John Elway shook off a painful ankle sprain to outduel Tony Eason in a battle of big plays Sunday and send the Denver Broncos into the AFC championship game...
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New England had won six road games in a row and nine of its last 10 on enemy turf, but for the second straight time failed to fight off the Broncos in Mile High Stadium.
Denver produced six plays of 20 yards or more in the first half, choosing to try for the big gainers against New England's secondary.
But Elway's inconsistency kept the Broncos from opening a lead, and Denver's fortunes appeared to turn for the worse in the final moments of the first half.
Denver took possession at its own 37 with 1:33 remaining in the second period, but the Broncos' two-minute offense proved disastrous. On first down, Elway threw a screen pass to Steve Sewell, but he was knocked down for a four yard loss.
After an incompletion, bringing up third-and-14, Elway dropped straight back and had ample time to find a receiver. But New England did a good job of covering, and when Elway finally drew his arm back to throw the ball he was hit around the knees by linebacker Andre Tippett.
Elway was knocked off balance just as he released the ball and it fluttered directly to linebacker Johnny Rembert -- who let it bounce off his chest before gathering it in.
Elway lay on the turf and then limped slowly to the sidelines while the Patriots celebrated.
After completing just three of his first 13 throws and eight of 23 in the first half, however, Elway came back to hit five of nine in the second half for 101 yards.
The Broncos best offensive showing of the day came on an 81-yard drive in the second period, during which they converted two third downs (their only two conversions of the first half) en route to Elway's touchdown run.
But Denver wasted a 25-yard throw from Elway to Vance Johnson on the Broncos' first offensive play of the day and failed to take advantage of a 49-yard pass from Elway to tight end Orson Mobley late in the first half that carried to the Patriots' 31.
After Denver went in front for good, New England moved from its own 21 to midfield before having to punt, but then regained the ball with 4:45 left in the game.
Three plays left the Patriots with a third-and-1 situation at their own 18 with 4:04 to play, but they decided to punt the ball again.
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The winning touchdown came on a free play: John Elway threw a 48-yard touchdown strike to Vance Johnson after the Patriots had jumped offside. The victory was not secured until defensive end Rulon Jones nailed Patriots`quarterback Tony Eason in the end zone for a safety with 1 minute 37 seconds to play.
Out of timeouts and 90 yards from the Denver goal line, the Patriots had little hope and none after Eason was sacked on the first play.
”Jones was on top of me before I knew it,” Eason said.
New England attempted an onside kick, which was recovered by Denver. Elway simply covered up the ball on the final two plays.
A team virtually without a running game over the last half of the season, the Broncos controlled the game on the ground in the second half.
Sammy Winder, who had not run for more than 50 yards in any of his last seven games, had 102 in this one. The ball control helped protect Elway`s ouchy ankle and kept the explosive New England offense off the field.
In the third quarter, New England had just one five-play possession. It ended when Eason threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Stanley Morgan, who is just six weeks short of his 32d birthday, on a flea-flicker.
”Louis Wright bit on it,” Morgan said. ”I really wanted him to think it was a run, and when I saw him take my fake, I just took off.”
It was the second touchdown catch of the game for Morgan, who had his greatest season.
The touchdown put the Patriots ahead 17-13, but Denver came right back for the winning touchdown. It came on the final play of the quarter on a heads-up play by Elway.
”I wasn`t even in the read on that play,” said Johnson, whose job was to clear out the left side while Elway looked for his fullback or tight end over on the right.
When Johnson saw Patriots` linebacker Don Blackmon jump offside, he said he ”just kept running because I knew John would go up over the top. Whenever they jump offside, you`ve got to go for the big play.”
Blackmon was distraught about the play.
”It`s eating at me,” he said. ”Give Elway some credit. His cadence threw me off.”
Johnson ended up one-on-one with Patriots` cornerback Ernest Gibson. Elway underthrew the ball a little.
”That was fortunate for me,” Johnson said. ”I was able to adjust to the ball, but he was trying to catch up and ran right past me.”
”Once they went offside, I knew I had Vance on the go route, so I just laid it up there,” Elway said.
”He did two smart things on that play,” said Denver coach Dan Reeves.
”He drew them offsides, then saw the coverage on Vance and threw deep.”
The two smart things made up for one dumb thing Elway did that cost the Broncos a touchdown in the first half.
With the game scoreless and the Broncos on the New England 4-yard line, Elway rolled to his left and collided with linebacker Ed Reynolds right at the goal line.
Elway thought he was over for a touchdown, but when officials ruled he was down inches short, he spiked the ball in anger. He was nailed for a 5-yard delay of game penalty that eventually forced a Rich Karlis field goal.
