It was a rematch of Super Bowl 50 as the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers hooked up at Mile High to open the 2016 NFL season.
The game more than lived up to the hype as the Broncos came from behind for a thrilling 21-20 victory over the Panthers.
Carolina had a chance to win the game with just four seconds left, but kicker Graham Gano hooked his 50-yard field goal attempt wide left. Gano made the game-winning kick or so he thought he did seconds earlier, but the officials blew it dead to give Denver a timeout in order to ice Gano.
And it worked.
Newton, the NFL’s reigning MVP, was 18-of-33 for 194 yards and had one touchdown and an interception.
Newton was on the run a lot Thursday night as the Broncos defense collected three sacks and put pressure on Newton all game long. By the time the game was over, Newton could barely remember where he was at after taking a number of cheap shots to the head that weren’t called by the refs.
The Broncos went at Cam Newton's head all night: https://t.co/4HxmQLA88m pic.twitter.com/gQPsnraOFJ
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) September 9, 2016
Denver quarterback Trevor Siemian picked up his first NFL victory in his first NFL game as the starting quarterback. The Northwestern product finished the day 18-of-26 for 178 yards with one touchdown. However, he did have two interceptions and two sacks in his season debut.
The Panthers looked like they were going to runaway with it with a 17-7 lead in the fourth quarter. But that’s when everything fell apart for the Panthers.
Siemian found running back C.J. Anderson in stride for a 25-yard touchdown and then the Bronco defense picked up an interception on Carolina’s next possession. Ten plays later, Anderson bullied his way in from the one-yard line to give Denver its first lead (21-17) of the game.
The Return: Payton Manning made his first appearance at Mile High since his announcement that he was retiring from the game this past offseason.
First Carry: On his first carry of his NFL career, rookie Andy Janovich sure made it count as he took it to the house for a 28-yard touchdown run.
