The Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos went head to head at the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl on February 7. The Broncos were victorious for the third time in their team’s history, with a final score of 24-10.

Quarterback Peyton Manning won his second Super Bowl in his four appearances. There have been many speculations that this may have been his last game.

“Although I’m not a Broncos fan, I thought it was awesome to see Peyton Manning win his second Super Bowl and 200th-career win on the same night,” senior Katie Rhee said.

However, it was the Broncos’ defense that came up huge in the win, allowing only 10 points to the Panthers, the league’s top-rated offensive team. The league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, just couldn’t produce late in the game when they needed it most, fumbling with four minutes left in the game leading to a touchdown for the Broncos which gave them a two touchdown lead.

Super Bowl MVP Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller stripped the ball from Newton twice, leading to both of Denver’s touchdowns. Miller finished with 2.5 sacks which helped the Broncos in tying the National Football League (NFL) record of seven sacks in a game. Their success is also attributed to a two-yard rush touchdown from running back C.J. Anderson and three field goals from kicker Brandon McManus.

“I was impressed by the Broncos amazing defensive showing and by how they were able to put tremendous pressure on a very mobile quarterback [Newton],” senior Akash Kumar said.   

According to ABC News, last year’s super bowl, Super Bowl XLIX, had over 113 million viewers, the most viewed Super Bowl in its history. While numbers are still being estimated, it is projected that there were over 114 million people this year watching the game.

These numbers include football fans and also those who watched for the commercials or halftime show. This year’s show included icons such as Beyonce, Bruno Mars and Coldplay. While the trio sang some of their own tunes and sang together on other songs.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin closed out the show on piano, singing “Fix You” as a section of the crowd held up signs that read “Believe in Love.”

“The best part of the half time show was when Bruno Mars and Beyoncé fused their song into a mix and had a little dance off,” senior John Gustave said.