Super Bowl Predictions

It was a journey that began 21 weeks ago. Two teams, each with different expectations. Both not necessarily in the conversation for the super bowl, but both of them exceeded expectations and are here this week at an opportunity to win super bowl 50. If you haven't figured out who I'm talking about yet, you need to reprioritize the NFL in your daily lives. Yes, I'm talking about the two finalists this season, the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. I'm going to be reviewing there seasons as well as state my predictions for super bowl 50. So let's begin.

Let's start out with the clear underdogs going in this season, the Denver Broncos. Thought I'd disappoint Broncos fans right off the bat to get it over with. Now, the Broncos for the past couple of seasons have been a clearly offensive team. That was clearly not going to be their motor, and we saw that right from week 1. It was also clear Peyton Manning wasn't going to be relied on as an asset this season, after proving age plays a major factor in football. For many Broncos fans, this was a sign that Denver might leave this dynasty without a super bowl ring (which would be very sad). That was the thought, until the defense stepped up. And when I mean stepped up, I mean they really became the reasons they were winning. The Broncos became one of the ugliest 7-0 teams in NFL history. (That's up for debate for me though. Sure, the offense was miserable, but just because the defense is great doesn't make it an "ugly" game) They still were pretty low on believers, though. Although they were able to knock of the 6-0 Packers, many still questioned if a team with such a struggling QB could go very far. Things weren't looking awful, until the game vs the Kansas City Chiefs. They had fallen for the first time in the hands of the Colts, and were coming in at 7-1. The Broncos had previously beaten the Chiefs 31-24 after a fumble forced and then a quick touchdown to save the game. Peyton Manning made history, breaking the all time passing yards record, but only got around 30 yards. He was subbed out in the second half, where he recorded the worst QB rating in his entire career. Brock Osweiler really only kept salt from getting in the wound as the Broncos fell again 29-13. The Chiefs were in the middle of what would be an 11 game winning streak, but this was an unacceptable loss that made many think they wouldn't do much this season. Peyton Manning had an "injury", which was mostly just an excuse to start Brock Osweiler over Peyton. From here they had one of the most up and down seasons the NFL has ever seen. They Muscled out a win against the Patriots, but then only scored 12 as they lost to Oakland at home. With the Patriots losing to the Dolphins in week 17, the Broncos miraculously latched on to the #1 seed. They beat a Steelers team that was without Antonio Brown and an injured Ben Roethlisberger. They then went on to beat the New England Patriots in a game where the pass rush did absolutely everything. After an interception by Chris Harris Jr. with the Pats going for two, the Broncos sealed a win 20-18. They are now in the Super Bowl and Peyton Manning has a shot to retire on the highest note possible. That is if Peyton chooses to retire, which he probably will considering Gary Kubiak has announced Brock will start next season regardless of Peyton's decision.

Now on to the Carolina Panthers. This team wasn't exactly anyone's favorites to win the super bowl by any stretch of the imagination, but this season something just clicked. I credit Cam Newton and Luke Keuchly for leading the offense and defense this far. Still, no one took them very seriously entering this season. Heck, I wasn't planning on seeing them in the playoffs. After week 4, they were still undefeated, but those were to Jacksonville, Houston, New Orleans, and Tampa Bay. Houston ended up being pretty good, but they started miserably bad. Week 5 was one of their chances to prove they could dominate. They were playing the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle wasn't playing very well though, so only beating them by 4 wasn't all that impressive. Next chance to prove themselves was against the Green Bay Packers. They pulled out a victory, but only by 8 at home. The Packers also had a struggling Aaron Rodgers and a struggling offense since they were coming off a loss to none other than the Broncos. So many excused that win as a fluke. Now at 12-0, they were going up against the Atlanta Falcons. And finally, they won big. they took a 38-0 victory, and advanced to   13-0 on the season, as they became the final team to be unbeaten. Many said this made them a possible team to compete for the super bowl, but with the schedule they had, 13-0 wasn't too hard to accomplish. Although people weren't taking the Carolina Panthers, there was definitely a quick rise in believers of former Auburn Heisman winner Cam Newton. In fact, I think it was around this point when the love and hate groups started forming. The main reason for the love was because he was seemingly leading a decent to mediocre team to the best record in the entire league. The hate group was also understandable, since his celebrations were very annoying. I don't think I fit in with either group. Cam is a great person, and loves children so how could you hate someone like that? Still though, he treats a 1st down like he just won the super bowl. Like, calm down, there's like 30 first downs avery game! Anyway, they ended up finishing the season 15-1, with their only loss being a 20-13 nail biter type defeat via the Atlanta Falcons. They whooped absolute butt against the Seattle Seahawks, or at least for a half of football. Despite winning 31-24, it showed serious weakness during the second half of play. STILL, no one taking this team seriously entering the NFC championship against Arizona. Now, this is when the Carolina Panthers proved their worth. They hit the ground running with an early 14-0 lead, and kept cruising as they finished off the game with a 49-15 victory. And just like that, in the matter of 60 minutes, Carolina became the team with the least chance of winning the super bowl out of the 4 left to the big time favorites.

I'm not going to sit here at my compute desk and tell you the Broncos will win. I'm not going to say their the  favorites. I sure as heck am not going to say the Broncos will score very efficiently. In fact, the Panthers are my pick for the super bowl. I WILL say to take them seriously, because no one is right now. I have listened to every ESPN podcast on the planet and likely the universe. I've watched countless preview videos and read countless articles. How many have I seen favor the Broncos r even say they have a chance? 1. That's it. Did you see what they did against the Patriots? It was phenominal. Their pass rush won't be as good due to not having the crowd factor and having the guy holding the ball can run, but that won't take away from their defense, which is absolutely stellar. People said they wouldn't beat the 6-0 Packers. They said they wouldn't beat the 7-0 Patriots. They said they wouldn't beat the 12-2 Bengals. They said they wouldn't get the #1 seed. They said Denver wouldn't beat the Patriots in the playoffs and people say they still can't beat Carolina? Beating a good team can be a fluke, but doing it over and over again is most certainly not. I think the debate over this super bowl should be much more than what I hear. I'm still going to take the Panthers, but the Broncos shot is still outstanding