Dominant D carries Manning, Broncos to 24-10 Super Bowl win

(AP) — With his prolific passing and complete control of the game at the line of scrimmage, Peyton Manning helped usher in the NFL's wide-open era of high-scoring offenses and pass-happy game plans.

Manning's possible farewell game in Super Bowl 50 was a throwback to the 1970s when his father Archie was running away from dominant defenses such as the Steel Curtain and Doomsday.

Von Miller forced fumbles that set up both of Denver's touchdowns, led a defense that harassed MVP Cam Newton and helped carry Manning to his second Super Bowl title with a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

For so many years, Manning's career was defined by his gaudy regular season numbers that weren't enough come playoff time.

A lack of help from teammates or the inability to thrive against stellar defenses from teams such as New England and Seattle left Manning with just one Super Bowl title in his first 13 playoff trips.

[...] after throwing for more yards, more touchdowns and winning more starts than any other quarterback in NFL history, Manning could be ready to hang it up.

After knocking off former Super Bowl champions Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady to make it here and then holding Newton and the NFL's highest-scoring offense to its lowest point total of the season, the Broncos stated their case to stand next to Pittsburgh's Steel Curtain defenses of the 1970s, the dominant 1985 Chicago Bears, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 2013 Seattle Seahawks on the list of top defenses.

Denver recorded 14 sacks, forced seven turnovers and allowed just four touchdowns in the three playoff wins.