How We Got to Super Bowl 50: Carolina's Home Cooking, Denver's Big Spending

This feature is part of Super Bowl Week at VICE Sports.

The last time the Broncos and Panthers met on a football field, Carolina got spanked.

It was November, 2012. Denver scored 36 points; their new quarterback, a rejuvenated Peyton Manning, threw for 301 yards. Seven of the Broncos' points came off a Cam Newton pick-six, two more from a safety he took in the end zone. It was a day of growing pains in Newton's rookie season: in all, Denver intercepted him twice and sacked him seven times. The 36-14 Broncos win would be a minor footnote in Manning's first-team All-Pro season after coming off neck surgery.

Now, more than three years later, the Panthers are the ones with the dominant quarterback. Newton capped a dazzling breakout season with a first-team All-Pro nod and, barring voter malpractice, will probably win the MVP. Manning, this time, is the shaky bet—he finished second in the NFL in interceptions despite starting just nine games.

Heading into their Super Bowl matchup this week, it's worth looking at how these teams have changed since that November game.

Newton's ascension to greatness aside, the Panthers made it here on the backs of a massive regime change. General manager Marty Hurney was fired in October 2012, after starting the season 1-5; the team he left was a wasteland of irradiated contracts in the mold of the late-2000s New York Knicks. Former Giants scouting director Dave Gettleman was eventually hired to clean up the mess, but there wasn't much he could do about the situation. DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, and Charles Johnson all had massive deals with little room to negotiate. The Panthers carried roughly $18 million in dead cap hits in 2013, mostly from trading perennial IR candidate Jon Beason.

To get Carolina back into contention, Gettelman had to nail the draft and the lower tiers of free agency—you know, just the two most difficult tasks in the sport. Or so you'd think.

If Hurney left behind any helpful tools, it was his last two first-round picks as GM: Newton and linebacker Luke Kuechly. In the fifth round, Hurney drafted corner Josh Norman, who would later develop into greatness. These guys, along with center Ryan Kalil and tight end Greg Olsen, are the star core of the Panthers team today.

From there, Gettelman went on the NFL general manager equivalent of a Civilization "golden age," busting his ass to improve the roster. His first draft brought Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei; with them, Carolina no longer need to worry about defensive tackle. In 2014, he found a No. 1 target in Kelvin Benjamin, and a pair of guards: Trai Turner, who was drafted in the third round and made the Pro Bowl this year, and Andrew Norwell, an undrafted free agent who has been a stellar starter.

Even more impressive is how Gettelman has navigated the NFL's junk yard. He's turned Kirk Coleman and Michael Oher into solid starters after both looked like they were headed out of the league. Ted Ginn Jr. and Jerricho Cotchery have become a half-decent receiver combo. Gettelman seems to find a way to get more out of overlooked free agents than any other general manager.

The scary thing for the rest of the NFL is that Carolina is not yet close to complete, and they just went 15-1 in the regular season. Benjamin didn't even play this season after suffering a preseason injury. Bene Benwikere is out for the Super Bowl, but looks like a long-term solution at corner. Rookie receiver Devin Funchess isn't yet as good as he can be. They still have some cap space to shed. This team could be better next season.

If anything, this Panthers-Broncos matchup shows that there's more than one way to build an NFL team. On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, you have the Broncos. John Elway's team has spent heavily in free agency, and has had an incredible track record of success in that area the past few seasons. Manning is the linchpin, of course. His signing alone—even with an extended Manning decline phase—would be worth giving Elway the domain for years, but he's also sprung for Aqib Talib, Louis Vasquez, Emmanuel Sanders, T.J. Ward, and DeMarcus Ware.

Even the guys Denver hasn't kept have provided great value. Wes Welker was a perfect Manning fit until he became too concussed to play. Signing corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was a masterstroke, and Rodgers-Cromartie parlayed it into a huge deal with the Giants. Ditto Terrance Knighton with Washington.

In case you think this is limited to just exciting free agents, Denver has gotten great snaps from corner Chris Harris, linebacker Brandon Marshall, and kicker Brandon McManus. They even proved prudent on who to let go, like when they managed to resist the urge to re-sign Julius Thomas, then went on to watch him bowl around the AFC South like Eddie Lacy in a donut shop.

Elway was given a more or less blank slate. The Josh McDaniels Era in Denver was an unmitigated talent disaster. Of the Broncos that played major roles in 2011, the only ones still on the team are 2011 second overall pick Von Miller, 2008 first-round tackle Ryan Clady, 2010 first-rounder Demaryius Thomas, and Harris.

While it seems in some ways that Elway had it easier than Gettleman, it's not easy to sell the roster he inherited to a star quarterback. The Cleveland Browns have been one star quarterback away from relevance for a solid decade, for instance, and have always had the cap space to land one. Elway had to sell Manning on a lot, and now that bounty has been delivered.

This week is going to be filled to the brim with Manning-Newton torch-passing insight columns. This is how the conversation works around Super Bowl time. But it's worth remembering that Elway and Gettleman are the ones who have kept that torch lit.

See all of VICE Sports' Super Bowl 50 coverage here.