Carolina Panthers at Super Bowl 50: The impact five years on
By Dean Jones
How has losing Super Bowl 50 impacted the Carolina Panthers five years after such a crushing defeat?
It’s been five long years since the Carolina Panthers took the field against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. This was a golden chance for the organization to get their hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time and went into the contest as a red-hot favorite after losing just one game during the 2015 campaign.
Everything was in place for the Panthers to succeed. They had an NFL MVP under center in Cam Newton and a defense that was played inspired football to further enhance their overall dominance.
However, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for Carolina, enabling Peyton Manning to end his Pro Football Hall of Fame career with another ring.
The Panthers were up against it and weren’t helped by a series of dubious calls that have them a mountain to climb. Who will ever forget the Jerricho Cotchery catch that never was, which completely swung momentum in the Broncos’ favor?
Couple this with some key turnovers and an uncharacteristically poor display from Newton as his protection collapsed around him, and things were never going to end well for the Panthers.
They eventually lost the game 24-10. It’s hard to gauge just how disappointing this result was and the game itself still harbors plenty of bitterness from large sections of Carolina’s fanbase.
This was easily their best chance to win it all. And things have never been quite the same since.