That’s what the Denver Broncos showed us. With one of the best defense in the era of the Super Bowl (5th), the Broncos achieved what two months ago seemed impossible: to be champions of the NFL.
And this team did it in a surprising way: with minimal input from the position of quarterback. This team showed that you can win a Super Bowl without a modern NFL QB where every week and every season the history books of the offensive are rewritten, where it is increasingly difficult to play defense and in a league that puts more emphasis on protecting the QB and inflate offensive statistics to ensure the defense has a fair play.
But unlike other teams Super Bowl, the Broncos got zero help of his passing offense, something unthinkable in 2016. The Broncos won the NFL title paying homage to the history of the league: winning with stifling defense, with a “solid” ground game and special teams.
But how much did the Broncos obtained from their QB? The answer is almost nothing, out of a two-point conversion and a third down conversion in the first quarter, the contribution of Peyton Manning in this game was almost nil. These were Manning: 13 completions on 23 attempts (56.5%), 6.1 yards per pass attempt, 5 sacks and 1 interception. 0 TDs (56.6 QB rating) one lost fumble and 4 passes that hit the hands of the Panthers defensive.
When the offense generates 194 yards, only one of the WR exceeds 23 receiving yards, averaged 3.5 yards per play. The Denver Broncos defensive special teams played in such a way that proves they can win a Super Bowl without a QB …
Put in context, no team in the Super Bowl era has won with these QB numbers in playoffs: Even these quarterbacks have made contributions on offense, we go to the “worst” QB to win a Super Bowl:
Ben Roethlisberger Super Bowl XL. He had 123 yards passing and two interceptions. But also he scored a rushing TD and threw another 7 TD passes in playoffs and had another rushing TD … His contribution (and tackle against the Colts) was vital for the Steelers to win their fifth title.
These were the offensive series of the Broncos in Super Bowl 50:
| Series | Plays | Yards | Result | Observations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 67 | FG | Their first drive was the best in the game and converted their only third down |
| 2 | 3 | 9 | Punt | |
| 3 | 3 | -2 | Punt | |
| 4 | 3 | -12 | Punt | |
| 5 | 4 | -1 | FG | Coming from a 61 yard punt |
| 6 | 5 | 36 | INT | |
| 7 | 3 | 8 | Punt | |
| 8 | 7 | 54 | FG | Out of Carolina failed attempt to make a FG |
| 9 | 4 | 8 | Punt | |
| 10 | 5 | 18 | Fumble | |
| 11 | 3 | 4 | Punt | |
| 12 | 3 | 3 | Punt | |
| 13 | 3 | 4 | TD | Thanks to Cam Newton fumbling |
| 14 | 3 | 8 | Punt | The game was already set by this time in the series |
Without taking into account the two long offensive series, this attack generated only 8 of the 24 points scored by the Broncos (2 FG and two-point conversion). The defense and special teams did most of the work. Only twice they had a Drive over 6 plays and only three times managed a drive of more than 35 yards. And what we saw was a constant in all Broncos Playoff games. A quarterback proof offensive. Wade Phillips proved that you can win a Super Bowl without a QB.
Two other quarterbacks with “bad performance” who got title in the end
Brad Johnson, Super Bowl XXXVIII. The Bucs QB with that big offensive threw two TD passes in the Super Bowl. In the other two playoff games he had three TD passes. He was not the protagonist, but neither had to be dragged by his team. Trent Dilfer, Super Bowl XXXV. Dilfer had the first touchdown of the Super Bowl and provided two TD passes during the playoffs. Again, not spectacular but did his part to avoid being an offensive liability.
In fact only 4 times in NFL history a team has been champion without a QB throwing a TD pass. Super Bowl III (Joe Namath), Super Bowl XX (Jim McMahon), Super Bowl XL (Ben Roethlisberger) and the Super Bowl 50 (Peyton Manning). McMahon and Big Ben scored by rushing. Namath had no turnovers.
We had never seen such a defensive performance without any support from an air attack. What made that night the Broncos defense is to admire.
