Super Bowl 2016: Panthers vs. Broncos Review, Fantasy Stats and Highlights

The odds may have been against the Denver Broncos heading into Super Bowl 50, but on Sunday evening, they proved that being the league's top defense goes a long way toward winning a Lombardi Trophy. 

When it was all said and done, Denver limited Carolina's prolific scoring offense to just 10 points and won with 24 of its own. 

However, six of those points came off a Malik Jackson fumble recovery in the end zone and another nine were added by kicker Brandon McManus. 

In fact, Denver's 194 yards of total offense is the fewest ever by a Super Bowl-winning team, as the Sports Geeks pointed out. 

Yes, this win came on the backs of Broncos defensive stars such as Jackson, Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and T.J. Ward. Miller's six tackles and 2.5 sacks were enough to win him MVP honors at the end of the night.

The game was difficult for Carolina from the get-go, and ultimately, the Panthers couldn't climb out of the 10-point hole the Broncos put them in following the first quarter. 

Jackson's fumble recovery for the score midway through the first quarter got the Broncos pumped up early and clearly deflated the Panthers. 

Though the Panthers would score their only touchdown of the night from a one-yard run by Jonathan Stewart—who was in and out of the game due to a foot injury, as the Panthers' Max Henson confirmed—in the second quarter, the Broncos quickly pulled away with two field goals to make the score 16-7 heading into the fourth quarter. 

Considering he had 50 combined touchdowns in 2015-16, it was incredible that Denver's defense was able to hold Newton scoreless on the night. 

But the Broncos applied the pressure early and kept it up all night, sacking Newton seven times and hitting him another 13. 

In fact, one of Miller's sacks on Newton led to the fumble that Jackson recovered in the end zone. 

"

That guy Von Miller is a bad man...

Forces the sack fumble & @Broncos score a TD.#Broncos lead, 10-0 in #SB50 pic.twitter.com/sh3Ewc8zv8

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 8, 2016"

However, it wasn't just Carolina that had a quiet night on offense.

Peyton Manning didn't throw a single touchdown pass, either, and as we said before, Denver's only points came via field goals, its defense and running back C.J. Anderson. 

Needless to say, unless you were playing in a league with individual defensive players, it wasn't a big night for fantasy points. Here are the top performers for the Broncos:

Player	Pos	Stats
Peyton Manning	QB	141 yds, 1 INT
C.J. Anderson	RB	90 yds, 1 TD
Emmanuel Sanders	WR	6 rec, 83 yds
Owen Daniels	TE	1 rec, 18 yds

Yikes. Those are some pretty sad stat lines.

As you can see, star tight end Owen Daniels was barely involved in Denver's offense, and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was virtually nonexistent, catching one pass for eight yards. 

It didn't look much better for the Panthers offense:

Player	Pos	Stats
Cam Newton	QB	265 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT, 6 car, 45 yds
Jonathan Stewart	RB	29 yds, 1 TD
Corey Brown	WR	80 yds
Ted Ginn Jr.	WR	74 yds

Wideout Corey Brown had a decent night, and if Newton had connected with him on a touchdown early, he would have given his side a fantastic start in the game.

But the Panthers had no receiving touchdowns, and tight end and Newton's favorite weapon Greg Olsen barely registered, recording 41 yards on four receptions.

Due to the lack of action on offense, it would be easy to call Super Bowl 50 one of the less exciting matchups in recent memory. 

However, someday we'll look back on the 2015 Broncos defense as one of the best in league history, and we all had a front-row seat to watch it on Sunday.