In a decidedly defensive Super Bowl 50, offensive stars from neither the Carolina Panthers nor the Denver Broncos provided fireworks. Super Bowl 50 was all about the defenses. If you were in a Super Bowl 50 fantasy game that utilized IDPs (Individual Defensive Players), you may have done well since there were a total of 7 fumbles, 4 of those fumbles were lost, and 2 interceptions, one each from the highly-regarded Super Bowl 50 QBs.
What an ugly game. That's the only way to describe it. Below is an analysis of how each of the offensive stars from both the Panthers and the Broncos performed in Super Bowl 50.
Carolina Panthers
QB Cam Newton – Cam completed 18 out of 41 passes. He threw for 265 yards. He didn't throw a touchdown pass. He threw a pick. He did rush for 45 yards on 6 attempts. But he had 2 lost fumbles. He also had a melt down after the game press conference that will go down in NFL History as one of the great cry baby moments of all time.
Carolina Receivers – I'm grouping all of these guys together because every single one of them under performed. TE Greg Olsen caught 4 passes for 41 yards. Ted Ginn Jr. caught 4 passes for 74 yards. David Funchess? How about 2 passes for 40 yards? #10 Philly Brown (who no doubt showed up on your Super Bowl 50 Fantasy Team, right?) caught 4 passes for 80 yards.
Carolina Running Backs – Here's another group that under performed. During the regular season, Carolina averaged 142.6 yards per game on the ground. In the Super Bowl, Carolina running backs rushed for 119 yards on 27 carries. But, here's the issue: not a single back rushed for 30 yards or more. Jonathan Stewart did the best. He rushed for 29 yards and a TD off of 12 carries.
K Graham Gano – Gano made a 39 yarder. But he also missed a 44 yarder on the opening drive of the second half. That could have been a momentum shift field goal for Carolina.
Denver Broncos
QB Peyton Manning – Peyton ended up as the winner of the 24 to 10 game, possibly the ugliest Super Bowl in history. He didn't exactly earn it. Talk about a fantasy cringe worthy performance. Peyton completed only 13 of 23 passes. He threw for 141 yards. He threw an interception. The dude was horrible in every way shape and form. He fumbled the football a couple of times. He lost one of the fumbles. He threw a pick and like Cam, he failed to pass for a TD. He did manage a great game. Too bad they don't give fantasy points for managing games.
Denver Receivers – There was some good and bad here. Although Emanuel Sanders caught only 6 passes for 83 yards, every single catch seemed to happen during a key moment in the game. Also, on a day where everybody else sucked, Sanders was one of the few semi-stars to pick it up for fantasy players. TE Owen Daniels and WR Demaryius Thomas both caught 1 pass each. That's right. 1 pass each.
Denver Running Backs – Although Ronnie Hillman had 5 carries for 0 yards, C.J. Anderson played remarkably well against the Carolina defense. The Carolina D allowed 88.4 yards per game on average during the regular season. Anderson carried the football 23 times. He racked up 90 yards. He scored a TD. He also caught 4 passes. The 4 catches were for a total of 10 yards but at least he caught the damn ball a few times.
K Brandon McManus – McManus went 3 for 3. He made his only extra point attempt. Not bad for a kicker, but nobody plays FF hoping that the kicker wins it for them.
Wow. I can't remember a worse display of offense in all of my 42 years of watching the Super Bowl. Yes, my father had me in front of the television for the 1973 Super Bowl even when I was a year old. Oh well, moving on. The draft is in April. That's not that far away. Plus, there's going to be plenty of stuff that happens from now until pre-season starts in August.
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