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Peyton Manning had the worst season of any super bowl bound quarterback ever. And yet he is still in the super bowl. After going through a season where it looked like he might not return (and all eyes went to Brock Osweiler as the starter), then going through a tantrum that was equivalent to that of a 5-year-old by saying “If I don’t start as quarterback, I quit.” Somehow here is he, representing the AFC in the milestone event of super bowl 50. People all over have different reactions to this, but what a lot of people want to know are two things: 1. “How did he get to the super bowl?” and 2. “Does he deserve it?”
There is a simple answer as to how the Broncos are in super bowl 50 after Peyton’s awful season: Defense. The Broncos had the best defense in the league for a little more than half the season. Statistically, the fact was that their defense was number 1 out of all 32 teams. On that same note, the offense was 17 out of 32. That just goes to show that you can have an average offense that gets by with usually putting up 12 points per game, as long as your defense is a force to be reckoned with.
Now the real question comes into play: Does Peyton Manning deserve to be in the super bowl? That question has a lot of different aspects to it. For instance, when you look at the Carolina Panthers who have a star studded quarterback in Cam Newton, who just came off the Panthers franchise best season in the entire history of that team, you can tell that Cam deserves to be representing the NFC in this game (although we all could do without the dabbing now).
However, Peyton isn’t coming off the best season. Quite the opposite actually. Historically speaking, there has been only one team in the NFL franchise (post merger) that has thrown the ball less effectively than the Broncos right now with Peyton Manning is the 1979 Los Angeles Rams. In fact, according to the NFL “Adjusted yards per net attempt” stat, it states that “Peyton Manning was the league's worst quarterback (on a per-drop back basis).’ That means Johnny Manziel was better than him. Let that sink in for second.
The question remains, does Peyton deserve be to in the super bowl? Well statically speaking no he does not, but the Broncos defense most certainly does. But whether or not you agree about Peyton and the HGH scandal, this super bowl will be one to remember (even if there will be no Malcolm Butler goal line interception).
