defence was like a runaway train, they simply could not be stopped.
The offensive line was just totally overpowered by the Broncos’ pass rush. Tackle Michael Oher had a nightmare of a game including a number of false start penalties and was unable to stop Ware.
On the other side of the line, his fellow tackle had even less success. Mike Remmers was repeatedly beaten by Miller including on the strip sack that led to the first touchdown of the game.
There was simply nothing Newton could do with his offensive line failing him so spectacularly.
Coming into this game most Denver fans knew that if the defence could keep the match tight, they were a chance of winning. The problem was, the Panthers had been in such strong form that very few actually thought the Broncos could keep the match close.
Ultimately the defence did keep the match close and the offence was able to close out the contest to deliver the Broncos their third Super Bowl victory.
It was fitting that Ware and Miller were the two men that delivered the Gatorade shower.
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