What was Riverboat Ron doing punting that late in Super Bowl 50?

Broncos defeat Panthers to win Super Bowl 50

In the final minutes of Super Bowl 50, Riverboat Ron sunk.
With just over two minutes left in Super Bowl 50, the Panthers were nearly dead. Trailing by 14 points to the Broncos, they faced a fourth-and-24 at their own 6-yard line. Only the two-minute warning and two of the Panthers' remaining timeouts would prolong the game. So yes, the Panthers were all but dead, needing a miracle conversion to keep their Super Bowl dream alive (and then a bunch of other crazy stuff to complete a miraculous comeback).

And then, Ron Rivera willingly killed any semblance of hope onto which the Panthers were holding.
On fourth down, Rivera willingly gave the ball to back to the Broncos. Rivera, by choice, punted with two minutes left in a game -- a game in which the Panthers were trailing by two touchdowns. Rivera punted and the Broncos burned off half of the remaining time left, all but ending the game.

Why didn't Rivera keep the offense on the field? Was he worried about failing on fourth down and losing the Super Bowl by an embarrassing three-score margin? Because that's the only explanation that comes to mind.

Now, let's be clear here. The Panthers were almost undoubtedly going to lose. Even if Rivera opted to keep the offense on the field, the Panthers probably wouldn't have converted on the fourth down. Even if they did, they probably would've wasted a bunch of time journeying down the field. The Panthers' loss was sealed the moment Von Miller knocked the ball out of Cam Newton's grasp.

But why not at least try? At the very least, throw the ball up and give the Broncos a chance to commit pass interference, holding, illegal contact, roughing the passer -- you name it. Less than a month ago, we saw Aaron Rodgers do this in the playoffs.

Again, let's be clear: The Panthers certainly didn't lose because of Ron Rivera's decision at the end of a 14-point game. Carolina's fate was decided well before that moment.
But they didn't use the sliver of a chance that they still had. Instead, Riverboat Ron inexplicably punted on the opportunity.
Riverboat Ron chose to punt on the Panthers' last-gasp chance. (USATSI)