R-E-L-A-X, it is almost here. We are just two days away from the game that football fans everywhere have been pining for the entire season. The NFL gods have rewarded us with an incredible matchup for the 50th edition of the Super Bowl, with the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers set to do battle at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday night.
Super Bowl 2016 streaming: All you need to know for watching Sunday’s game live online, TV and radio
The record books will be rewritten when the Panthers and Broncos meet in Super Bowl 50 on Sunday night.
The meeting of the league’s best teams in the season’s final game has become commonplace in recent years, as this will be the third straight season that we get the top seeds from each conference in the Super Bowl. Before this stretch, it had happened only three other times since the current playoff format was established prior to the 1990 season.
The Panthers, however, aren’t just any No. 1 seed. They were the last team to lose in the regular season, finished 15-1 and had the league’s best outright record. While that trio of accomplishments is impressive, it’s hasn’t historically guaranteed a deep run through the postseason.
Since 2000, the only "last undefeated team" to win a Super Bowl was the Indianapolis Colts in 2006. Carolina was the seventh team in NFL history to win 15 or more regular season games, but just two of the other six -- the 1984 San Francisco 49ers and 1985 Chicago Bears -- got a ring at the end of the playoffs. And none of the last eight teams with the league's best record outright has gone on to win the Super Bowl. The most recent team to do so was the 2003 New England Patriots.
For Carolina, there's also the pressure of capturing the franchise's first-ever Lombardi Trophy. The Panthers are one of 13 active franchises that have never won a Super Bowl, losing to the Patriots in their only other appearance in 2003. If the Panthers prevail on Sunday, they'll follow in the footsteps of the Seattle Seahawks (2013) and Baltimore Ravens (2012) as recent first-time winners.
While the Panthers are relative newcomers to the big stage, the Broncos are seasoned veterans. This is their eighth all-time appearance in the Super Bowl, etching their name alongside the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys and Patriots in the NFL record books. Yet, success has been fleeting for them on this stage.
Denver is 2-5 in the Super Bowl, the most losses by any franchise in league history. While that distinction would be sad enough on its own, it gets even more distressing when you look at how badly it’s been outplayed in those contests. Each of the losses has been by at least 17 points and the average margin of defeat is nearly 30 points per game. Of the five biggest blowouts in Super Bowl history, the Broncos have been the victim in three of them.
Still, the Broncos have a chance to become the ninth team to earn a trio of Super Bowl titles and give Peyton Manning a chance to earn that elusive second championship. If this is the Sheriff's final rodeo, he has the rare opportunity to write a storybook ending to his Hall of Fame career and make history by becoming the first quarterback ever to win a ring with two different franchises.
How to watch
When: Sunday, Feb. 7, 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
TV: CBS
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson
Online: CBSSports.com
Radio: Westwood One
See More:
