This is it ladies and gentlemen! After the final four teams duked it out in the Conference Championships, we have our Super Bowl matchup! But before we get into who will play for the Lombardi Trophy and which team we think will win, this is how the AFC and NFC Championships went down:

• Broncos 20, Patriots 18: This may have been the last time we get to see Peyton Manning & Tom Brady play against one another. With rumors circulating that Manning will retire after the season, it was great to see these two legends of the game play against each other one more time. Denver’s defense was the main reason why they’re in the Super Bowl. They were able to hit Tom Brady a total of 20 times; it doesn’t matter if you’re Joe Montana or Tim Tebow, you can’t function as a quarterback if you’re getting hit a third of the time you drop back to pass. For the Patriots, offense sells tickets, but for the Broncos, defense wins championships, and that’s why they’re in the Super Bowl.
• Panthers 49, Cardinals 15: The Carolina Panthers absolutely embarrassed the Arizona Cardinals. Coming into the game, Arizona had one of the most prolific offenses in the league, with Carson Palmer at quarterback, a great receiving core, and a stud at running back. But all that went out of the window when they faced off against Carolina’s intimidating defense. With the best linebacker duo in the league with Davis and Kuechly and a shutdown secondary, they completely shellacked Arizona’s offense. Carson Palmer was responsible for SIX turnovers; not 2, not 3, but six turnovers. You can’t win a game in any sport if you don’t have possession of the ball. After the win, Carolina has an aura of invincibility around them and the team is full of confidence, which is a formula well suited for the Super Bowl.

Now with the Conference Championships behind us, here’s who will be playing in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium: The Denver Broncos will be representing the AFC in the Super Bowl after defeating the New England Patriots. The major storyline for Denver is whether or not Peyton Manning will officially retire after this game. While this doesn’t have anything to do with the game on Sunday, a lot of media outlets have been talking about it, regardless.  Plus, numerous players are reaching the end of their contracts, including Von Miller, Danny Trevathan, Ronnie Hillman & CJ Anderson, and Brock Osweiler. It’s extremely important for Denver to try to re-sign these players, but with a limited cap space & Von Miller wanting to become the highest paid player in the league, it’ll be tough to achieve. Anyway, Denver will have to focus on what lies ahead on Sunday and try to eliminate any distractions, which might be tough for some.

The Carolina Panthers will be representing the NFC in the Super Bowl after defeating the Arizona Cardinals. It’s incredible to see how far this team has come. Heading into the season, Carolina lost their best offensive weapon, other than Cam Newton, to injury: wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin tore his ACL in August. Before the injury, Carolina’s GM believed the team could go 11-5 on the season, but after the injury, he said “Let’s be honest, you’d have to be an idiot to think that then.” His statement is true if you think about it. Without Benjamin, the Panthers were left with Cam Newton and Greg Olsen as the only formidable weapons on offense. But what really revolutionized this team and became its heartbeat was the defense. Guys like Josh Norman vastly improved their game and jumped into the national spotlight this year. With defensive play-makers sprinkled all over the unit, it’s a good reason why the Panthers are 15-1 and one win away from becoming world champions.

Without further ado, here’s who I and fellow Lion Tales reporters Noel Ramirez and Mahad Hangol think will walk out of Santa Clara as champions of the world!

Sunday, February 7th

Carolina Panthers (#1 seed, 15-1)  vs. Denver Broncos (#1 seed, 12-4)

(3:30 P.M., Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA)

• Juan De Anda: The Sheriff vs. Superman. No Fly Zone vs. the Dark Knight. The matchups are endless in this year’s Super Bowl, and they’ll make for a great game. The whole world is predicting Carolina will demolish Denver, but I just can’t see what happened to Denver two years ago happen again. While Denver’s defense has essentially carried the team this far, Peyton Manning and the offense aren’t getting the amount of respect they deserve. In this moment in time, Carolina is heavily favored, but the inexperience they possess when it comes down to one game can’t be ignored. On Sunday, Denver will walk into Levi’s Stadium and silence the critics, giving Peyton Manning the greatest retirement gift of them all: the Lombardi Trophy: Broncos 26, Panthers 23.
• Noel Ramirez: Camaraderie (noun): a feeling of good friendship among the people in a group. The Carolina Panthers are the epidemie of camaraderie.  This reminds me of the current NBA champs, the Golden State Warriors. Like the Warriors, the Panthers are a young, entertaining, and fun team to watch no matter which team you root for. Their unity as a team is crucial. People underestimate how much each player cares for one another and the sacrifices they make to accomplish one common goal, and that is to win. And while it may seem as though they are cocky or arrogant by celebrating after every touchdown, first down, or even a sack, they are in the Super Bowl for a reason. They are led by (the expected MVP) Cam Newton, they have one of the best and youngest linebacker in Luke Kuechly, and they are explosive in the running game being ranked 1st in the league. Even though I’d like Peyton Manning to win his second championship, I think the Panthers are too good right now as all signs point to a Panthers domination: Panthers 34, Broncos 27.
• Mahad Hangol: The Panthers are a very, very, very good team and they aren’t nothing to play around with. The Panthers absolutely obliterated every opponent they faced in the playoffs and in the regular season as well. Carolina has a potential MVP winner in quarterback Cam Newton, and they also have a championship defense with a high caliber offense consisting of a ton of secret weapons and x-factors. But don’t count the Broncos, even though they don’t have an elite offense like Carolina with Peyton Manning’s overall quarterback play deteriorating. But on the other side, it’s all about the Bronco’s elite defense. With Von Miller and Demarcus Ware rushing off the edge and Aqib Talib, Chris Harris, and T.J. Ward shutting down the other team’s receivers with their ball hawk vision. But the Panthers are too dominant on both sides of the ball and I believe Carolina will come out on top and Cam Newton is going to win his team a Super Bowl: Panthers 28, Broncos 10.