BRONCOS WIN SUPER BOWL 50

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — With his prolific passing and complete control of the game at the line of scrimmage, Peyton Manning helped usher in the NFL’s wide-open era of high-scoring offenses and pass-happy game plans.

Manning’s possible farewell game in Super Bowl 50 was a throwback to the 1970s when his father Archie was running away from dominant defenses such as the Steel Curtain and Doomsday.

Von Miller forced fumbles that set up both of Denver’s touchdowns, led a defense that harassed MVP Cam Newton and helped carry Manning to his second Super Bowl title with a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

“Whenever you’re doing something for your buddies, it means a little bit more,” Miller said. “As human beings, we’re selfish but when you’re doing something for somebody else, that’s when the magic happens.”

For so many years, Manning’s career was defined by his gaudy regular season numbers that weren’t enough come playoff time. A lack of help from teammates or the inability to thrive against stellar defenses from teams such as New England and Seattle left Manning with just one Super Bowl title in his first 13 playoff trips.

So perhaps it was fitting that after carrying teammates for most of his career, he was carried over the finish line in this game by Miller and the coordinator Wade Phillips’ “Orange Rush” defense.

“I certainly knew that (with) this defense, this team would have a chance,” Manning said. “Our defense has just been, from the get-go, they’ve been nothing but awesome. Being hurt and struggling early in the season wasn’t a lot of fun so I was grateful to get back healthy and to try and play my part these last couple of weeks.”

But now after throwing for more yards, more touchdowns and winning more starts than any other quarterback in NFL history, Manning could be ready to hang it up. Manning wouldn’t say after the game whether this was his final one.

“I got some good advice from Tony Dungy,” Manning said of the first of four coaches with whom he’s been to the Super Bowl. “He said, ‘Don’t make an emotional decision.’ This has been an emotional week, an emotional night. I’m going to take some time to reflect.”