It’s already that time of year,as Super Bowl 50 is upon us.The Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers will represent the AFC and NFC in the golden bowl,and even though at first glance it seems over,as Carolina,who was 15-1,the NFL’s best club,is a 5.5 point favorite,this game has plenty of reasons to be excited about.Here they are:

1.Defenses.

The Broncos had the league top D in yards allowed,and ranked fourth in scoring,led by front four stalwarts DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller,who quietly excelled in his first four seasons,and finally breaking out in 2015,especially in the AFC Championship Game against Tom Brady and the defending champion Patriots with 2.5 sacks out of four team sacks and 4.5 tackles,as the Broncos hit Brady 17 times,more than any other QB has in a game all year,regular season or playoffs.The Panthers D was almost equally cruel to offenses,ranking sixth in both categories.Luke Kuechly has a pick six in both playoff games,as this bodes well for the Panthers.Teams with a pick six in the Super Bowl are 12-0 all time,and Peyton Manning has tossed a pick six in both his Super Bowl losses.

2.Offense vs.Defense

This is only the second time that the league’s top offense faced the top D(Super Bowl XLVIII pitted the Seahawks smothering D against Denver’s punishing offense,with Seattle winning 43-8).There is a saying:Defense wins championships.The NFL’s top D has won the Super Bowl 9/11 times,with only the 2014 Seahawks losing to New England 28-24,and Miami to Washington 27-17.The Panthers have 31.2 points per game,leading the league.They are also second in rushing yards,rushing for 100+ in the last 31 games,including playoffs.The Denver defense has not allowed a QB rushing TD all season,while Cam Newton rushed for 43 career TDs,tied with Steve Young for most all-time.The 2011 number one draft pick on offense(Newton) will face the number two pick in 2011(Miller)on defense

3.Battle of the QBs.

26-year old Cam Newton is 13 years,48 days younger than 39-year old Peyton Manning,the largest ever age gap between two starters.Supercam is seeking to become the second player to win a Heisman,College National Championship,Super Bowl,and NFL MVP(Marcus Allen).He has won a Heisman,a college title,and an MVP.Either Peyton Manning,Tom Brady,or Ben Roethlisberger has represented the AFC the Super Bowl 12 of the last thirteen times.Manning has played in 3 Super Bowls,winning one.Newton wants to lead his team to victory over Denver,meaning Carolina will be the fourth team to win a Super Bowl after a losing season(7-8-1 in 2014).Denver has made their eighth Super Bowl,tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers(6-2),Dallas Cowboys(5-3),and New England Patriots(4-4) for most all time,although they have lost a record 5,winning just two.Only three quarterbacks have rushed for 50 yards in a Super Bowl:Steve McNair(64 yards,16-23 loss to Rams,XXXIV),Colin Kaepernick(62 yards,31-34 loss to Ravens,XLVII),and Joe Montana(59 yards,38-16 win over Dolphins,XIX),the only one to win.Quarterbacks to score a rushing touchdown in the Super Bowl are only 7-6 all time,which is bad for Cam Newton.Manning is 7-1 all time in the Bay Area,which is SF and Oakland.He is seeking to become the first quarterback to win 200 games,as he is tied with Brett Favre for most regular season wins(186),and including playoffs(199).This is the first time that 2 number one overall draft picks face off at quarterback in the Super Bowl,Manning in 1998,and Newton in 2011.In the Super Bowl era,only six QBs have won the MVP award and the Super Bowl in the same season.Supercam is a sure fire candidate for a title.

4.Bay Area Bonanza!

The Super Bowl is returning to the Bay Area,aka,Titletown.From the Genius of Bill Walsh to them clutch efforts of Jeff Garcia,the Bay Area has always found a way to win.As well as 8 combined SBs and 11 appearances from the Niners(5-1)and Raiders(3-2),the Golden State has hosted 12 games including the Golden Bowl,second only to Florida,with 15.Fitting that the Golden Super Bowl is played in the Golden State.

 5.The masterminds duel.

Coaches Ron Rivera of the Panthers and Gary Kubiak of the Broncos are the first two coaches to square off in the Super Bowl after playing in the big game themselves.Rivera played with Chicago as linebacker and won,while Kubiak played as a backup quarterback in three games with Denver,losing each.Both are very knowledgeable about football.

6.Playing with style!

The Broncos are the “home” team this year,but chose to wear away white,as white uniforms are 31-18 all time,and have not lost since XLV,when the Packers beat the white Steelers 31-25.

Prediction:Carolina will take a 17-6 lead into halftime,and no winning team has ever trailed by 11.That will all change as the Broncos who trail 31-20 with 3 to six minutes left,score and fail a two pointer,making it 31-26.In the waning moments,Cam Newton makes a cocky mistake,and the Broncos get the ball back with little time left.They score and go for 2 again and fail,making it 32-31.Newton drives Carolina into FG range with :05 left.Graham Gano misses it wide left,as Denver wins 32-31.