Among things most likely to occur in Super Bowl 50 -- up there with Cam Newton striking a Superman pose and speculation about Peyton Manning retiring -- is the Broncos throwing an interception. In the regular season, no team threw more interceptions than Denver, and no team recorded more than Carolina.
The Broncos are a true anomaly in making the Super Bowl despite throwing more picks than any other team. It hasn't happened in more than 35 years. The last time was in 1979, when the Rams got there despite throwing a league-worst 29. Denver threw 23 interceptions last year, while the Panthers recorded 24. Straight off the numbers, about a 50-50 shot of Carolina getting 2 interceptions in this game.
Defenses that record a lot of interceptions getting to the Super Bowl, though -- that happens a lot. Over the last 15 years, at least one of the Super Bowl participants ranked in the top 10 in interceptions 12 times; both did four times. When just one team did, as is the case with Carolina this year, that team went 5-2 in the big game. Just another reason to feel good if you're backing the Panthers on Sunday.
| SUPER BOWL TEAMS TOP-10 IN INTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Top 10 INTs | Result |
| 2001 | Both | |
| 2002 | Both | |
| 2003 | New England | Won |
| 2004 | New England | Won |
| 2005 | Neither | |
| 2006 | Chicago | Lost |
| 2007 | New England | Lost |
| 2008 | Pittsburgh | Won |
| 2009 | New Orleans | Won |
| 2010 | Both | |
| 2011 | Both | |
| 2012 | Neither | |
| 2013 | Seattle | Won |
| 2014 | Neither | |
| 2015 | Carolina | ??? |
--Andy Richardson