It’s almost as if the NFL were trying to write the script on the perfect way to start their season.
The Carolina Panthers will head to Colorado for their rematch with the Denver Broncos to open the season, looking for a modicum of revenge for their Super Bowl 50 loss.
In February, the Broncos rode off into the sunset with a 24-10 victory while Cam Newton was left speechless and ticked off at his postgame press conference. Peyton Manning did a little bit more riding off into the sunset as he called it a career as a two-time Super Bowl champ.
The NFL provides us with plenty of challenges and storylines every year and that is certainly going to be the case when the Broncos and Panthers hook up on Sept. 8 to open up the NFL season. So what will be the biggest storylines when these two teams go at it once more?
Who will be quarterback for the Denver Broncos?
This seemed like a simple answer once Peyton Manning decided to call it a career, what with Brock Osweiler guiding the team to a playoff berth during his injury absence. What the Broncos forgot to do was lock Brock into a long-term deal while the getting was good. Instead, he took off for greener pastures.
John Elway and the Denver brass were left scrambling a bit and it led to them trading for embattled Philadelphia Eagles QB Mark Sanchez. There’s also been constant speculation over a potential deal for Colin Kaepernick as well.
Simply put, no one inside or outside the organization has a clue as to who the starter is going to be on September 8. It could be Sanchez, it could be Kaepernick, it could be the little-thought-of Trevor Siemian (who was Denver’s third-stringer last year) or even someone the Broncos might covet in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Cam Newton vs. Von Miller, Part 2 (or is it 3?)
The outspoken and flamboyant quarterback versus the pass-rushing freak that shut him down and shut him up. Let’s just say there was no bigger reason for the Broncos victory in Super Bowl 50 than the play of Miller. He simply ate up the Carolina offensive line and then had his way with a sitting duck in Newton.
Since that fateful day, Miller and Newton have gotten into a bit of a back-and-forth via Instagram. Newton’s offseason activities apparently included playing some Water Polo and Miller took it upon himself to have some Photoshop fun with Newton’s photo.
On the field, these two have a major score to settle and the winner of their personal battle may well be the one on the winning side of the scoreboard when it is all said and done.
Will the Broncos defense be the same without Danny Trevathan, Malik Jackson, et al?
Super Bowl champions always see this happen — other teams pluck talent that got them a ring in hopes of channeling that same magic for their franchise. In the case of the Denver Broncos, the biggest losses happened on the defensive side of the ball.
Sure, Von Miller is still there and a ton of talent still exists. This is a team that will have to deal with the loss of multiple talented starters though — especially in the form of linebackers Danny Trevathan and Malik Jackson, who left for the Chicago Bears and the Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively.
Jackson was the ying to Miller’s yang in pass-rushing situations, while Trevathan was one of the most-coveted defensive free agents thanks to his steady play in the middle of the field this past season. In fact, some believed he was the best overall player the Broncos had on defense last year.
Losing those types of talents can not only mess with your production, it can also mess with chemistry. So far, the Broncos haven’t really responded with much in the way of free agency at those positions. That means there will be a lot of testing going on in camp and a lot of players with plenty to prove.
Can Carolina not dwell on the past?
Too often the losers of the previous year’s Super Bowl find themselves in hangover mode, unable to recover from the loss in February. That’s the challenge the Carolina Panthers are going to have to overcome not just in Week 1, but throughout the year as well.
Opposing teams are going to come at the Panthers like they won the Super Bowl anyway, so being on their game is going to be a weekly battle more so than ever before. Can Cam Newton lead this team forward instead of looking backwards?
Since 2000, not a single loser of the Super Bowl has gone on to win the NFL championship the next season. While the competition levels have plenty to do with that, so does the fact that getting to the top of the mountain is so hard to do when you saw the pinnacle and couldn’t reach for it.
Letting go of the past and focusing on the present is going to be key for the 2016 version of the Panthers, and we’ll know if it is happening or not rather quickly.
Did either offense learn anything since the Super Bowl?
Let’s just say that Super Bowl 50 wasn’t exactly an offensive masterpiece…and that may be putting it nicely.
Cam Newton was off his game, going just 18 of 41 passing with no touchdowns and an interception. Peyton Manning mustered up just 141 yards and an interception to his name while also losing a fumble.
Carolina rushed for just 118 yards, which was only slightly more impressive than the 90-yard performance the Broncos put together.
Hopefully, both teams went back to the drawing board and figured out the magic formula to beating each other’s defenses. We’ll find out for sure on September 8.
