ONE POPULAR explanation for why the National Football League (NFL) has introduced so many rules favouring passing offences is that higher-scoring games have more appeal to casual fans. If there is any credence to the theory, then one can only imagine what the conspirators at NFL headquarters were thinking as Super Bowl 50 unfolded. In an era where viewership is driven by record-shattering passers and fantasy football owners are more interested in statistics than sport, Sunday’s match was a welcome throwback.
Although the game was already to be a defensive war of attrition, few would have predicted just how miserably the two offences would fare. Combined, the two star quarterbacks, Cam Newton and Peyton Manning, completed just 48% of their throws, were sacked 11 times, committed five turnovers and threw for zero touchdowns. Both of the Broncos’ touchdowns came as direct results of fumbles by Mr Newton—had he managed to protect the ball better it is not clear that the Broncos would have scored any touchdowns at all.
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