MVP Von Miller the biggest difference for Broncos during Super Bowl

SANTA CLARA - The Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl because they have Von Miller.

They lost the Super Bowl two years ago because they didn’t have Von Miller. He missed that game with a torn ACL, and without him Denver had no one who could catch Seattle Seahawks dual-threat quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson threw two touchdown passes, posted a quarterback rating of 123.1 and Seattle beat Denver 43-8.

Sunday, the Broncos faced another dual-threat quarterback, Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers. And this time the Broncos shut him down, because this time the Broncos had Miller.

Denver sacked Newton six times, and held him to a passer rating of just 55.4.

After the game, the Broncos explained how they stopped Newton. “We knew we had to put Von on him,” defensive tackle Derek Wolfe said. “It worked out pretty well.”

Wolfe had more to say about Newton. “You know he tries to find spaces up inside to get out (of the pocket). So, that’s why we had Von roaming around and doing what he does best. That’s chasing the quarterback.”

No kidding. When it comes to chasing quarterbacks, Miller is the best in the NFL. We’re talking the reincarnation of legendary New York Giants outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Miller is THAT good. He may be the league’s best player.

He was completely unstoppable against the Panthers, recording 2.5 sacks, six tackles, two forced fumbles, two quarterback hurries and one pass break up.

“I just wanted to key into my guy, key into my tackle, key into the center, key into Cam.” Miller said after the game. “(Newton’s) cadence is definitely one the hardest to get down in the National Football League. We just keyed in. That’s the type of defense that we’ve been playing all year long.”

Miller keyed in early, stripping Newton in the first quarter near the Panthers’ end zone. Broncos defensive tackle Malik Jackson recovered the ball in the end zone and gave Denver its first touchdown of the game.

During the fourth quarter, Miller again stripped Newton near the Panthers’ end zone. “It’s kind of a blur,” Miller said after the game, referring to the second strip. “Coach (Wade) Phillips, he called the play. Wolfe got a great inside rush and I was able to get around and put my hand up and was able to knock it out.”

After Miller knocked the ball out of Newton’s throwing hand, the Broncos recovered at Carolina’s 4 and scored a touchdown three plays later. Which means Miller was responsible for both of Denver’s touchdowns. Miller was the difference in the game.

“Von, are you able to look back to where you came from at this point two years ago to now, Super Bowl MVP?” a reporter asked Miller, referring to the Super Bowl Miller missed.

“I was just about to get to that,” Miller said. “Coach Kubiak says all the time, ‘Life is 90 percent fair. Ten percent you really can’t control, but the 90 you can do to the best of your ability.’ That has been our motto all year, and that’s my motto right now.”

Miller left the podium and Kubiak replaced him. A reporter asked, “Coach, for people who don’t see Miller play every week, what makes him so special?”

“Effort,” Kubiak answered. “The guy hasn’t missed a day of practice since I came here … He’s an energized guy all the time. He plays extremely hard. Has a great passion to play. Loves to dance at practice. He’s a piece of work and he loves to play football. That’s the kind of guy you’re looking for.”