Broncos take 13-7 halftime lead over Panthers in Super Bowl

The Denver Broncos won their third National Football League championship with a 24-10 upset victory over the top-seeded Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 on Sunday.

Two years ago, during the Broncos’ 35-point loss to the Seahawks, Thomas ran a shallow crossing route. Manning’s line: 13 of 23 passing for 141 yards with one interception and a lost fumble.

Trailing 3-0 in the opening quarter, Carolina quickly found themselves in an even deeper hole when Miller barreled into Newton and stripped the ball from his hands before defensive end Malik Jackson fell on the ball in the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.

His 22-yarder to Andre Caldwell preceded runs of 8 and 12 yards by Anderson that brought possession to the Carolina 14.

They didn’t look like the loose team that outscored their two playoff opponents, Seattle and Arizona, 55-7 in the first half.

They got the longest punt return in Super Bowl history on a weird play in which the Panthers thought the play was dead.

Super Bowl 50 was like stepping into a time machine.

Carolina took the second-half kickoff and drove to the Broncos’ 26.

Denver’s defense would assert itself again on the very next Panthers drive, forcing a Mike Tolbert fumble after Tolbert broke off an 11-yard scamper.

With most of the pre-game hype centered on quarterback Peyton Manning’s future and whether this was his final game, it was the defense that provided the winning plays. Newton appeared to have a chance to pounce on the ball, but hesitated during the scramble. A 19-yard completion to Olsen was a key third-down conversion and two plays later Jonathan Stewart cashed in, scoring from 1 yard out as the Panthers pulled within 10-7.