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Defenses dominated Super Bowl 50

By Howard Balzer, The Sports Xchange
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is sacked by Denver Broncos Derek Wolfe (95) in the third quarter of Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California on February 7, 2016. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
1 of 4 | Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is sacked by Denver Broncos Derek Wolfe (95) in the third quarter of Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California on February 7, 2016. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- To call Super Bowl 50 an offensive struggle would be a massive understatement.

As good as both defenses were in the Denver Broncos' 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers, it was the Broncos who forced more turnovers, which was the difference in holding the Panthers to one touchdown.

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Both teams were unsuccessful on third down, in large part because of failures on first and second down. In the second half, neither team was able to covert on third down, each failing six times.

For the game, the Panthers were 3-for-15 and the Broncos 1-for-14 on third down. Denver quarterback Peyton Manning connected on his first third down of the game, a 22-yard completion to wide receiver Andre Caldwell on third-and-4 on the fourth offensive play of the game, and the Broncos never converted again.

Long yardage contributed to the problems. Of Carolina's 15 attempts, seven were of 10 yards or more, including two for 12 yards, one for 14 and one for 24. Their average yards to go was 9.5.

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As Panthers coach Ron Rivera said, "You can't be in third-and-long and expect to convert."

Denver had four opportunities of 10 yards or more (13, 14 and two for 17) and averaged 7.7 yards to go.

Said Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who was out of football last season, "This means the world to me that I'm able to coach this special group. What a performance."

Added Rivera, "Give credit to what they did. We had two turnovers because of it. Their linebackers did a really nice job."

Those linebackers, game MVP Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, helped Denver sack Panthers quarterback Cam Newton six times, and he fumbled on two of those, losing both and leading to both Broncos touchdowns.

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