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 to earn their third
Super Bowl title. The game was played on
February 7, 2016, at
Levi's Stadium in the
San Francisco Bay Area at
Santa Clara, California. As this was the 50th Super Bowl, 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
Arabic numerals 50.
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 was founded in
1995.
The Broncos finished the regular season with a 12–4 record, thanks to having the league's top defense, and despite the struggles of starting quarterback
Peyton Manning;[7] they defeated the defending
Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 20–18 in the
AFC Championship Game. They joined the
Patriots,
Dallas Cowboys, and
Pittsburgh Steelers as one of four teams that have made eight appearances in the Super Bowl.
The Broncos took an early lead in Super Bowl 50 and never trailed.
Newton was limited by
Denver's defense, which registered seven sacks and forced him into three turnovers, including a fumble which the Broncos recovered for a touchdown.[8]
Carolina's defense kept the game close by holding Denver's offense without a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter; defensive end
Kony Ealy became the first player in Super Bowl history to have an interception and three sacks. Denver linebacker
Von Miller was named
Super Bowl MVP;
Miller recorded five solo tackles, 2½ sacks, and two forced fumbles in the game. This game was also the final game of Peyton Manning's career; he announced his retirement on March 7, 2016.
CBS's broadcast of the game was the third 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.
The Super Bowl 50 halftime show was headlined by
Coldplay, with special guest performers
Beyoncé and
Bruno Mars
- published: 18 Mar 2016
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