<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> <Ul> <Li> ← XLIX </Li> <Li> Super Bowl </Li> <Li> LI → </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> ← XLIX </Li> <Li> Super Bowl </Li> <Li> LI → </Li> </Ul> <P> Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season . The American Football Conference (AFC) champions Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Carolina Panthers . The game was played on February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California (located in the San Francisco Bay Area). As this was the 50th Super Bowl game, the league emphasized the "golden anniversary" with various gold - themed initiatives during the 2015 season, as well as suspending the tradition of naming each Super Bowl game with Roman numerals (under which the game would have been known as "Super Bowl L"), so the logo could prominently feature the Arabic numerals 50 . </P> <P> The Panthers finished the regular season with a 15--1 record, racking up the league's top offense, and quarterback Cam Newton was named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP). They defeated the Arizona Cardinals 49--15 in the NFC Championship Game and advanced to their second Super Bowl appearance since the franchise began playing in 1995 . The Broncos finished the regular season with a 12--4 record, bolstered by having the league's top defense and the veteran presence of starting quarterback and Super Bowl XLI winner Peyton Manning . The Broncos defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 20--18 in the AFC Championship Game joining the Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, and Pittsburgh Steelers as one of four teams that have made eight appearances in the Super Bowl . This record would later be broken the next season, in 2017, when the Patriots advanced to their ninth Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl LI . </P>

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