Santa Clara, Calif.

For decades, NFL coaches have said there is no defense for the perfectly thrown pass. It is the sport's unstoppable play. The Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl on Sunday night by figuring out a solution: Never let the quarterback throw.

The Broncos' defensive line sacked Carolina superstar quarterback Cam Newton six times and Denver pass rusher Von Miller embarrassed the Panthers' offensive line as the league's best offense stalled. The 24-10 Denver win gave a second Super Bowl to quarterback Peyton Manning in what was likely his final game.

In a game that featured two of the game's most famous quarterbacks, there were almost no passing highlights. Miller forced two fumbles—one went for a touchdown in the first quarter, another essentially sealed the game in the fourth. He was named the game's MVP.

All through their 15-1 regular-season run and march through the playoffs, the Panthers produced stretches on offense were they looked all but impossible to defend. They scored a league-best 31.3 points per game during the regular season as Newton's legs and arm froze defenses, allowing him to slip away from tacklers until a receiver came open downfield. It was an offense for which no one had an answer—until Denver.

In the first quarter, Miller zipped around the left side of the Panthers' line and rocked Newton, who fumbled the ball into the end zone, leading to a Malik Jackson recovery and touchdown.

Denver's early 10-0 lead was a shock—but even more shocking was that the Panthers couldn't put together anything offensively. The Broncos pass rushers—Miller, DeMarcus Ware and Derek Wolfe—were so frequently in the Carolina backfield they should have paid rent. Despite Carolina's physical blocking schemes—they often deploy blockers alongside Newton in order to keep him upright—there was nothing they could do to prevent Miller from spinning his way past them.

The pressure paid off. Newton was inconsistent all game, and even when he showed flashes of brilliance, they went to waste. At the half he had just 95 passing yards.

On his first drive of the second half, Newton finally connected on a 45-yard pass across the middle to Ted Ginn Jr. Even then, the drive proved worthless—kicker Graham Gano hit the upright on the field goal and the score remained 13-7.

Denver responded to that lucky break by immediately driving down the field and nailing a field goal to make it 16-7. The Broncos struggled to score touchdowns, keeping the Panthers in the game longer than they should have, as kicker Brandon McManus hit chip-shot field goals of 34, 33 and 30 yards when the offense couldn't punch it in.

This game was the ultimate test case for the modern NFL. Over the past decade, the game has changed as running quarterbacks, like Newton, have gotten harder to stop. The solution, it seems, is a pass rusher like Miller, who can chase them all over the field. Newton and Miller were the top two picks of the 2011 draft.

The Broncos looked like they could drain the life out of the game up 16-7 at the start of the fourth quarter. Instead, Kony Ealy forced Manning to fumble with 13:27 left. The Panthers cut the lead to 16-10.

For Manning, the game went about as well he could expect. He's clearly a shell of his former self and his passes lacked zip. He threw an earlier interception to Ealy, who looked like the intended receiver on the pass. Yet with the win, Manning became the first quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different teams following his triumph with the Colts in Super Bowl XLI.

After the AFC Championship Game, Manning told Patriots coach Bill Belichick this may be his "last rodeo," implying retirement may be near. After the game, he said he'll "take some time" to decide.

Newton, of course, should have another decade of high-level play left in him. The problem? So does Miller.

Write to Kevin Clark at kevin.clark@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2016 02:15 ET (07:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.