GREEN & WHITE FOOTBALL

Ex-MSU WR Bennie Fowler catches Peyton Manning's likely final pass

Former Spartan catches two-point conversion for final points in Super Bowl 50

Graham Couch
Lansing State Journal
Denver Broncos’ receiver Bennie Fowler catches a two-point conversion from Peyton Manning late in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 50 Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif.

Michigan State receiver Bennie Fowler didn't technically have a catch in Super Bowl 50. But he did catch perhaps the final pass legendary quarterback Peyton Manning will ever throw in the NFL. And he scored the final points of the Denver Broncos' 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers Sunday night.

Manning found Fowler open in the end zone for a two-point conversion with 3:08 remaining in the game. Two-point conversions don't officially count for statistics in the NFL. So history won't show Fowler with a catch — even though he caught what's likely the final throw from his 39-year-old soon-to-be Hall of Fame quarterback. Manning is expected to retire. However, he didn't commit to it after the win.

Super Bowl 50: MSU's Fowler caught Manning's last pass

Fowler saw playing time on several drives in Sunday's Super Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif. The 24-year-old from Royal Oak caught 16 passes for 203 yards during the regular season and two passes for 35 yards in the playoffs. Sunday's two-conversion was his first time he's reached the end zone in his pro career.

Read Fowler's reaction in an interview with the Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett.

Fowler spent the 2014 season on the Broncos' practice squad after signing as an undrafted free agent. He caught 93 passes in his time at MSU, including 36 for 622 yards and six touchdowns as a senior during the Spartans' Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl run in 2013.

His emerging NFL career is somewhat improbable considering his struggles as a junior in East Lansing, when he was pegged as the heir apparent to MSU all-time leading receiver B.J. Cunningham as the Spartans' go-to target. That Fowler, not Cunningham, is on the path to a successful NFL career speaks to the talent MSU's coaches saw early in Fowler.

Denver Broncos receiver’ Bennie Fowler (16) celebrates after scoring a two-point conversion late in Super Bowl 50.