Yeah, pretty much my take. Not to diminish Denver's D- they were #1 for a reason- but I think Carolina's mental game went to pieces. They had beaten other highly ranked defenses in their path to SB50, but they simply didn't play the kind of game that got them there. Cam's arm was wild, they started making multiple dumb penalties- in crucial moments- that affected drives.
It is bad enough when you're facing the #1 D. It gets worse when you put yourself in situations that help that D pin their ears back and go for kill shots drive after drive.