Super Bowl 2016: Kickoff Time, Halftime Show, Predictions and More

Only hours remain in the 2015 NFL season, as the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos face off in Super Bowl 50 this evening.

The quarterback matchup of Peyton Manning vs. Cam Newton is too enticing to ignore, but the better question will be which defense proves to be superior. Football Outsiders ranked Denver and Carolina first and second, respectively, in defensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average).

The Broncos pass rush sacked Tom Brady four times and constantly harassed the New England Patriots quarterback in the AFC title game. In all likelihood, they won't be able to do that against Newton, who's far more mobile than Brady.

Denver will also worry about Manning reverting to his old self from earlier in the season. Despite starting just nine games, he threw 17 interceptions, second-most in the league. In the Super Bowl, he's facing off against a defense that intercepted more passes (24) than any other team.

The performances of Manning and Newton will go a long way toward determining the outcome of Super Bowl 50.

For some fans, though, the play on the field takes a backseat to the entertainment aspects of the Super Bowl, such as the halftime show and commercials aired during the game.

Coldplay headlines this year's halftime performance, and they'll be joined by Beyonce and Bruno Mars, both of whom are former Super Bowl headliners themselves. Coldplay offered a tease of what to expect from their show Sunday:

Looking ahead to Super Bowl 50, here are a few predictions for the game.

When: Sunday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. ET

Where: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California

Watch: CBS

Live Stream: CBSSports.com

Predictions

Officiating Will Have Little Impact on Game

Roger Steinman/Associated Press

When it comes to the biggest games of the year, fans want to see the players—not the officials—decide the result. Most fans in the Pacific Northwest likely still hold a grudge against the crew from Super Bowl XL.

Looking at the crew for this year's game, the players should have a reasonable amount of freedom to play within the rules. If anything, the referees might err too much on the side of caution, given their performance in 2015.

The table below shows the number of penalties they called a game and how many yards that equaled relative to the league averages:

Referee	Role	Penalties/Game	Yards/Game
Clete Blakeman	Referee	0.26	-3.79
Jeff Rice	Umpire	0.14	-5.79
Wayne Mackie	Head Linesman	-0.41	0.82
Rusty Baynes	Line Judge	0.82	0.13
Boris Cheek	Field Judge	-0.36	-3.85
Scott Edwards	Side Judge	-0.87	-5.45
Keith Ferguson	Back Judge	0.14	3.90

Of course, with the number of eyes watching the Super Bowl, there's no chance a mistake by the referees will go completely unnoticed, a point to which SportsPickle alluded:

The officials are bound to blow at least a few calls since calling a game with 100 percent accuracy is nearly impossible. With any luck, though, none of those blown calls will come at a critical juncture of the game.

At the very least, Super Bowl 50 shouldn't be a constant barrage of penalties from start to finish, given this crew's general tendency toward not blowing the whistle at every opportunity.

Should the Broncos win, they might request of the league that Clete Blakeman—Super Bowl 50's lead referee—call each of their games going forward. According to ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert, Denver is 5-0 in games with Blakeman on the officiating crew.

Shutting Down the Running Game is the Key to Victory

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

As much as Newton and Manning are dominating the buildup to Super Bowl 50, their companions in the backfield may do more to propel their team to victory.

Among the reasons the Broncos could so relentlessly attack Brady in the pocket was the fact the Patriots had little to no ground game in the conference championship. With three carries for 13 yards, Brady finished as New England's leading rusher, with Brandon Bolden and James White combining to gain 23 yards on 10 carries.

FoxSports.com's Matt Chatham explained how the Panthers present Denver an entirely different test:

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Another concern layer to pass rushing against Newton and the Panthers that's dramatically different than rushing against the team that the Broncos got past to get here is Carolina runs the football as their lead option.  Pass rush is far from the first reasonable consideration.  Because of this, edge rushers have to be aware of getting too far up field and unintentionally creating bigger running lanes.

Miller has acted as a spy or shadow player against Newton in the past, and is one of the few players on the field with the short-area quickness to run him down. That kind of role might actually be more important in this game than blasting up the field and creating a new place for Newton to leave.

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Unlike Brady, Newton will be able to scramble in the event he sees pressure coming off the edge. Still, the more the Broncos have to respect running back Jonathan Stewart, the more time Newton will have in the pocket, which will only be a good thing.

Similarly, Denver will need one of C.J. Anderson or Ronnie Hillman to consistently pose a threat to the Panthers defense in order to alleviate some of the offensive burden on Manning.

"He's very effective with a lot of his looks, and he's studying. He's a great studier," said Panthers safety Kurt Coleman, per USA Today's Tom Pelissero. "But the one thing I know has been effective is when you can get pressure in his face and you get him to move off his spot, make him scramble, good things happen."

Manning is one of the most intelligent quarterbacks in NFL history, but that only goes so far for him now since his arm has diminished to such an extent.

Even in the Broncos' two playoff wins, Manning didn't go above and beyond, combining to complete 38 of his 69 attempts for 398 yards and two touchdowns.

In Super Bowl XLVIII, the Seattle Seahawks did a great job of making Denver a one-dimensional team, which led to Manning turning the ball over three times—two interceptions and one fumble. If Carolina can follow Seattle's blueprint, then it should be on the winning end in Super Bowl 50.

NFL officiating stats are courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.