This One’s For John: The 1997 Denver Broncos Super Bowl Journey

Everything was about redemption for the 1997 Denver Broncos, both short-term and long-term. In the short-term, this was a team that had the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs in 1996 and lost in a big upset at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In the long-term, 37-year-old quarterback John Elway had yet to win a Super Bowl, was 0-3 in his three previous trips (1986, 1987 & 1989) and after the ’96 loss, looked ready to end his career with the “never won the big one” millstone hanging around his neck.

The Broncos had become a run-first team, between this late stage of Elway’s career and the offensive style of third-year head coach Mike Shanahan. The attack was built around Terrell Davis. The aptly initialed “TD” rolled up over 1,700 yards, made 1^st-team All-Pro and was third in the MVP voting for 1997.

Davis ran behind an offensive line that had only one Pro Bowler, center Tom Nalen. But Denver had two other accomplished lineman up front. Gary Zimmerman was in the final year of his Hall of Fame career at tackle. Mark Schlereth, a part of Joe Gibbs’ great offensive lines with the Redskins, was a starter at guard.

Elway was a little erratic, with his 56 percent completion rate ranking just 19^th among NFL starting quarterbacks. But he could still get the ball down the field, with a 7.2 yards-per-attempt that ranked ninth. And he got it down the field while still relatively free of mistakes—a 2.2 interception rate that ranked 10^th.

Shannon Sharpe was the game’s best tight end and caught 72 passes for over 15 yards a pop. Rod Smith could stretch the field at receiver, averaging nearly 17 yards on his 70 catches. Ed McCaffrey was steady and reliable, catching 45 more balls.

In short, Denver’s offense had a clear identity with Davis, they had a veteran leader, and they had well-balanced receivers. They scored more points than anyone in the NFL in 1997.  

The Broncos also had the league’s sixth-best defense. Denver scored a free agency coup when they lured defensive end Neil Smith away from AFC West rival Kansas City. Smith made All-Pro and finished with 8 ½ sacks. Alfred Williams was on the opposite end, and he added 8 ½ sacks of his own. John Mobley was an All-Pro linebacker. A veteran secondary was headlined by a future Hall of Famer at safety in Steve Atwater.

An early August 31 opener was at home with the Chiefs, the team Denver would battle with all season. Davis ran for 101 yards. Elway was sharp, going 17/28 for 246 yards, with Smith catching five of those passes for over 100 yards. The defense was exceptional. But the red-zone offense was not, and short field goals meant the Broncos clung to a 9-3 lead in the fourth quarter. Davis finally put it away with a ten-yard touchdown run and Denver ultimately closed out a 19-3 win.

A visit to mediocre Seattle and the old Kingdome was next. The Broncos trailed 14-13 at the half after giving up a defense touchdown. With Davis running for 107 yards, they nudged ahead 21-14. Darrien Gordon, a defensive back and return man, came up with a Pick-6 that helped put away a game that ended 35-14.

Gordon was back at against a bad St. Louis Rams team at home. With Denver off to a sluggish start and trailing 14-7 at the half, Gordon took a punt 94 yards to the house. That got everything rolling. The defense finished with five sacks, 2 ½ by Smith in a second straight 35-14 win.

The Broncos hosted the subpar Cincinnati Bengals and clung to a 21-20 lead in the fourth quarter. Davis, en route to a 215-yard afternoon tore off a 50-yard touchdown run to get breathing room. Williams sealed the deal by scooping up a fumble and taking it 51 yards for the score. The final was 38-20.

Denver went on the road to play another shaky opponent in Atlanta, and this time they wasted no time in going for the throat. Elway threw a 65-yard touchdown strike to Sharpe, then hit Willie Green with a ten-yard toss. Elway went on to finish 18/33 for 243 yards, while Williams added two sacks on the defensive end. The Broncos led by as much as 23-0 and closed out a 29-21 win.

Rolling along at 5-0, the New England Patriots, fresh off going to the Super Bowl in 1996 and back in contention this year, came to Denver for Monday Night Football. The Broncos took an early 7-0 lead. Mobley added to it with a 13-yard Pick-6. After the Patriots cut the lead back to 14-13, Denver pulled back away. Davis rolled up 171 yards, while Rod Smith caught five passes for 130 yards. The night ended with a decisive 34-13 win.

