Broncos Demonstrate Resiliency to Win Super Bowl 50

Super Bowl 50 tells a story of how determination, mindset and resilient leadership can be a stronger force than ability and skill.

They said “There is no way the Broncos will become the number one seed in the AFC”, but they did.

They said “There is no way they will beat the Patriots the first time, let alone the second time in playoffs”, but they did.

They said, “There is NO WAY the Broncos will beat the mighty and ferocious Panthers”, but they did!

The Denver Broncos beat the nearly undefeated Carolina Panthers 24 – 10 to win Super Bowl 50, and they did it using resiliency.

The Broncos had some serious disadvantages entering the game on Sunday, February 7. Their quarterback, Peyton Manning, is the oldest quarterback to ever play in a Super Bowl game, let alone win. The age difference between the Bronco’s QB and Cam Newton is the largest between two starting quarterbacks in Super Bowl history. Cam Newton is 26 and Peyton Manning is 39.

Manning, who has been playing 18 years in the NFL, hasn’t had feeling in his fingertips for years, was left limping off of the field many times this season, and only appeared in 10 games this season due in part to a torn plantar fascia in his left foot.

According to Brandon Stokley, a previous teammate and longtime friend of Peyton Manning, “It would have been so easy for him to say, ‘I’m done. Put me on IR. The foot’s not how it should be, it’s not feeling good.” Throw in the towel and call it a career, or at least call it a [season],” Stokley said. “But he didn’t. He kept grinding.” Read More.

Stokley, who is now retired and living in Denver commented on Peyton Manning’s ability to make it to Super Bowl 50: “The way he works, what he puts into it every week and every offseason, it doesn’t surprise me at all,” Stokley said.

Peyton wasn’t the only Bronco suffering from a physical injury before going into Super Bowl 50. An injury report revealed that ten key starting Broncos players had injuries while only three Panthers were injured.

This weekend revealed how mindset can have immense impacts on performance, and that resilient leadership, as demonstrated by Peyton Manning, has ripple effects that trickle down to every member of his team. His resilient nature and determination to never give up was a fire fueling his defense.  They certainly had his back, as well as the rest of the Broncos, when they shut down Cam Newton. Peyton Manning’s infamous talent was not the reason the Broncos won the Super Bowl game, but his mentality had lasting effects that encouraged his team and ultimately led to victory.

The same is true in business. When a CEO or manager demonstrates his or her commitment to their company or team and their willingness to go the extra mile, this fuels their staff into being the best employees they can be.  They are driven by a symbiotic relationship of their leader’s commitment to them, which in-turn produces a sense of commitment to their manager. Learn more.

Resiliency is all about not only bouncing back from adversity but bouncing forward. The Broncos demonstrated their ability to take lessons learned and challenges faced from previous seasons and games, and use this as a formula for this year’s success.

In an immediate post-game interview with Tracy Wolfson, Manning discusses the Broncos resiliency.

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