After five months and 256 games, Super Bowl 50 is only four days away. The Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos will face off on February 7th in San Francisco.  

Before I make my Super Bowl prediction, let’s review how we got here:

On January 24th, the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos played for the AFC Championship Game in Denver. Most people thought that the Patriots we’re going to win this game, but the Denver Bronco’s defense was too much for Tom Brady and the Patriots. Bronco’s won 20-18 in a close game in Denver.

Even though the Broncos had a secure spot in Super Bowl 50, the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals still had a game to play.

Nobody had an idea who was going to win, but the Panthers looked unstoppable playing at their home field. The Panthers came into that game with a record of 15-1 and not losing a single game at home all season. The Cardinals came into the game being 13-3 and winning seven games on the road.  From the beginning of the game, the Panthers were looking really good scoring 17 unanswered points in the first quarter. By halftime the Panthers were up 24-7 and it wasn’t looking good for the Cardinals and they didn’t show any signs of winning this game.

Cam Newton and the Panthers have seemed unstoppable all season and hope to win the Panther’s first Super Bowl title. Despite being a number one seed themselves, the Denver Broncos are the consensus “underdogs” against the Panthers.

Some random facts to consider:

• The Panthers and Broncos have only played each other four times in regular season history. The Broncos are 3-1 against the Panthers.
• The 39 year old Broncos quarterback, Peyton Manning, has one last shot at winning another Super Bowl. Following the AFC Championship game Manning told Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, “This could be my last rodeo.”
• Manning has appeared in three previous Super Bowls, two on the Indianapolis Colts winning one of them, Super Bowl XLI (41). He also lost one with the Denver Broncos to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII (48) in a 43-8 loss.
• The Carolina Panthers star quarterback Cam Newton has been spectacular the whole season. The 26 year old Auburn product won the 2011 National Championship. He also won the Heisman Trophy in 2011. He was drafted in 2011 in the first round by the Carolina Panthers and was named the rookie of the year.
• If Newton wins Super Bowl 50, he will become the third quarterback, behind Joe Namath and Joe Montana, to win a NCAA National Championship and be Super Bowl MVP.

Keys to victory for each team:

• For the Panthers to win, they must get out to a fast start, as they have done in both of their playoff games this season. If they can get points early, they may be able to put the game away early. Their offense needs to get passed the Broncos’ top defense and be able to put points on the board.
• For The Broncos to win, their great defense needs to be at least as good as the Panthers. They also need to limit the Panthers big plays. Containing Cam Newton and not allowing him to run for a lot of yards will be a big part of winning.

MY PREDICTION:

• I would love to see Peyton Manning finish his NFL career by winning the Super Bowl, but I think that Carolina is too good of a team for the Broncos to beat.  So my pick is…Carolina 27-17.