SAN JOSE, Calif. — The road to Super Bowl 50 got bumpy for the Broncos on Monday.
Two of the Broncos team buses collided with each other on the way back from practice at Stanford University. No one in the Broncos traveling party was injured, but a California Highway Patrol officer did sustain minor injuries.
“I don’t know how many buses crashed, but one was bad,” wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said. “I had my head down and next thing I see is we’re on the side of the road. The good thing is everyone is healthy.”
The accident happened just before 2 p.m. PST near the intersection of Highway 101 and Highway 237 in Sunnyville, just north of Santa Clara. Apparently a driver cut the Broncos motorcade off, causing the buses to collide. One bus was disabled and the passengers had to be moved to the other buses.
“It was kind of an exciting bus ride today,” Peyton Manning said. ”We got in a wreck on our bus today. That was exciting. It kind of adds to the unique season that has occurred this year.”
Boomer Esiason runs his Empire Challenge All-Star game at Hofstra every summer, pitting the best high school football players from Long Island against those from New York City. About 10 years ago, Esiason got a glimpse of the future when an eighth–grader named Cam Newton attended the game.
Newton, from the Atlanta area, was invited to play in a flag football game sponsored by the NFL before Esiason’s game. Before the festivities, Esiason and Newton — who already stood about 6-foot-3, took turns throwing the ball to receivers.
“We were throwing pat and go’s down the sideline, I’m throwing pat and go’s, he’s throwing pat and go’s,’’ Esiason said Monday at a CBS Sports media event. “He’s like ‘Man, you can throw! You should play quarterback in the NFL.’ I’m like, ‘Cam, I’m out of the NFL, this is like I’m done.’ Kind of a really unique moment.
“I said wow, this kid has got this great smile, this great look, he was already this physical specimen. I was like ‘I’ll see you in about 10 years at the Super Bowl.’ Who knew, right?’’
Manning threw his support behind Newton on Monday night.
“No doubt in my mind he’ll be named MVP Saturday night,” Manning said. “You don’t go 17-1 without being awesome.”
Manning made a joke about Newton’s touchdown celebrations.
“I don’t run for any touchdowns,” Manning said, “but I promise you if I do on Sunday I’ll celebrate.”