Denver Broncos

Broncos-Panthers Game Thread: The Best of What To Know

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Follow along with us here at Predominantly Orange as we chat the Broncos vs. Panthers in our weekly game thread hosted by Brad James.

Yes, this is the 96th year of NFL football, the 51st in the Super Bowl era and the 47th “since the merger,” as veteran and retiring ESPN NFL commentator Chris Berman would say. With that said, what an honor for Broncos Country as the Denver Broncos are hosting the first game of a new NFL season against the Carolina Panthers, whom they vanquished 24-10 in Super Bowl 50 last February 7.

Both teams have made some changes since then, as Panthers cornerback Josh Norman was released and signed by the Washington Redskins and legendary signal-caller Peyton Manning, who ended his career on a high note, has retired and was most recently seen exhorting his brother, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, to join him for nachos during NFL Sunday Ticket viewing.

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In any event, based on the fruits of a spirited preseason competition, the Broncos have selected second-year Northwestern signal-caller Trevor Siemian as their starting quarterback to commence the 2016 season and he will benefit from the astute coaching of head coach Gary Kubiak undoubtedly.

He is also the answer to a trivia question as he is the first Northwestern quarterback to start a season opener since the legendary Otto Graham with the Cleveland Browns in 1946.

If Siemian has anything comparable to the success that Graham had with the Browns (3-time NFL champion; 4-time First-Team All-Pro) the Broncos will consider themselves blessed.

Anyway, the Panthers bring back what was a stellar team from 2015 for the most part which was the #1 scoring offense in the league (31.3 points per game) and sixth overall in scoring defense (19.3 points per contest).

Signal-caller Cam Newton enters his sixth season in the NFL and perhaps is yet to scratch the surface of his immense talent.

It will be interesting to see the Broncos’ defense, which has added linebacker Dekoda Watson and promoted linebacker Todd Davis and retained nose tackle Kyle Peko from training camp as the only key changes generally speaking, from a unit that terrorized Newton all game in the aforementioned Super Bowl 50.

Credit: Denver Broncos.

The all-time series between the Broncos and the Panthers (counting Super Bowl 50) is decisively in the Broncos’ favor as they lead Carolina 4-1 in a series dating back to 1997.

This is the Panthers’ first game at 5,280 feet since October 10, 2004 when Jake Plummer led the Broncos to a 20-17 victory, throwing for 226 yards, while throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions in the win.

As always, this is your game thread, so use it accordingly and if any Panthers fans happen to come upon us, treat them kindly: the Bronco Way and conduct yourselves as champions for that is the standard.

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