SAN JOSE, Calif. — The last image of Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl is the Broncos quarterback walking off the MetLife Stadium field with his head down surrounded by blue and green confetti after the Seahawks thrashed Denver 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Two years later, the Broncos are back and hoping to have a better showing against the Panthers in Super Bowl 50. It could not go much worse.
The Super Bowl has evolved from a game of blowouts that it was for much of its history to a lot of great games over the last 15 years. One of the exceptions came on that unseasonably warm day at The Meadowlands when Seattle overpowered the Broncos.
This Denver team looks much different. Yes, Manning is still at the controls of the offense, but he is no longer the focal point of the team. Vice president of football operations John Elway has remade the team in two years, putting the focus on defense.
The Broncos enter this game with just 20 holdovers (including players on injured reserve) from their previous Super Bowl team — seven on offense and 13 on defense. Their defense was No. 1 in the NFL this season. The 39-year-old Manning has faded since that 2013 season when he threw 55 touchdown passes in the regular season. This year? He threw just nine.
“They’re two different teams,” Manning said Monday at the Super Bowl Opening Night. “I think it’s hard to make comparisons. Different players, different head coach. That was a great team to be a part of. I loved being on that team. … We had an awesome year. We were the best team in the AFC and got beat by a better Seattle team in the Super Bowl. I give credit to them. This is a different team. I think to make comparisons doesn’t make any sense. I’m very honored to be part of both of those teams.”
In some ways, the transition is reminiscent of what the Broncos went through in Elway’s final years as a player. When Elway and Denver won two Super Bowls to finish his career, it was behind running back Terrell Davis more than Elway.
“There always is a transition period, you know? Because unfortunately these great quarterbacks get older,” Elway told USA Today. “Really, what I was drawing off and have been drawing off, is my experience in my career as — the older I got that, OK, when we won those two Super Bowls — what was the formula? The formula was to play good defense, and offensively, it was about running the ball.”
Elway lost three Super Bowls as a player before winning those two in his final years. He had to relive the nightmare of losing two years ago as an executive.
The game was never close as the Seahawks jumped out to a 36-0 lead in front of a rowdy crowd filled with Seahawks fans. Manning had two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, lost a fumble and had a snap go over his head for a safety on the first play of the game.
Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said the Broncos can use lessons from that game this week.
“I’m not saying we took anything for granted, but we have to worry about the task at hand,” Thomas said. “When Sunday comes, we have a job to do and we have to finish. During the week, don’t be too uptight. Don’t think about stuff too much. Just go about your routine. Make sure you’re on time. Be you.”
To many people, the Panthers bring back memories of that Seahawks team. They have a strong defense that can shut opponents down. With Manning looking nothing like the quarterback that won five NFL MVP Awards, the Broncos could fail to find the end zone. They will rely on their defense, led by linebacker Von Miller, who was unable to play two years ago after tearing an ACL two months earlier.
After that Super Bowl, Elway knew the Broncos had to get tougher and rebuilt his defense. He signed DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward in a $110 million spending spree over 24 hours in March.
That defense has gotten the Broncos back to the Super Bowl, where Manning hopes to walk off in orange and blue confetti carrying a trophy this time.