The Broncos used up the first 9:10 of the second half on a drive that ended in a Karlis chip-shot field goal and a 13-10 lead. Only three of the 14 plays that preceded the field goal were passes and none were thrown down field.
That was in marked contrast with the beginning of the game, when the Broncos came out throwing bombs.
”If we didn`t give them a deep threat,” Reeves explained, ”they`d have sat back on our receivers.”
”It was just to loosen them up and make sure they played honest,” Elway said. ”If you don`t go deep and get them off you, they tend to cheat on you a little.”
The Denver Broncos shed their growing image of not being able to win the big game Sunday and moved within a victory of the biggest one of all....
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Denver used a combination of offensive line strength, a clutch defensive performance that included a late safety and a quarterback who played hurt to beat the Patriots 22-17.
The Broncos had been knocked out in their opening round post-season game the last three times they made the playoffs and this season, after getting off to a 6-0 start, they could only break even in their last 10 games.
'It is good to get over the hump,' Denver Coach Dan Reeves said. 'You are only as good as the last game you played. I've thought about it for six years and I underestimated how good it feels to be in the playoffs and win a game.'
With Elway ailing, Denver turned to its running game in the second half. Sammy Winder gained 102 yards on 19 carries and not once in the last eight games had the entire Denver team managed that much.
Following Elway's pass to Johnson, Denver's defense stopped the Patriots twice and then, as the record crowd of 76,105 (44 no shows) filled the stadium with noise, Jones sacked Eason for the final points.
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Although Elway's numbers were less than spectacular, his gutty performance left an impression on the opposition. One New England player said he thought it was a foregone conclusion Denver would be in the Super Bowl.
Patriots left tackle Brian Holloway predicts the Broncos will beat the Cleveland Browns in the AFC final next week.
'It's gonna be a great Super Bowl,' he said. 'With John Elway back there, you're talking a great quarterback. They've got a quarterback like we've got.
'The Broncos' effort level was real high. Had we've been at that level, we would've won the game. You've got to give them a certain amount of credit. They've got a good football team.'
Running back Tony Collins, who rushed for 46 yards and gained another 46 through the air, said the Broncos' rush made the difference.
'They came at Tony and he didn't have a lot of time to throw the ball,' he said. 'I didn't think we were out of it until they recovered the onsides kick (following the safety). If we had recovered, we would've won the game.
Broncos beat Patriots, head to Cleveland for AFC championship game
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The Denver Broncos have done this before, but it was nine long years ago in another day and another time and it seemed as if it might never happen again.
Sunday, it did.
Sunday, the Broncos won an American Football Conference semifinal playoff game and advanced into the AFC championship game next Sunday at 10:30 in the morning, MST, against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium.
Sunday, they beat New England 22-17 and they’re one victory away from the Super Bowl.
And when Rulon Jones thundered through to sack Patriots quarterback Tony Eason in the end zone for a safety with 1:37 to play, the celebration began and it won’t stop now for at least another week.
The Broncos have done this before, but it was way back in 1977 when they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders on the way to Super Bowl XII.
They had not done it at all since 1981. They had not won a playoff game.
Until Sunday.
“I’ve thought about this for six years now — what it would feel like to win a playoff game,” said Reeves. “I under-estimated it. I can’t tell you how exciting it is.”
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Denver Broncos: 5 Most Memorable Victories over the New England Patriots | Bleacher Report
John Elway's First Career Playoff Victory on January 4, 1987
John Elway loved to play the Patriots.
Throughout his career, Elway was an undefeated 11-0 against the Patriots and it was this foe he faced to earn his first career playoff victory. This first playoff victory would be his first in the first run he had at the Super Bowl in 1986 season, only a week before his famous "Drive" against the Cleveland Browns.
Elway gave the Broncos an early lead after he scrambled for 22 yards into the end zone to give the Broncos a 10-7 lead. The Patriots followed up by tying the game at halftime with a 38-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, the Patriots took the lead after a 45-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Morgan from Tony Eason. However, it was Elway who had the final word with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Vance Johnson that sealed the game. The Broncos went on to win 22-17.
This week marks a new chapter in the Broncos history with the New England Patriots. This Broncos team is led by the rising star, Tim Tebow, who has improbably led the Broncos to six straight victories all in thrilling fashion.
1986 New England Patriots at Denver Broncos Divisional Football Playoff Highlights
4:10 Highlight Video
1987-01-04 AFC Divisional New England Patriots vs Denver Broncos
18:50 Extended Highlight Video
1986 Divisional Round Patriots @ Broncos
2:18:45 Full Game
NFL Media Game Summary, with halftime & full game stats, 1st down stats, full play-by-play and more
New England Patriots 17 at Denver Broncos 22 on January 4th, 1987 - Full team and player stats and box score
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