Super Bowl report

Carolina DE shines in defeat

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (left) is sacked by Carolina Panthers defensive end Kony Ealy during the second half Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif. The Panthers recovered the fumble, one of two turnover Ealy had a hand in. The other was a second-quarter interception.
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (left) is sacked by Carolina Panthers defensive end Kony Ealy during the second half Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif. The Panthers recovered the fumble, one of two turnover Ealy had a hand in. The other was a second-quarter interception.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Kony Ealy wrapped his arms around Peyton Manning's right leg to pull down the Denver quarterback.




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AP

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (left) is sacked by Denver Broncos linebacker DeMarcus Ware (94) during the second half. Newton was sacked six times, fumbled twice and was intercepted once.

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AP

Denver Broncos receiver Jordan Norwood (11) capped off his return to football with a Super Bowl record 61-yard punt return in the second quarter. This was Norwood’s first season back since spending 2014 on injured reseve with a torn ACL.

He tugged Manning by the back of his jersey to put him on the turf another time, and he came from behind to shake up the Broncos offense, too.

The unheralded second-year defensive end even caught Manning by complete surprise -- not to mention most everybody else in Levi's Stadium -- when he made a snazzy, one-handed grab to secure a second-quarter interception with Denver driving at the Carolina 20. Then Ealy scrambled 19 yards on the return.

"I just did my job. I knew my job, my angle, I knew which receiver I had. I know Peyton, he likes to throw in those short little windows," Ealy said. "I just got my head back real quick and the ball just happened to be there, slow motion. I caught it."

Ealy shined and set the tone on a day Cam Newton and the Carolina offense struggled to make the plays that carried the NFC champion Panthers this far, adding three sacks and a forced fumble to his impressive day in a 24-10 Super Bowl loss Sunday.

Ealy was the first player with three sacks in a Super Bowl since Darnell Dockett in 2009 for Arizona.

"He played amazing," defensive lineman Jared Allen said. "He played a phenomenal game."

Record return

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Jordan Norwood was out of football in 2013. He spent the 2014 season on injured reserve after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

On Sunday, the Broncos wide receiver set a Super Bowl record with a 61-yard punt return in the second quarter of the title game.

The Penn State product fielded a high-arching 28-yard punt and the Panthers appeared to think he had called for a fair catch. But Norwood never raised his hand. He escaped from two initial would-be tacklers -- Colin Jones and Teddy Williams -- at the 25 and raced around the corner down to the Carolina 14.

The Panthers' Mario Addison caught Norwood from behind and saved a touchdown. The Broncos settled for a field goal and took a 13-7 lead with 6:58 left before the break.

The previous Super Bowl mark was set by the 49ers' John Taylor, who covered 45 yards in Super Bowl XXIII.

Mr. Reliable

Call Brandon McManus "Mr. Reliable."

McManus hit a 30-yard field goal to give the Broncos a 16-7 lead over the Panthers in the third quarter.

McManus is 3 for 3 in the Super Bowl and 10 for 10 in the playoffs.

After Graham Gano hit the upright on a 44-yard field goal attempt for the Panthers, Peyton Manning connected with Emmanuel Sanders for 25 yards. Manning then hit Sanders for a 22-yard gain to the Panthers 17.

But the drive stalled and McManus hit another one.

First-half woes

Defense and mistakes dominated the first half.

Cam Newton hardly looked like the NFL MVP and Peyton Manning played like a 39-year-old quarterback at the end of his career.

Thanks to Von Miller and the Denver defense, the Broncos led the Panthers 13-7 at halftime.

Newton was 8 of 19 for 95 yards and was sacked 3 times. He ran for 46 yards.

Manning was 9 of 16 for 76 yards and 1 interception.

The offenses combined to go three-and-out seven times in 15 possessions. The Panthers also lost two fumbles on third-down plays. Manning threw an interception from the Panthers 24, costing Denver a chance at a field goal.

Miller forced a fumble that was recovered in the end zone for a score by Malik Jackson. Brandon McManus made field goals of 34 and 33 yards. Jordan Norwood's 61-yard punt return set up McManus' second field goal.

Philly's own

Corey Brown was the Panthers' leading receiver in the first half with three catches for 38 yards.

The Germantown, Pa., native, otherwise known as "Philly," could have had more, but quarterback Cam Newton missed him when he was wide open early and Brown couldn't hang on to what would have been a tough catch over the middle late in the second quarter.

Brown's first catch was for only 5 yards, but he picked up 20 yards on an "out" route in the first quarter. He followed that catch with a 13-yard grab on a crossing route on which he beat Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib.

Talib, who had already picked up a personnel foul for unnecessary roughness, was flagged again when he grabbed Brown by the face mask. The penalty gave the Panthers the ball at the 1 and they scored on the next play when running back Jonathan Stewart went over the top for a touchdown.

Eagles presence

Broncos guard Evan Mathis and Panthers safety Kurt Coleman, former Philadelphia Eagles, started for their respective teams.

Mathis, who has been playing with a high ankle sprain since the regular season, played every snap at left guard in the first half. He had key blocks on running back C.J. Anderson's three longest runs -- 8-, 12- and 34-yards -- in the first half.

The Eagles released Mathis, who wanted a new contract, in June after he skipped voluntary workouts. Coleman, a 2010 seventh-round draft pick, left via free agency during the 2014 offseason.

Sports on 02/08/2016

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