Denver Broncos' Keys to Victory: Super Bowl 50

Who: Denver Broncos (14-4) vs. Carolina Panthers (17-1)

What: Super Bowl 50

When: 4:30 p.m. MST, Sunday, Feb. 7

Where: Levi’s Stadium; Santa Clara, Calif.

TV: CBS

Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms

Radio: KOA (850 AM), The Fox (103.5 FM)

Odds: Panthers – 5.5; O/U 44.5

Notable: The Broncos and Panthers have only met four times with Denver holding a 3-1 advantage, including a 36-14 road win in their last meeting on Nov. 11, 2012. In that game, Peyton Manning threw for 301 yards and a TD while the Denver D sacked Cam Newton seven times and intercepted him twice. … The Orange & Blue are 2-5 all-time in Super Bowls while the Panthers are 0-1. … Gary Kubiak can become the fourth head coach in NFL history to win the Super Bowl in his first year with a team. … Carolina is 14-1 straight-up when favored this season while the Broncos have been underdogs in five games but have won four of them outright. … Prior to last season’s Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl which was a pick ’em, underdogs won five of the previous seven Super Bowls outright. … This is the first head-to-head Super Bowl meeting of quarterbacks drafted with the No. 1 overall pick. In the previous 49 Big Games, QBs drafted No. 1 overall are a combined 14-7 with Manning and John Elway combining for three of the wins but five of the losses.

The Keys

• Avoiding turnovers: This is a Keys to Victory staple, and it remains No. 1 here for a rather-obvious reason. Carolina led the league with 39 regular-season takeaways and have added nine more in two playoff games, contributing mightily to their NFL-most 580 points. The Broncos, meanwhile, ranked 30^th in the league with 31 giveaways during the regular season, but have cleaned things up considerably so far in the playoffs with only one turnover – the AFC title game swing pass that was reviewed and ruled to be a lateral. Even those tuning in to the Big Game just for the commercials realize the last thing the Orange and Blue can afford to do is return to their charitable ways Sunday. The Cardinals employed that giving strategy in the NFC Championship Game, and their seven turnovers netted a 49-15 beatdown and a trip back home to the desert. Turning the tables and forcing Carolina into some uncharacteristic miscues after they had only 20 in 18 games would most definitely be welcome.
• Sustained offensive effort: In the AFC Championship Game, Manning and Co. took a 17-9 lead into halftime and then hung on for dear life while adding only a field goal over the final 30 minutes. That kind of lull doesn’t figure to work going up against Newton and the league’s top offense, even if the Denver D has another stellar Sunday.
• O-line must hold its own: Whether it’s run blocking, pass protection or avoiding drive-stalling penalties, the Orange & Blue’s front wall must at least have a decent game. This quintet has played better as the season has gone on, but it’s still the weakest unit on the team and among the biggest Super Sunday concerns, especially considering the crucial matchup with stud Carolina defensive tackles Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei. Center Matt Paradis and guards Louis Vasquez, Evan Mathis and Max Garcia must hold down the fort in the middle and allow Manning the needed room to step up in the pocket and deliver downfield passes.
• D must dominate early downs: Job No. 1 for the Denver D is slowing the Panthers’ ground attack which has topped 100 yards in 31 straight games. Continually getting 4-, 5- and 6-yard gains on first down makes converting short third downs and sustaining drives rather easy for Carolina and makes Newton’s run/pass skills even more unpredictable and dangerous. However, putting Newton and Co. in third-and-long situations plays right into the Broncos’ pass-rushing and coverage strengths.
• Limit Greg Olsen: The 6-foot-6, 255-pound tight end’s 124 targets and 77 receptions for 1,104 yards easily paced the Panthers, and he’s Newton’s go-to target when things get tough. Olsen has had five or more catches and 70-plus yards in 10 of 18 games this season, including a combined 12 receptions for 190 yards and a TD in the team’s two playoff wins, and that’s not good news for Wade Phillips’ D, which has struggled with elite tight ends this season – he latest example being Rob Gronkowski’s eight-catch, 144-yard, one-TD outing which nearly resuscitated the Patriots in the AFC title game. If the Broncos can learn anything from their 2012 rout of the Panthers, it’s the danger Olsen presents as he accounted for nine of Newton’s 21 completions, 102 of his 241 passing yards and both of Carolina’s TDs that afternoon. Don’t be surprised if cornerback Aqib Talib draws the assignment here most of the game.