The Carolina Panthers are the best team in the NFL. Record-wise, this team is the best. Let’s just get that out there nice and early. It wasn’t a fluke the Panthers went 15-1 in the regular season and are 17-1 since. This team is good.
It’s not just the electric offense though, it’s the extremely underrated defense that helped get them this far.
Not in the mood for reading a pro-Panther piece (sorry for the alliteration)? No problem. Check out our Why the Denver Broncos Will Win article right here.
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The Five Best Reasons Why the Carolina Panthers Will Win Super Bowl 50
1. Cam Newton
Let’s start things out light and go from there. Cam Newton is the younger quarterback in this game by 13-years. So he’s got that going for him. He also, not only has the likability factor as the dancing QB, but he’s also won the fan vote by giving every touchdown football to a little kid in the stands. So off the field and outside of the game, the guy has the edge in our book. Let’s get to something a little more prominent though and that is why Cam Newton will be better than Peyton Manning and the Broncos.
Through the air, Newton threw 35 touchdowns with only 10 picks.
…as he’s done 17 times this NFL year. Did we mention the 17-1 record? Right. Just checking.
2. The Secondary
The outspoken and albeit sometimes annoying Josh Norman is the Most Wanted man in the secondary. He is the Ochocinco of cornerbacks. Constantly bragging and running his mouth. The defining factor though, is that Norman can back it up. He and his Panthers secondary unit led the NFL in interceptions and fumble pickups this year with 24 picks and 15 recoveries.
To add to that, the Broncos led the league in interceptions thrown this year with 24. Yes, seven of those came from a guy that’ll be riding the pine on Sunday in Brock Osweiler. The guy that tossed 17 of them though, will be under center for the blue and orange. If Peyton isn’t on-point, this game could be an absolute gift for the Carolina Panthers.
3. The Run Game
The Panther run game is a fully-loaded buckshot shotgun. Two barrels and both are just as powerful. Cam Newton, as mentioned, was an assassin on the ground during the regular season and has since added to his already stellar numbers in the postseason. The men complimenting the mobile QB are Jonathan Stewart and small and stocky FB/HB hybrid Mike Tolbert.
Stewart leads the league this postseason in rushing yards and touchdowns. In fact, he has one more than both CJ Anderson and Ronnie Hillman of the Broncos combined. Stewart also finished the regular season with 989 rushing yards, which was good enough for eighth place in the NFL for leading rushers. He also had 136 more yards on the ground than the Broncos best rusher Hillman.
The most groundbreaking stat though, are the two teams rushing stats. The Broncos are almost averaging 50 yards less per game than the Panthers in the playoffs. While the Panthers also posted nearly 500 more yards on the ground in the regular season and 35 more per game on average as well in that same span.
4. Luke Kuechly versus Von Miller
Not enough is said about Luke Kuechly. The reason for this, is because Pro Bowler Von Miller is stealing all of the headlines. We’ll give respect where respect is due and Von Miller is one of the best, no question. Luke Kuechly has proved this past season and so far in this playoff run though, that he is undoubtedly one of the game’s elite linebackers.
During the regular season Kuechly finished 13th in combined tackles with 118, which is better than any Bronco player. He also added four interceptions, two forced fumbles, one recovery and a touchdown. Then, on top of that, so far this postseason, he leads all active players with 19 combined tackles. He also has two interceptions for touchdowns and one fumble recovery.
Luke Kuechly deserves more respect than he’s getting and gotten. He’ll be one of the reasons that the Carolina Panthers should be victorious on Sunday.
5. Against the Spread
The Carolina Panthers are 12-6 ATS this year, combining both regular season and the playoffs. When faced with adversity, the team seems to always pull it off. Case and point, two weeks ago when they faced the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Conference Championship.
Many had picked the Cardinals to upset the Panthers and even go on to win the Super Bowl. Not so fast though. The Panthers absolutely destroyed the Cardinals by shutting down their run and their air attack. Carson Palmer could not get anything going and ended up turning over the football six times!
The week before the defense completely destroyed the Seattle Seahawks in the first half, shutting them out 31-0 in the first two quarters. Albeit, the Hawks made a comeback surge in the third and fourth, but it was too little too late.
Facing a spread of -6, should not be an issue for the ferocious jungle cats on Sunday.
Are you as sold on the Carolina Panthers as we are? Create a betting account now to place your stakes on either the Broncos or the Panthers to liven up your Super Bowl 50 viewing experience even more.
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