SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Panthers have made a habit of starting fast, and they did it at an incredible level coming into Super Bowl 50 by the score of 55-7 in the first halves of their previous two postseason games.
But it was the Broncos who jumped out to the early start in the championship game, first with a Brandon McManus field goal on Denver's opening drive and then with a touchdown when outside linebacker Von Miller beat left tackle Mike Remmers for a strip-sack on Cam Newton. Defensive end Malik Jackson recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
The play was quite familiar to Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who was strip-sacked by Miller in Week 5.
