One of the storylines coming out of Super Bowl 50 is how the Denver defense dominated Carolina's offense. When you hold the NFL's No. 1 team in scoring to 10 points, that's an understandable reaction.

But the Panthers were able to move the ball. 315 total yards and 118 rushing yards doesn't equal a shutdown. The issue is the Panthers only finished one drive while they shot themselves in the foot with drops, overthrows and missed assignments. That they set up the Broncos for both of their touchdowns didn't help.

"I watched it, and you feel worse after you watch it because this notion that they suffocated us and we couldn’t do anything," tight end Greg Olsen said, "Go back and watch the tape, see the plays that were there to be made. See the guys we had that came up just a little short on a couple plays, but go back and watch it.

"This notion that we couldn't do anything offensively is not the case, and I think that's even more the tough part to swallow. They made a couple big splash plays that really turned out to be the difference in the game."

To say the Broncos didn't win the game would be a mistake, though. They certainly had a hand in forcing the Panthers to play their worst game of what had been a magical season. But one disappointing chapter doesn't mean the story is finished.

"We've continued to trend upward and this year was close to being the ultimate and just came up a little bit short, didn't play well, made a lot of mistakes at costly times," Olsen said. "But the future is bright here. We pretty much have our whole crew coming back — there is no reason to think that we can’t be even better next year."

It's impossible to predict how things will play out in the NFL, but the Panthers look poised to make a repeat run in 2016. Their core — Olsen, quarterback Cam Newton, linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis, and center Ryan Kalil — is already locked in. They'll likely keep cornerback Josh Norman around for at least one more season, and as general manager Dave Gettleman said of Kelvin Benjamin Tuesday, "We're getting a first-round wide receiver back. That doesn't upset me."

So unless Gettleman has another Steve Smith or DeAngelo Williams move up his sleeve, this offseason should be void of drama and full of hope.

"They haven't steered us wrong yet," Olsen said. "The decisions that have been made around here, while not always easy, while not always popular, have gotten us to this point. So the powers that be are going to make the decisions in the best interest of our team.

"The guys we know we have coming back are guys we know we can build around and are guys that are a big reason why we're here at this point this season and are going to be a big part of our success going forward."