Nearly 10 years to the day later, Super Bowl LX is back in the Bay, with the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> squaring off against the New England Patriots<\/a>. It’s a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX, an instant classic that saw New England escape after a goal-line interception dashed Seattle’s hopes for a second Lombardi Trophy.<\/p>\n Seattle and New England arrive as the No. 1 and 2 seeds in their respective conferences, combining to go 33-6 in the regular season and playoffs.<\/p>\n Here’s a look back at the last time the big game came to northern California.<\/p>\n At 39 years old and having dealt with a left foot injury that limited him to nine starts during the regular season, Manning wasn’t playing anywhere near his previous Hall of Fame level when the Broncos made it to the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n But Manning had done enough in the postseason to take a shot at a second Super Bowl title and potentially ride off into the sunset with a championship, just like another legendary Broncos quarterback: John Elway.<\/p>\n That’s exactly how it played out, as Manning threw for 141 yards and an interception with the Broncos’ defense doing most of the heavy lifting. Manning became<\/a> the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl — before Tom Brady surpassed him — the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl as the starter for multiple teams and the first signal-caller to win 200 games as a starter (regular and postseason).<\/p>\n Manning claimed a second Lombardi Trophy and retired a month later as the league’s (then) all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns.<\/p>\n Superman’s kryptonite<\/p>\n For most of the 2015 season, all signs pointed toward the Super Bowl as a coronation for quarterback Cam Newton and the 15-1 Panthers. Newton had taken the league by storm with his on-field performance — he had 4,473 total yards and 45 total touchdowns on his way to league MVP honors — and his memorable “Superman” and “dab” celebrations.<\/p>\n As it turned out, Denver’s defense, which allowed the fewest yards and posted the most sacks in the league during the regular season, had the answers needed to slow Newton and the Panthers down.<\/p>\n Denver’s seven sacks tied for the most in Super Bowl history and forced three Newton turnovers — an interception and two fumbles. Newton drew criticism for not diving after one of those fumbles in the shadow of his end zone as the Broncos recovered at Carolina’s 4-yard line.<\/p>\n After the game, a disappointed Newton grew agitated by the news conference setup, which had him answering questions within earshot of the Broncos’ victorious media availabilities. Newton’s answers were kept short before he got up and left roughly two and a half minutes later.<\/p>\n Von steals the show<\/p>\n While Manning and Newton garnered much of the attention going into the game, it was the leader of Denver’s dominant defense who had the biggest impact.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1746016215_769__end_rule.png\"\/)
<\/a>Manning’s last ride<\/p>\n