Super Bowl 50 Prediction: Broncos vs. Panthers

For the third year in a row, the top seed in either conference will be competing for the Super Bowl title. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning looks to win his second ring in what will likely be the final game of his career, while the newly crowned MVP Cam Newton will attempt to become the first player in history to have won the Heisman, the National Championship, the NFL MVP Award, and a Super Bowl. The 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl will hopefully make for a great game between these two teams, especially considering the plethora of talent on either roster.

The Denver Broncos may have quarterback Peyton Manning as their starting quarterback, but it has been Denver's defense that has led them to the Super Bowl this season. The Broncos secondary consists of Pro Bowlers and All-Pros such as Aqib Talib, Chris Harris Jr., and T.J. Ward, all of whom should do well in covering the Panthers mediocre wide receiver corp. All-Pro's Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware serve as the stars of Denver's pass rush, a group that gave Tom Brady problems for the entireity of the AFC Championship game. With a combination of a lethal pass rush and a shutdown secondary, the Broncos will pressure Cam Newton into making quick decisions that could potentially lead to turnovers.

Offesnively, the Broncos have Peyton Manning at quarterback, who has basically become a game manager at this point in his career. Manning's passes certainly lack the same velocity as they tend to wobble quite often, so Denver's running game consisting of C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman will need to carry this offense in order to have any chance of setting up a half-decent passing game.

Despite losing Kelvin Benjamin to a season ending injury this past summer, the Panthers offense has had absolutely no problem putting points on the board, especially against top tier defenses. Cam Newton has been an absolute superstar this season, and his dual threat capabilities make it nearly impossible to take this athletic freak of nature completely out of the game. Carolina finished first in the league in rushing yards, but there is always the risk that Newton will throw the deep ball to some of his favorite targets like Greg Olsen or Ted Ginn Jr.

The Panthers defense has often been overshadowed in 2015 by quarterback Cam Newton and his MVP campaign, but Carolin'a defense is just as good, if not better than that of the Broncos. The Panthers had more defensive players elected to the All-Pro team (3) including the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly. Carolina's defense also ranked second behind only the Broncos when it came to Football Outsiders' defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA), making this showdown one of the best defensive matchups in Super Bowl history.

.@ThomasDavisSDTM expected to start for @Panthers in #SB50  (via @wyche89): https://t.co/cmx3MZubrj pic.twitter.com/PggrgJFE02

— NFL (@NFL) February 5, 2016

Peyton Manning has struggled in the postseason historically, especially when the temperature dips below 40 degrees; however, the temperature is expected to be around 60 degrees at opening kickoff, a positive sign for Broncos fans. In addition, many of the Broncos players simply have more experience in the league, an important factor to take into account when it comes to Super Bowl matchups. Thus, all things considered, I believe the Broncos will narrowly beat the Panthers as Peyton Manning wins his second ring in the final game of his career.
Prediction: Broncos over Panthers 23-20 

In Broncos team meeting Saturday night, Peyton Manning and DeMarcus Ware got choked up. "Both were very emotional... https://t.co/vDVa1sD90e

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2016

1 hour warning, folks. #SB50

— AP NFL (@AP_NFL) February 7, 2016

Cam Newton hasn't stopped jumping around and dancing since he got on the field. Dabbing between warmup snaps. Fired up.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 7, 2016

Cam Newton's gold cleats say 'MVP' and have his stats on them. 🔥😍 https://t.co/CoSj8fIQIE pic.twitter.com/7m760z0hnc

— theScore (@theScore) February 7, 2016

College Football-NFL Comparisons: Khalil Mack

A couple of things you might not know about the University of Buffalo outside linebacker: He received a single scholarship offer to play college football, which he obviously accepted, and now with 16 forced fumbles in his career he holds the all time NCAA record. He was unquestionably the MAC defensive player of the year, and finished his career tied for first in career tackles for loss in the NCAA with an astonishing 75. Everyone sees Mack going in the first round, but many in fact see him going top 5. Although people love to talk about the level of competition he has faced in his career, on the big stage against Ohio State he recorded 9 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and an interception returned for a touchdown. To me, some of the criticism Mack receives is blatantly unfair: Many say that he seems like such a complete player that he won't mature in the NFL; I.e, he has already reached his ceiling. This is frankly idiotic. The inane suggestion that because a player does not have an obvious and correctable flaw ready for improvement at the next level he therefore cannot improve in the NFL is bordering on humorous and definitely unfair. Setting this argument aside, most see Mack as an absolute defensive terror, and rightly so. Although he has done his work in the MAC, and that can't be ignored, it also is unfair to base a negative judgement on him simply because he played so well at a lower level than other popular collegiate players. Many think he could definitely do what he did in the SEC, for example, which would probably grant him Jadaveon Clowney status, or better in fact. I am inclined to agree, and I think like most that Mack resembles a talented NFL player already. In fact, he has drawn comparison with Von Miller. While this is obvious, and quite a compliment, a far more interesting comparison is between Khalil Mack and Bills' Mario Williams. It was Browns' head coach Mike Pettine who drew this fascinating comparison, between two players who don't even play the same position and definitely have different body types. But both players play best coming off the edge, so well that they change a game plan. In this respect, Mack deserves both comparisons, and the Browns for one would love to take him fourth overall.  

Week 7 Predictions

Game of the Week: Broncos @ Colts: For the first time since Peyton Manning left Indianapolis to play for John Elway, the Denver Broncos will travel to Indiana so Peyton Manning can face-off against his former team. The Denver Broncos are widely considered to be the best team in all of football, but the Indianapolis Colts, thanks to sophomore quarterback Andrew Luck, are 4-2 on the year. After running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Vick Ballard were placed on the IR, the running game now lies entirely on newly acquired back Trent Richardson. These injuries for Indy likely means that Andrew Luck will have more passing attempts over the course of the season. Even though the Colts offense scored just 9 points against the San Diego Chargers defense, and the Broncos defense have linebacker Von Miller returning for the first time this season, we doubt that Indianapolis' offense will score single digit points 2 games in a row. There is no way Peyton Manning wants to lose against his former team, so we predict Denver to win this game on the road and stay undefeated.
Broncos over Colts 27-24

Stand Out Performance: RB Adrian Peterson: The tragedies that took place last week involving Adrian Peterson's son left the Vikings offense in shambles as they played against the Carolina Panthers. Peterson has assured everyone that he is ready to play this weekend against the New York Giants, a team that has one of the worst run defenses in all of football. The Minnesota Vikings will likely hand the ball off to All-Day consistently throughout the game. We wish Adrian Peterson the best of luck.
RB Adrian Peterson: 120 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs

Player to Watch: LB Von Miller: Outside linebacker Von Miller will be playing for the first time in 2013 since he was suspended by the league for 6 games when he violated the NFL's substance abuse policy. Miller was unquestionably the best defender on the Denver Broncos last season, as he has recorded 30.0 sacks over the course of his two year career. Last season alone, Von Miller sacked the quarterback 18.5 times, along with an additional 6 forced fumbles. It will be interesting to see if Von Miller is rusty in his first game since January 12th.
LB Von Miller: 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble

Week 7 Predictions:

Falcons over Buccaneers

Rams over Panthers

Lions over Bengals

Chargers over Jaguars

Dolphins over Bills

Jets over Patriots

Cowboys over Eagles

Bears over Redskins

49ers over Titans

Packers over Browns

Chiefs over Texans

Ravens over Steelers

Broncos over Colts

Giants over Vikings

Last Week: 11-4

2013 Season: 62-29 (68.1%)