Manning goes out on top in what could be final season

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Rachael Kriger, Sports Editor

Levi Stadium, home of Super Bowl 50, was surrounded with so much orange and blue it looked like Mile High Stadium, the home of the Denver Broncos. The presence of all the Broncos fans certainly helped in the Broncos 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

The game, which is thought to be Peyton Manning’s last game, had the Broncos dominating the Panthers for the whole game. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton didn’t show up to play, as he threw an interception and only completed 18/41 passes for 265 yards. Manning didn’t impress either, throwing for only 141 yards on 13/23 completed passes.

While most people thought Manning was going win the MVP award, he did not. The award went to outside linebacker Von Miller. Miller had two forced fumbles and sacked Newton 2.5 times.

However the spotlight the entire night was focused on Manning. Speculation of his retirement has been ongoing since the beginning of this season.
Once Manning returned to the Broncos starting lineup after injury and the Broncos started to make a run at the playoffs, the talk got more intense. After the Broncos AFC Championship win over the New England Patriots, Manning told Patriots head coach Bill Belichick that this was his “last rodeo.”

So will Manning retire? If he does, he will be added to the long list of recent retiree announcements including Calvin Johnson, Justin Tuck, and also Marshawn Lynch. Either way, whether he retires or not, Manning, who will go down as one of the best to ever play the game of football, now has two Lombardi trophy’s to his name.