Sunday night possibly marked the end of an era. At Super Bowl 50, Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos defeated MVP Cam Newton’s Panthers in a game that was all about defense with a final score of 24-10.

Manning had dropped many hints that this could be his final game, but after the game, he remained noncommittal. He said he just wanted to relish the moment and go home to his family and thank God for the opportunity to play in the 50th Super Bowl, rather than making an emotional decision.

We will probably hear within the next couple months as to whether or not Manning will be returning for the 2016 season, but most people believe that he will retire. Manning also ended the night with win No. 200, which surpassed recent Hall of Fame inductee Brett Favre for most wins in NFL history.

With so many records under his belt, including the most passing yards in NFL history, the most passing touchdowns in NFL history and now most wins by a starting quarterback in NFL history, Manning can walk away from the game as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.

The Super Bowl itself was a battle of the top two defenses in the league and that is exactly what it was. There were only two offensive touchdowns in the entire game, one for Denver and one for Carolina. Denver’s defense was absolutely dominant. They did not give Newton any opportunities for big plays, other than one or two in the whole game, keeping the league MVP under control. Newton was just voted MVP the previous night at the NFL Honors, but Denver came in with a great game plan.

Carolina’s entire offense depended on Newton. The Broncos prepared to pressure Newton all night, and that is exactly what Denver’s defense did. Newton was sacked seven times, fumbled twice (one of which was recovered for a Denver touchdown) and threw one interception.

The elite defense that Denver played all season, is arguably one of the best seasons a whole defense has had in NFL history. The Broncos defense seemingly revived the “Orange Crush” defense that terrorized offenses in the ’70s and ’80s.

Manning most certainly did not have a perfect game by any means, as he did not have any touchdowns, threw an interception and fumbled twice.

He was also going against the second best defense in the league and he did a good enough job to put his team in a position to win, which is a player’s most important job.

Despite his dealing with significant injuries all season that limited his time on the field, Manning often made the correct adjustments at the line of scrimmage to help his team come away with victories, even when he was struggling.

The Denver defense was always on top, however. Defense can win championships and that is what helped propel Manning to his second ring.

On the other hand, the Panthers were a team rebounding from a rough season in 2014, after they went 12-4 in the 2013 season, where they were the two-seed in the NFC. In 2015, they were one win away from a perfect regular season. They defeated the two best teams in the NFC, (Arizona and Seattle) and seemed like the favorites to win the Super Bowl.

In the end though, it was Denver’s outstanding defense that just proved too overwhelming for the younger Panthers to handle.

Carolina is in good position to challenge for the championship for years to come with Newton at the helm.

For Manning and the Broncos, they held the Lombardi Trophy for the third time in franchise history. Manning won his second Super Bowl, and if he ultimately decides to retire, his next stop will be Canton, Ohio. 

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