The Broncos were headed into their bye week at 6-0. They had decisively beaten their most important division rival in Kansas City and the previous year’s AFC champ in New England. There could be no doubt who the early frontrunner in this year’s AFC race was.

But trouble awaited on the far side of the bye, and it came in the form of a trip to face the lowly Oakland Raiders. While Elway went 26/46 for 309 yards, the Broncos were outrushed 243-147. They gave up a defensive TD and an 83-yard touchdown run in the second half. The first loss was a 28-25 upset. That it came to a division rival would linger in the tiebreakers down the stretch.

Denver went on the road to Buffalo. The Bills were in a rebuilding year after the retirement of Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, and the Broncos raced to a 20-0 lead, collecting six turnovers for the game, and getting a big 207-yard day from Davis. But they couldn’t protect Elway, who was sacked five times, and the quarterback also threw two interceptions. Denver blew the entire lead in the fourth quarter before recovering in overtime to escape 23-20.

Elway sharpened back up at home against Seattle (the Seahawks were an AFC West team prior to the realignment of 2002). He went 19/30 for 252 yards and made no mistakes. Smith’s five catches produced 114 yards, and Davis had another 100-yard game. The game went back-and-forth, and the Broncos needed the benefit of a defensive touchdown, but they got the last word in a 30-27 win.

The first three games out of the bye, all against bad-to-mediocre competition, had been less than impressive. Another mediocre foe in Carolina traveled to Denver. It was Darrien Gordon who set the tone—the return man brought two punts back to the house, from 82 and 75 yards respectively. They were the first two scores of the game. Defensive back Tyrone Braxton added a Pick-6. Sharpe caught eight balls for 154 yards and the Broncos cruised to a 34-0 win.

That set the stage for a mid-November trip to Kansas City. This was an opportunity to put a stranglehold on the division race. The Broncos moved the ball up and down the field more efficiently than the Chiefs. But K.C. took advantage of their opportunities, while Denver kept kicking field goals. The Broncos clung to a 22-21 lead in the fourth quarter. It kept the Chiefs in position to get the last word, a 54-yard field goal that handed Denver a crushing 24-22 loss.

The Broncos were still 9-2 and a game up on the Chiefs for the division race. Denver got a measure of revenge at home against Oakland on Monday Night. Davis ran for three touchdowns, Sharpe caught ten passes for 142 yards, and Elway went 21/32 for 280 yards. The Broncos cruised to a 31-3 win.

At 10-2, Denver remained a game up on Kansas City. But that earlier loss to Oakland meant that the Broncos trailed the Chiefs on divisional record, which stood to be the tiebreaker in an AFC West race that was effectively doubling as the race for the conference’s #1 seed.

Denver visited the San Diego Chargers for Sunday Night Football. Davis romped for 178 yards. Elway went 20/33 for 240 yards with no mistakes. This time McCaffrey was the receiver who stepped up, catching seven passes for 111 yards.

Two big road games awaited. The Pittsburgh Steelers, pushing for a #2 seed they would eventually get were the first one. The San Francisco 49ers, fighting for pole position in the NFC were next.

The Broncos simply did not play well at old Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. They were outrushed 186-89, Elway was erratic, and the secondary was carved up by a pedestrian passer in Kordell Stewart. Denver lost 35-24. Kansas City won, and the Broncos were now in the wild-card spot.

When the Chiefs won the following Sunday, it means that a loss in San Francisco on Monday Night would end the AFC West race. Denver took an early 10-0 lead and still led 17-14 in the third quarter. But Davis had to leave with a partially separated shoulder. The running game disappeared. The Broncos turned the ball over three times, and two of those came back for touchdowns in the second half. The night got away from them, and so did the division title and the #1 seed. A 34-17 loss locked Denver into the wild-card round.

The format of the time, three divisions and three wild-cards per conference, meant that the Broncos, with the 4-seed assured, would still host one game. They were able to rest Davis in the home finale with the Chargers. Elway still played most of the game and went 17/26 for 273 yards and four touchdowns. Sharpe’s eight catches produced 162 yards. The 38-3 rout concluded a 12-4 regular season and put a little momentum back into campaign that needed it.

