Peyton Manning has been the veteran focus of attention around the Broncos throughout their postseason run, but he wasn’t the only member of the team with a chance to burnish his legacy with a win in Super Bowl 50.
Linebacker DeMarcus Ware accomplished plenty over the course of his 11 NFL seasons, including sacking quarterbacks 134.5 times, but he had never played in a Super Bowl before Sunday. He made his first appearance a memorable one by sacking Cam Newton twice as the Broncos rolled to a 24-10 victory that left the veteran pass rusher feeling he’d finally made it.
“I wouldn’t say there’s a sense of relief. I would just say that there’s a sense of ‘I have arrived,’ just being a champion. It was a hard-fought battle for so many years for me. It just feels great to [enjoy] this moment right now.”
On Sunday night, linebacker Brandon Marshall said that General Manager John Elway “built for this moment” after losing to the Seahawks two years by bolstering the defense with players like Ware. Ware made Elway look very smart for making that move with his play against the Panthers and he made his own career accomplishments sparkle a bit more brightly in the process as well.