The Denver Broncos have officially won Super Bowl 50, and the Lombardi Trophy has a new mile-high home.
The big question remains: Will this be the legendary quarterback’s final game? All signs point to the two-time Super Bowl champ going out on top, but that announcement is still pending, regardless of which way it goes. In a postgame interview, Manning said he would take some time to consider his future.
Peyton actually didn’t have a great game in the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl, but the team’s emotional leader managed it well enough to earn an ugly “W.” On the other side of the ball, Denver defensive stud Von Miller was a force to be reckoned with — and he earned MVP honors for the effort. For Carolina, captain Luke Kuechly played his usual strong game, and Kony Ealy compiled three sacks.
Manning finished 13-of-23 for 141 yards passing. He had no touchdown passes, but threw one interception and fumbled twice, losing one. Still, Eli’s older brother gets a ring, and plenty of glory — especially if this is the last time he laces up the cleats.
Beyond the Broncos, it was CBS reaping the benefits: The Les Moonves-led broadcast channel is anticipating the record ratings that tend to come from the final football game of the year. Last Super Bowl scored 114.4 million total TV viewers — the most ever.
While the audience typically grows year over year, that game had the bigger market New England Patriots, which enjoyed a thrilling last-minute win over the Seattle Seahawks. The down-to-the-wire aspect of Super Bowl XLIX helped maintain that high average tune-in. This year, Las Vegas set its expected line north of 117 million linear audience members. We’ll find out tomorrow what the tallies total.
Regardless if CBS just aired the most-watched TV show ever or not, the network is certain to leapfrog NBC to become this TV season’s No. 1 channel in the key 18-49 demographic. It already was the most-watched.