When we talk about the Road to Super Bowl 50, we’re inevitably discussing multiple pathways to achieve something great. It’s not a highway with 32 teams all trying to get out ahead of each other. It’s a winding network of different routes.

The same goes for the four quarterbacks who will be featured in these games. Carson Palmer, Cam Newton, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, have each taken a different route to stardom. For some, the road has been a lot cleaner than others.

It all comes down to luck (note: not Andrew Luck).

Palmer went from a Heisman Trophy winner, to a first overall pick, to the injury reserve, to bitching his way out of Cincinnati, to landing in Oakland, to winning four games in two years in Oakland, to finally ending up in Arizona, to winning his first playoff game in thirteen seasons.

When we talk about the Road to Super Bowl 50, we’re inevitably discussing multiple pathways to achieve something great. It’s not a highway with 32 teams all trying to get out ahead of each other. It’s a winding network of different routes.

The same goes for the four quarterbacks who will be featured in these games. Carson Palmer, Cam Newton, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, have each taken a different route to stardom. For some, the road has been a lot cleaner than others.

It all comes down to luck (note: not Andrew Luck).

Palmer went from a Heisman Trophy winner, to a first overall pick, to the injury reserve, to bitching his way out of Cincinnati, to landing in Oakland, to winning four games in two years in Oakland, to finally ending up in Arizona, to winning his first playoff game in thirteen seasons.