Ranking the best Super Bowl 50 matchups

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Cam Newton (l.) vs. Peyton Manning: An ideal QB matchup for an ideal Super Bowl 50.

As soon as Thomas Davis came down with Steven Hauschka’s onside kick attempt Sunday, it was clear that there would be plenty of intrigue in Super Bowl 50.

Nothing against the Seahawks, but no one outside of the “12s” really wanted to see to them in February again. They’ve already had two Super Bowls in a row and we get it: Richard Sherman is a good talker, Pete Carroll is a bro and Marshawn Lynch is going to get a lot of attention for barely opening his mouth. It’s time for something new out of the NFC, and we’re going to get it.

We could still have a repeat performer in the Super Bowl if the Patriots win next weekend, but no matter how the conference championship games shake out, it ought to be a damn good matchup in Santa Clara. Still, some are better than others. So let’s get down to business and rank the four potential Super Bowl matchups in order of intrigue:

4. Cardinals vs. Broncos

Even the bottom-ranked matchup isn’t bad at all. It’s two older quarterbacks looking for glory at the end of their careers. This would be Carson Palmer’s first Super Bowl in his 12 years in the league. And meanwhile, Peyton Manning would be trying to match Super Bowl rings with his younger brother.

There’s nothing wrong with this potential showdown — it features a pair of great defenses, an electric offense and a great but aging Hall of Famer — but it just doesn’t quite have the pizazz of some of the other combinations.

3. Cardinals vs. Patriots

This matchup would pit two aggressive head coaches — in Bruce Arians and Bill Belichick — against each other. All four teams in the conference championship games finished in the top 10 in defense, but this might be the matchup that ends up producing the most points, simply because each of these offenses can be spectacular.

Malcolm Butler, the Super Bowl hero from a season ago, would have to match up with one of the Cardinals’ strong receivers — likely Michael Floyd or John Brown. Meanwhile Larry Fitzgerald would get a chance at Super Bowl redemption after coming so close to a title seven years ago.

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Tom Brady beat the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII. A rematch could be in the works this season.

2. Panthers vs. Patriots

A rematch of Super Bowl XXXVIII, which New England won, 32-29.

This time, the interest would center on the contrasting attitudes of the two teams. On one hand there’s buttoned-up New England, with its supposedly always-focused team, quarterback and coach. And on the other is the loose and happy and fiery Panthers, with Cam Newton at the helm of what could be the most fun team in the NFL.

Again, the coaching battle could be interesting too, with Carolina’s Ron Rivera willing to roll the dice a lot more than other coaches in the league.

1. Panthers vs. Broncos

From a neutral perspective, this is the ideal scenario. It would feature a future Hall of Famer getting (presumably) his final shot at a title in what could be the last game of his career, with his potential successor, Brock Osweiler, quite possibly watching from the bench. Meanwhile Manning would be facing off against a much younger former first overall selection trying to prove — against one of the greats — that he can lead his team to a championship.

And with Josh Norman getting in front of a microphone on media day, there would be plenty to talk about before the game got underway. And when it does, Norman — the breakout NFL defensive star — would have a juicy matchup against either Demaryius Thomas or Emmanuel Sanders to prove again that he is an elite cornerback. Meanwhile, a corner on the other side, Chris Harris, might be just as good as Norman while flying under the radar.

The build-up for this one would be great, and the game itself could be tremendous.

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