The Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers are more similar than you would expect. Both teams have great defenses that know how to smother opponents in both the pass game and the run game. Denver made headlines as being the number one overall defense in the league, but the Panthers were sixth overall in total defense, only one spot ahead of Kansas City. In the post season, however, Denver was ranked 10th-overall while the Panthers came in at No. 7.
Their offenses are where these two teams really start to split apart. The Denver Broncos have struggled hard with their aging quarterback Peyton Manning, who missed six games with an injury. The Panthers came in at the 11th-ranked offense in the league, while Denver sat at 16th. However the stats don’t tell the same story of these two teams.
Denver has seemed to struggle with an identity in the first part of the 2015 season. Do they want to be a rushing team, or a passing team? When Manning went down you could really see the focus of head coach Gary Kubiak shift from accommodating Peyton to playing the type of football that he wanted; run first, run some more, then keep running. But the team was able to find some balance thanks in part to a terrific defense that could keep games close so the pressure was not as much on the offense.
The Panthers led by sure-to-be MVP Cam Newton looked as if they were having the best time on the field and it showed in the win column. They were the last undefeated team this year losing only to the Atlanta Falcons 20 to 13. Newton was able to pass for over 3800 yards, passing for 35 touchdowns while adding another ten on the ground. He has become the heart and soul of his team.
Predicting the outcome of this game will not be easy. Each team has their own strengths and weaknesses in their game. It truly has become the tale of two quarterbacks, one possibly facing his last game ever, and the other looking to make his mark on the NFL.
What this game will come down to is who will show up and be the more complete team. Denver is led first and foremost by a solid defense. They know how to pressure the quarterback and collapse a pocket. Their secondary is arguably one of the best in the league with all pro Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. on the outside given their receiving assignments a tough time. They are fast, they are strong and they will be hard for the Panthers to break.
The offense of Denver is more of a mystery. They have seemed to take a Kansas City Chiefs approach to offense. They play it safe, and rely on a great defense to keep the score low so their offense can do what they want. What they want is to run the ball, a task difficult against the fourth ranked run defense in Carolina. Manning has lost a lot of his zip on the ball so will keep the ball close, with maybe three of four bombs to try to get the defense to back off.
The Panthers on defense know how to force takeaways; they were ranked first in the NFL this year. They have what could be the best linebacker group in the NFL with stars Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis. Their secondary features one of the better cornerbacks in the league with John Norman, and they ranked 11th against the pass allowing only 234.5 yards per game.
The offense of the Panthers has been fun to watch with Newton leading the way. Ranking first in points per game with 31.2, and second overall in rushing averaging 142.6 yards per game the Panthers have been good through the air and on the ground. Newton is the key to this offense, he is not afraid to run the ball and at 250lbs he is a hard target to bring down. Tight end Greg Olsen has posted back to back 1,000 yard seasons and has seven touchdowns on the year.
Next: Final verdict