the bears played the colts in the super bowl.
the bears played the colts in the super bowl.
who did the bears play in the super bowl?
the colts
the panthers became the first no. 3 seed to advance to the super bowl since the league expanded to a 12-team playoff format in 1990. in doing so, they were also the first division winner to advance to the league championship after playing "three" playoff games. all other instances up to this point where teams advanced to the super bowl after playing all three rounds of the playoffs were wild card teams in super bowls xv, xx, xxvii, xxxii, xxxiv, and xxxv. prior to super bowl xvii, the miami dolphins and washington redskins both won three playoff games to reach the super bowl, but that came during the strike-shortened 1982 season when the regular season was reduced to nine games and the playoffs were expanded to 16 teams, with no teams receiving first-round byes. since then, there have been six instances of teams advancing to the super bowl after playing three playoff games: the pittsburgh steelers in super bowl xl as the no. 6 seeded team, the indianapolis colts in super bowl xli as the no. 3 seed, the new york giants in super bowl xlii as the no. 5 seed, the arizona cardinals in super bowl xliii as the no. 4 seed, the green bay packers in super bowl xlv as the no. 6 seed, and again the new york giants in super bowl xlvi as the no. 4 seed. the colts, cardinals, and the giants in 2011, like the panthers, were division winners in those years (although in the colts case, they played the no. 4 seeded new england patriots in the afc championship that year, ensuring at least the second division winner to play three rounds to make it to the super bowl.), and all but the cardinals went on to win it all. the super bowl would mark the third game (out of four) of the playoffs in which carolina scored 29 points.
super bowl xxxviii
super bowl 50 featured numerous records from individuals and the two teams. denver won despite being massively outgained in total yards (315 to 194) and first downs (21 to 11). their 194 yards and 11 first downs were both the lowest totals ever by a super bowl winning team, as the previous record was 244 yards by the baltimore ravens in super bowl xxxv. only seven other teams had ever gained fewer than 200 yards in a super bowl, and all of them had lost. this was the first super bowl since super bowl xxxvi that the winning team scored only a single offensive touchdown, although the broncos defense had earlier in the game scored a touchdown from a fumble recovery in the end zone. the broncos' seven sacks tied a super bowl record set by the chicago bears in super bowl xx. manning was sacked five times by the panthers, giving this game highest total (12) of combined sacks in super bowl history. kony ealy tied a super bowl record with three sacks, and is the only such player to do so and record an interception. jordan norwood's 61-yard punt return set a new record, surpassing the old record of 45 yards set by john taylor in super bowl xxiii. denver was just 1-of-14 on third down, while carolina was 3-of-15. the two teams' combined third down conversion percentage of 13.8 was the lowest in super bowl history. manning and newton had quarterback passer ratings of 56.6 and 55.4, respectively, and their added total of 112 is a record lowest aggregate passer rating for a super bowl. manning became the oldest quarterback ever to win a super bowl at age 39, the first quarterback ever to win a super bowl starting for two teams, and the first quarterback ever to win 200 games (regular season and postseason) as a starter. gary kubiak became the first head coach to win a super bowl with the same franchise he went to the super bowl with as a player.
super bowl 50