A familiar foe came in for the Wild-Card Round—the Jacksonville Jaguars, coached by Tom Coughlin, and the perpetrator of last year’s playoff heartbreak. This year’s Jaguars team was a good 11-5 squad. Amidst 20-plus mph winds, Denver came out rolling on Saturday afternoon. Davis ran in from two yards out. Elway hit Smith on a 43-yard TD pass. Davis ran for another short TD. It was 21-0 and the rout appeared to be on.

But the Jaguars had turned the tide after a strong Bronco start a year ago, and Jacksonville did it again this year. The Jags got a touchdown just before the half. They added a third-quarter field goal. When they blocked a punt and returned it for a score, it was 21-17 and there was every reason for Denver fans to be nervous.

But this year would be different. Elway was playing efficiently, going 16/24 for 223 yards. Davis was going off, carrying 31 times for 184 yards. And backup running back Derek Loville was adding 113 yards of his own. The Broncos won the rush yardage battle by a devastating 310-50. They ended the game as they had begun it—with three unanswered touchdowns and finished off a 42-17 win.

Now it was on to Kansas City for a late Sunday afternoon showdown between the teams with the best records in the AFC. Oddsmakers, showing their respect for the Broncos, called this one a Pick’em, even playing in Arrowhead Stadium.

It was a hard-hitting defensive classic from start to finish. After a scoreless first quarter, Davis ran in from a yard out and put the Broncos up 7-0 at the half. A long Chiefs drive ended in a 20-yard field goal, but they later got a touchdown. Denver trailed 10-7 going into the fourth quarter. Davis, on his way to a 101 yards, scored on another 1-yard TD run to put the Broncos back up 14-10. Kansas City came down the field one last time, but Denver’s defense held on downs. They had shut down a potent Chiefs’ running game and got a 14-10 win.

The AFC Championship Game was a return visit to Pittsburgh. Oddsmakers had the Steelers as a one-point favorite, although given the customary value of homefield being three points, this was again a sign of respect for Denver.

Once again, a one-yard TD run from Davis got the scoring started. This week, the Bronco rush defense wasn’t quite as stiff and Steeler back Jerome Bettis was able to find room for a 100-plus yards. Pittsburgh scored the next two touchdowns and took a 14-7 lead. But in a busy second quarter Elway struck. After leading a drive for a field goal, he threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Howard Griffith and tossed a short flip to McCaffrey. It was 24-14 at the half.

With a lead, the defense got settled in. There was no reprise of the secondary meltdown that happened here during the regular season and Denver collected four turnovers. Davis ran for 139 yards. While the Broncos were done scoring, the Steelers didn’t get into the end zone until very late in the game. Denver got the ball back, and Elway completed a key third-down pass to Sharpe that moved the chains and effectively sealed the 24-21 win.

The Broncos were going to San Diego for the Super Bowl. Elway would get his fourth shot the brass ring. All that stood in their way was the Green Bay Packers. They were the defending champs. They had dismantled San Francisco on the road in the NFC Championship Game. Brett Favre had produced his third straight MVP season. The Packers were 11-point favorites. The general consensus was that Elway and Denver would suffer a fate not unlike what had befallen them in those late 1980s Super Bowls.

When Green Bay quickly scored first, no one was surprised. But the Broncos got settled in. Davis ran for a touchdown that tied it. In the second quarter, Elway snuck in from a yard out to get the lead and then Denver drove for a field goal. It was 17-7 and even when the Packers got in the end zone before halftime, it was apparent we had a ballgame on our hands.

Unlike those previous Super Bowl trips, this Bronco team could get physical. They controlled the Packers in the trenches, holding Green Bay to 95 yards rushing. Meanwhile, Davis rolled up 157 yards. After a Packer field goal tied the game, Davis scored to get the lead back. Favre and Green Bay answered to make it 24-24. Denver drove right back, and Davis scored again with less than two minutes to play.

There was still time, and Favre drove the Packers past midfield. But when a fourth down pass fell incomplete, it was over. With a 31-24 win, Denver shocked the world and gotten their long-sought Super Bowl win.

Davis was rightfully named Super Bowl MVP, but Denver owner Pat Bowlen spoke to the heart of his franchise, his city–indeed to football fans everywhere–when he took the trophy and said, “This one’s for John.”