The Johnny Manziel story is one full of bad decisions and disappointment. He took the nation by storm in 2012 with the Texas A&M Aggies, but what followed was one of the worst NFL careers a Heisman Trophy winner has ever had.
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Johnny Football was drinking and partying way too much. He was also engaging with other party favors of the powdered variety. How he was able to go so wild while living in Cleveland remains a mystery, but he did. He barely lasted two years with the Cleveland Browns before he was out of the league for good after just eight starts in two seasons.
However, in the midst of that hedonistic era of his life, Manziel did make a few good moves. One of these was, of course, a wager. And it couldn’t have come at a better time for Manziel. He reminisced about that momentous win with fellow Texas A&M alum Von Miller on his podcast recently.
“I had just got cut in Cleveland and I’m back in Dallas and I’m living in Dallas. I remember watching the playoffs, and kind of gambling on the playoffs a little bit. And when the Super Bowl came up and this matchup first came out, I was like, you know what, I’m a huge Cam guy, I was like, I’m gonna take the Panthers in this game. I just think they’re gonna win it, and I ended up going to Cabo to spend Super Bowl weekend there.”
However, Manziel had a revelation on the morning of Super Sunday. He remembered his connection to Miller through their shared Aggies history. That made him shrewdly place a bet on Miller to win Super Bowl MVP.
“I woke up on Super Bowl Sunday and I’m like, man, what kind of Aggie am I, what kind of brother am I if I’m not gonna root for Denver and for Von. And I switched my bet the day of the Super Bowl,” he stated.
“And I was just going through and I looked and it said Super Bowl MVP—man I gotta throw some money on Von. And end up watching that game and see [you win] Super Bowl MVP, I think I won 50 or 60 grand just on that Super Bowl (Laughs),” he added.
Miller ended up winning Super Bowl MVP handily, becoming just the sixth defensive player to do so since 1978. And he deserved it too. He amassed six tackles, including 2.5 sacks, two more QB hits, a pass swatted down at the line, and, most importantly, two forced fumbles.
One of those fumbles was returned for a TD, and the other was in the final minutes of the game to seal the win for Denver. It also led to another TD four plays later.
Miller had been named an All-Pro for the second time after recording 11.0 sacks and four forced fumbles in the regular season. The defense as a whole was dominant.
They were fourth in points allowed, first in yards allowed, first in yards allowed per play, first in passing yards allowed, first in yards allowed per pass, third in rushing yards allowed, and first in rushing yards allowed per carry.
Von Miller’s performance in Super Bowl 50 was the perfect way to cap one of the most dominant defensive seasons in recent memory. And yet, Johnny Manziel may have still been the happiest man in the country by game’s end.
