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Super Bowl 50

Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers, 24–10. The game was played on February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As this was the 50th Super Bowl game, the league emphasized the "golden anniversary" with various gold-themed initiatives during the 2015 season, as well as suspending the tradition of naming each Super Bowl game with Roman numerals (under which the game would have been known as "Super Bowl L"), so the logo could prominently feature the number 50 in more familiar Arabic numerals.[5][6]

"2016 Super Bowl" redirects here. For the Super Bowl that was played at the completion of the 2016 season, see Super Bowl LI.

Carolina Panthers (1)
(NFC)
(15–1)

February 7, 2016 (2016-02-07)

3:30 p.m. PST (UTC-8)

Panthers by 5.5[1]

71,088[2]

Jim Nantz (play-by-play)
Phil Simms (color analyst)
Tracy Wolfson and Evan Washburn (sideline reporters)
Mike Carey (rules expert)

46.6 (national)
53.9 (Denver)
55.9 (Charlotte)
U.S. viewership: 111.9 million est. avg.,[3] 167.0 million est. total[4]

72 (national)

$5 million

Kevin Harlan (play-by-play)
Boomer Esiason and Dan Fouts (analysts)
James Lofton and Mark Malone (sideline reporters)

The Panthers finished the regular season with a 15–1 record, racking up the league's top offense, and quarterback Cam Newton was named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP). They defeated the Arizona Cardinals 49–15 in the NFC Championship Game and advanced to their second Super Bowl appearance since the franchise began playing in 1995. The Broncos finished the regular season with a 12–4 record, bolstered by having the league's top defense. The Broncos defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 20–18 in the AFC Championship Game, joining the Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, and Pittsburgh Steelers as one of four teams that have made eight appearances in the Super Bowl. This record would later be broken the next season, in 2017, when the Patriots advanced to their ninth Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl LI. This marked the fourth time in history that the Super Bowl pitted the top defense against the top offense, after Super Bowls XXV, XXXVII and XLVIII.


In one of the most defensive matchups in Super Bowl history, the Broncos took an early lead that they never lost.[7] Denver recorded seven sacks and forced four turnovers.[8] Carolina kept pace by recording five sacks and forcing two turnovers. Denver linebacker Von Miller was named Super Bowl MVP.[9][10] This game was the final game of Peyton Manning's career; the Broncos quarterback, who also won Super Bowl XLI, announced his retirement in March 2016.[11]


CBS' broadcast of the game was the fifth most-watched program in American television history with an average of 111.9 million viewers. The network charged an average of $5 million for a 30-second commercial during the game.[12][13] The Super Bowl 50 halftime show was headlined by Coldplay,[14] with special guest performers Beyoncé and Bruno Mars.[15]

Background[edit]

Host selection process[edit]

In early 2012, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that the league planned to make the 50th Super Bowl "spectacular" and that it would be "an important game for us as a league".[16]


Cities included in early discussions or that submitted bids included:

Game summary[edit]

First half[edit]

Denver took the opening kickoff of Super Bowl 50 and started out strong. Quarterback Peyton Manning completed an 18-yard pass to tight end Owen Daniels and a 22-yard throw to wide receiver Andre Caldwell. A pair of carries by running back C. J. Anderson moved the ball up 20 yards to the Panthers 14-yard line, but Carolina's defense dug in over the next three plays. First, linebacker Shaq Thompson tackled running back Ronnie Hillman for a 3-yard loss. Then after an incompletion, linebacker Thomas Davis tackled Anderson for a 1-yard gain on third down, forcing Denver to settle for a 3–0 lead on a Brandon McManus 34-yard field goal. The score marked the first time in the entire postseason that Carolina was facing a deficit.

Referee: (34)

Clete Blakeman

Umpire: Jeff Rice (44)

Head linesman: Wayne Mackie (106)

Line judge: Rusty Baynes (59)

Field judge: Boris Cheek (41)

Side judge: Scott Edwards (3)

Back judge: Keith Ferguson (61)

Replay official: Charles Stewart

Replay assistant: Jimmy Oldham

Super Bowl 50 had nine officials.[147] The numbers in parentheses below indicate their uniform numbers.

Aftermath[edit]

Upon receiving the Lombardi Trophy, Broncos general manager and former quarterback John Elway raised it and exclaimed "This one's for Pat!" in reference to owner Pat Bowlen, who had been diagnosed the year before with Alzheimer's disease. Bowlen had saluted Elway in the same fashion after the Broncos won their first championship in Super Bowl XXXII 18 years earlier.[148]


This was Denver's first sports championship since the Colorado Rapids won the MLS Cup in 2010.[149] The 2016 NFL season began with the Broncos hosting the Panthers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. It was the first meeting of both Super Bowl participants during Week 1 of the following season since the 1970 season when the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs held a rematch of Super Bowl IV to kick off the post-merger era of the NFL. The Broncos won 21–20 as Carolina's Graham Gano missed a field goal attempt to win the game.


Both teams would ultimately struggle during the season and failed to qualify for the playoffs. The Panthers fell to 6–10 and finished in last place in the NFC South. The Broncos fell to 9–7 and came in third place in the AFC West. This was the first time the defending AFC and NFC champions would both miss the playoffs since the 2003 season, after Super Bowl XXXVII, when neither the Oakland Raiders nor the Tampa Bay Buccaneers qualified for the postseason, and the fifth time overall.[150]


As of 2024, Super Bowl 50 remains the most recent playoff game played by the Broncos, as they have yet to qualify for the postseason since.[151]

Official website

on YouTube

Super Bowl 50: NFL Full Game