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#1 Carolina Panthers vs. #1 Denver Broncos
Where to Watch: 6:30 on CBS
Spread: Carolina by 6
Over/Under: 44
Background:
The Carolina Panthers come into the Super Bowl as the hottest team in the NFL. They dominated the NFL, going 15-1 during the regular season and they had huge victories in the playoffs, taking care of the Seattle Seahawks and the #2 seeded Arizona Cardinals in back-to-back weeks. The Panthers are led by NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year Cam Newton, who threw for 3,837 yards, 35 Touchdowns, 10 Interceptions and also had 636 yards on the ground to go along with 10 rushing touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers have a dominant defense with Kawann Short, Star Lotulelei, Luke Keuchly, Josh Norman, and Thomas Davis leading the charge.
The Denver Broncos come into the Super Bowl as the AFC's #1 seed, going 12-4 over the regular season. The Broncos have made it to this game because of their number one ranked defense, who has won games, despite Peyton Manning having the worst season of his career.
This is the second Super Bowl appearance for the Carolina Panthers and the eighth for Denver. Cam Newton is making his first Super Bowl appearance and Peyton Manning is making his fourth. Gary Kubiak and Ron Rivera are both making their first appearances as head coaches in the Super Bowl.