Will the Carolina Panthers win their first-ever ? Or will Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos earn the franchise's third Lombardi Trophy? Who will steal the spotlight? Which moment will be talked about in years to come? Our analysts give their predictions of 50.
**Why the Panthers will win:** The
Panthers' interior defensive line will dominate the line of scrimmage and get after
Peyton Manning.
**MVP:**
Luke Kuechly
**Bold prediction:**
Kawann Short will collect two sacks and force a fumble ... in the first half.
**Why the Panthers will win:** The
Panthers run out to an early start and cruise behind a ball-hawking defense that makes life miserable for
Peyton Manning in his final game.
**MVP:**
Luke Kuechly
**Bold prediction:**
rushes for 150 yards due to the special attention the
Broncos pay to
Cam Newton. The
Panthers wear out the
Broncos with a variety of zone-read plays that allow Stewart to crease the defense down the middle on the way to a spectacular performance.
**Why the Panthers will win:** Denver's inability to run the ball costs them the game.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:** Carolina pass-catcher
Ted Ginn Jr. steals the show with more big plays than the
Broncos' wide receivers.
**Why the Panthers will win:** Carolina will move the ball early, but Denver's defense will force field goals instead of touchdowns, keeping
Peyton Manning in the game. In the end, however,
Cam Newton will engineer the game-winning drive.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:** The
Denver Broncos' defense will stymie the
Panthers' rushing attack, holding
and the rest of the Carolina ground attack to their first sub-100 rushing game in 31 contests.
**Why the Panthers will win:** I'd like Peyton to win his second championship, but I think
Cam Newton and Co. are too good right now. They are proving everybody wrong. Matchup-wise, Carolina's defense has the upper hand against the
Broncos' offense, and Peyton hasn't been that hot.
**MVP:**
Luke Kuechly
**Bold prediction:** Denver kicker
Brandon McManus is going to keep the
Broncos in the game, making a number of clutch field goals.
**Why the Panthers will win:** I've gone back and forth all week about who will win this game. The
Panthers are more of a complete team, and if they get into a shootout, the defense and Cam will be able to pull through and lead the
Panthers to victory. My fear for Denver is if they get into a shootout, does Peyton have enough in the tank to win the game? I'm not sure he does.
**MVP:**
Luke Kuechly
**Bold prediction:**
Cam Newton rushes for 150 yards and throws for 350 yards.
**Why the Panthers will win:** In a game featuring two high-profile quarterbacks, the defense for both teams come to play. Carolina forces
Peyton Manning into his first pick of the playoffs.
**MVP:**
Luke Kuechly
**Bold prediction:** Kuechly racks up 10 tackles and keeps his postseason interception streak alive.
**Why the Broncos will win:** The
Broncos haven't turned the ball over lately, and that's key. Carolina takes a lot of chances and is going against a Denver defense that has a really good front seven and a secondary that can cover. As long as
Peyton Manning doesn't turn the ball over, the
Broncos will win.
**MVP:**
T.J. Ward
**Bold prediction:** The
Carolina Panthers don't rush for 100 yards, ending their 31-game streak of doing so.
**Why the Panthers will win:** The interior three of the
Panthers' offensive line (
Ryan Kalil,
Trai Turner and
Andrew Norwell) and their defensive line may be underrated, but they carry the day for Carolina, despite an excellent effort from
Broncos QB
Peyton Manning.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:** The field of Levi's Stadium, which
in the two-year-old venue's young life, will shock everyone by holding up well. Yes, this current field
just for this game, but the field has been re-installed, re-sodded,
*re-everythinged* prior to this latest -- and likely most fevered -- incarnation. My prediction is that this one will hold up, and the field will be a non-factor despite the scrutiny given to it in pregame discussions.
**Why the Panthers will win:** The
Panthers enter the conversation among the best teams of the
era after
*another* high-profile blowout of a league superpower.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:** Newton has a hand in every
Panthers touchdown passing and rushing.
**Why the Broncos will win:** The
Broncos will win because of two reasons. The defense, particularly
Chris Harris Jr., has been phenomenal. The
Panthers' defense will stop the run, and it will all fall on the shaky yet incredible arm of
Peyton Manning. He's going to get it done.
**MVP:**
Von Miller
**Bold prediction:** Manning will be literally carried off the field.
**Why the Panthers will win:** It's going to be a defensive battle. For me, it's a wash, defensively; the only game-changer you can't account for is
Cam Newton. Because he's in the
, he's going to be the champion and
MVP.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:** There will be three miscellaneous touchdowns by the
Panthers. They will score two on defense and one on special teams.
**Why the Panthers will win:** Carolina's versatile running game will be too difficult to stop, even for the vaunted
Broncos defense.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:**
Kawann Short will record 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble in the game, exposing a weak
Broncos offensive line.
**Why the Panthers will win:** I think this game, as all games do, will come down to quarterbacks, and as great as
Peyton Manning once was, the torch has been passed.
Cam Newton simply makes big plays for Carolina, and I see him making the game-winning play in overtime, perhaps in the form of a big run.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:**
Panthers left tackle
Michael Oher will help keep
DeMarcus Ware sackless.
**Why the Panthers will win:** Carolina will bottle the run enough to force the
Broncos out of the run game, forcing punts and winning field position.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:** The first score of the game comes on defense!
**Why the Panthers will win:** Carolina scores twice in the first eight minutes of the game and rolls from there.
**MVP:**
Shaq Thompson
**Bold prediction:** Denver will miss an extra point in the first quarter.
**Why the Panthers will win:** The
Panthers' offense is so hard to defend because with
Cam Newton and the run game, there are so many different facets that it's hard to simulate that for your defense. They are doing so many different things that it paralyzes the defense. Carolina is so physical and it reminds me of the
Seahawks, who also beat Denver on this same stage two years ago.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:**
Ted Ginn Jr. will have two touchdowns.
**Why the Panthers will win:** At the end of the day, the
Panthers' run game is what's going to get them through.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:**
Ted Ginn Jr. will have two touchdowns.
**Why the Panthers will win:** If anybody has watched the last two games for both teams, I don't know how anybody could pick the
Broncos to win this game. If both teams play equally well, the
Broncos will lose. There is always a chance they could win because of injuries, defensive scores and other factors, but I don't see that happening.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:**
Cam Newton will throw for 300 yards and rush for 100.
**Why the Panthers will win:** The
Panthers play with a physical mentality and are tough on both sides of the ball. There are a lot of underdogs on that team because people thought they didn't have a big name starting off, so they play with a chip on their shoulder. The camaraderie that team has and the way
Cam Newton has led, it feels like they are destined to win it.
**MVP:**
Cam Newton
**Bold prediction:**
Ted Ginn Jr. will have a profound impact on this game because there is hardly any attention on him.
