National Football League

Super Bowl 50 Capsule

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:23 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) A capsule look at the Super Bowl matchup between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers:

DENVER (14-4) vs. CAROLINA (17-1)

Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET, CBS

OPENING LINE - Panthers by 3 1/2

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Broncos 9-7-2; Panthers 13-5

SERIES RECORD - Broncos lead 3-1

LAST MEETING - Broncos beat Panthers 36-14, Nov. 11, 2012

LAST WEEK - Broncos beat Patriots 20-18 for AFC title; Panthers beat Cardinals 49-15 for NFC title

AP PRO32 RANKING - Broncos No. 2, Panthers No. 1

BRONCOS OFFENSE - OVERALL (16), RUSH (17), PASS (14).

BRONCOS DEFENSE - OVERALL (1), RUSH (3), PASS (1).

PANTHERS OFFENSE - OVERALL (11), RUSH (2), PASS (24).

PANTHERS DEFENSE - OVERALL (6), RUSH (4), PASS (11).

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Broncos making eighth Super Bowl appearance, tying Dallas, New England and Pittsburgh for most in league history. Owner Pat Bowlen's seven Super Bowl trips tied with New England's Robert Kraft for most. ... Broncos won AFC West for fifth consecutive season (tied for fifth-longest streak in NFL history) and 15th time overall. ... Denver 11-3 in games decided by seven points or fewer in 2015 (including playoffs), most of any club in single season in NFL history. ... Gary Kubiak (12) tied Red Miller (1977) for most wins by coach in first season with Broncos. Kubiak first to reach Super Bowl with same team as player and head coach in NFL history. ... Peyton Manning at 39 trying to become oldest QB to win Super Bowl heading into what many expect will be final game of 18-year career. Manning second in playoff history in yards passing (7,198), completions (636) and attempts (1,004), trailing only Tom Brady. Manning (40) ranks fourth in postseason TD passes and needs four to tie Brett Favre (44) for third. Manning has 13 postseason wins and needs one to tie Terry Bradshaw and John Elway for third most of any starting QB. Manning has 860 yards passing in three Super Bowls and needs 140 to join Brady (1,605), Kurt Warner (1,156), Joe Montana (1,142) and Elway (1,128) as only players to reach 1,000. Manning has nine 300-yard games in postseason and needs one to tie Brady for most. ... Broncos were one of two teams to have two 700-yard rushers: Ronnie Hillman (863) and C.J. Anderson (720). ... WR Demaryius Thomas led team in catches (105) and yards receiving (1,304) with six TDs. Thomas set Super Bowl record with 13 receptions for 118 yards two years ago in loss to Seattle. Since 2012, Thomas is second in NFL with 5,787 yards receiving. ... LBs Danny Trevathan (109) and Brandon Marshall (101) were top two on team in tackles. ... Broncos led NFL in total defense (283.1 yards per game) and pass defense (199.6 yards per game). ... LB DeMarcus Ware has 5 1/2 sacks in seven postseason games. LB Miller had 2 1/2 sacks and an interception in AFC title game against Patriots. ... Since `08, CB Aqib Talib leads NFL with eight pick-6s. ... Panthers making second Super Bowl appearance (Super Bowl 38 loss to New England). ... Panthers have won team-record 17 games, including club-record 15 in regular season. Won NFC South for third consecutive season and have won division six times. Coach Ron Rivera has won division in three of five seasons with Carolina. ... Panthers led NFL with franchise-record 500 points and 59 TDs in regular season. They lead NFL in postseason with 80 points and 10 TDs, scored 49 points in NFC championship game, most points in that game in Super Bowl era. ... QB Cam Newton only player in NFL history with at least 30 touchdowns passing (35) and at least 10 touchdowns rushing (10) in season. Accounted for 45 TDs in regular season, most in NFL. All-Pro QB passed for 3,837 yards and rushed for 636 yards in regular season. Newton only player in NFL history with at least 3,000 yards passing and at least 500 yards rushing in five seasons. He has 31 regular-season games with passing TD and rushing TD, tied for most in NFL history (Steve Young). ... In NFC championship game, became only player in NFL history with at least 300 yards passing, at least two touchdowns passing and at least two touchdowns rushing in a playoff game. ... RB Jonathan Stewart leads NFL with 189 yards rushing in postseason. TE Greg Olsen had 77 catches for 1,104 yards and seven TDs in regular season, his second consecutive season with at least 75 catches, 1,000 yards and six TDs. WR Ted Ginn Jr., led team with career-high 10 receiving TDs. Has scored seven TDs in past six games, including 22-yard TD run in NFC championship game. WR Philly Brown had four catches for 113 yards in NFC championship game, including 86-yard TD catch-and-run. ... Panthers led NFL in regular season with 39 takeaways, 24 interceptions and plus-20 turnover differential. Panthers lead NFL in postseason with nine takeaways, six interceptions and plus-8 turnover differential. All-Pro LB Luke Kuechly led team with 118 tackles in regular season. Since entering NFL in 2012, he leads league with 591 tackles. Has 14 interceptions since 2012 (including playoffs), most by linebacker. Kuechly first player in NFL history with interception returned for touchdown in back-to-back playoff games in postseason. All-Pro LB Thomas Davis second on team with 105 tackles in regular season. Was only player in NFL with at least four sacks (5 1/2) and at least four interceptions (four) in regular season. David broke right forearm vs. Arizona, but is expected to play. ... Kawann Short has career-high 13 sacks (including playoffs), most by defensive tackle. ... Including playoffs, Panthers lead NFL with six interceptions returned for touchdowns. Kuechly (three), All-Pro CB Josh Norman (two) and S Kurt Coleman (one). ... DE Jared Allen has four sacks and two forced fumbles in past five postseason games. Including playoffs, Allen has 140 sacks, tied for second most among active players. ... K Graham Gano led NFC with franchise-record 146 points in regular season.

---

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Football League