Happy Anniversary, John Elway

Douglas Lee Jan 4, 2013 11:05 AM

For me, this has always been Elway's greatest comeback. Two-yard line, two-minute warning, and no timeouts. Capped off, of course, by one of the greatest jobs of getting a poor snap down, by Gary Kubiak. Which was your favorite Elway comeback?

Which was your favorite comeback as led by John Elway?

Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM

I wasn't alive yet but I really enjoy reading all of you geezers tales of the day, the parts you dont hear or read about

Posted by GreasyQtip on 2013-01-05 12:18:54

Guess which NBC personality interviewed Elway on the field after the game?

O.J. Simpson!

O.J. created some controversy with that interview. KC was going to play at Buffalo the next day. O.J. asked John what he thought about playing the Bills the next week. Elway replied that he looked forward to it but he hoped the Chiefs would win (and the game would be at Mile High.)

The Chiefs were angry because it seemed like Simpson was giving them no chance. But they lost anyway.

Posted by WEKurtz on 2013-01-05 00:55:34

Houston made a great punt that put the Broncos at the 2. I have this drive on VHS and have watched it many times over the years. It was incredible to watch and one of the greatest games in Broncos history. Years ago when he was an assistant in Denver, Kubiak did a Q & A online on the team website. Everyone asked him coaching questions but I asked him about that game and specifically the brilliant job he did handling that low snap on the winning FG. He said, "I'll tell you about that kick and that game." He reminded us that he had muffed a snap on a PAT earlier in the game that kept them 1 pt behind. He also said that on that critical FG, it was 3rd down and he had planned that if it was bad snap, he was going to throw the ball away and get a 4th down. I guess he handled that low snap purely on instinct and the kicker started his motion even before the ball was in place.

Another interesting thing: I believe when that season started, Vance Johnson was behind bars for some domestic matter. Imagine that he went from jail to catching the biggest pass of the season in the play-offs and being carried off the field as a hero.

Great memories!

Posted by WEKurtz on 2013-01-05 00:32:04

The Broncos played the Colts twice in 83 because they both finished 5th in their division in 82.The teams from that finished fifth in the two five team divsions in each conference played a home and home.I'll never forget that big 4th down pass to Gerald Willhite

Posted by Charlie Kirkpatrick on 2013-01-04 22:41:57

I was there too!! For some reason there were playoff tickets available because (from what I remember anyway) season ticket holders had to buy two games up front or something like that, so there were a bunch of tickets available to the public. About 6 of us (we were all going to CU at the time) were able to get great seats about midway up at the 40 yard line. We were on the side that Vance was on when he made the 4th down catch and run. Great, great game.

That was a magical period, when Elway seemed to regularly pull the rabbit out of the hat.

Great memories.

Posted by FarAwayBroncoFan on 2013-01-04 21:02:04

I was in the South Stands for it - it felt like those metal stands were as loud as anything on the planet. What a great experience. After the second 4th and long, no fan in the house seemed to doubt the outcome.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2013-01-04 20:07:33

pubkeeper That's why Pat Bowlen stepped in and paid Brian Habib and LT Don Maggs to play on the OL for the Broncos. His action raised the salary for those positions by over 3x their previous amounts. The other owners were furious, and it changed how OL players were valued.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2013-01-04 20:01:28

Why did Denver start at the 2? Was this the game where Ken Bell caught the kickoff with one foot out of bounds?

I had thought the original Drive was the Ken Bell SNAFU but that kickoff was muffed by Gene Lang or Whilhite.

Posted by A R on 2013-01-04 19:59:24

I was there too. Sitting with my dad in the first row of the northeast corner of the upper deck. I was 19 and I just remember going completely berserk when that wounded duck landed in Vance Johnson's hands.

TYJE

Posted by Haiku Boy on 2013-01-04 19:09:02

I was AT that game, and it definitely ranks as the #1, most exciting Bronco game there has ever been, hands-down. I was listening to the radio on my Walkman and Larry Zimmer says "Look at all these folks leaving, don't they know that this is JOHN ELWAY out there?" The old Mile High was shaking so hard from everyone stamping their feet, I was halfway afraid the steel girders were going to collapse. The two fourth and long conversions were simply incredible! I remember when Vance caught that last one, everyone in the stadium KNEW we were going to win, some how, some way.

Posted by Rzeppa on 2013-01-04 17:25:18

I Googled Jim Juriga to make sure I had his name right and ran into some interesting information. His son played linebacker at the Naval Academy and will graduate with an excellent GPA this year. Dr. Juriga has a veterinary clinic in Illinois.

Posted by Broncos777 on 2013-01-04 16:08:31

I was looking at pictures of Mile High Stadium this week and really miss it. This year's team playing at the old Mile High would be impossible to beat--especially with big leads and the pass rush the Broncos now have.

Posted by RSH, Esq. on 2013-01-04 15:57:37

Just imagine if Elway had had Rod Smith his entire career and/or Demariyus Thomas or a well-behaved Brandon Marshall?

Posted by RSH, Esq. on 2013-01-04 15:55:41

The original Drive was it for me...that look on Schottenheimer's face is and was friggin PRICELESS. Every time I saw it (which was often) it just got better and better.

Posted by sadaraine on 2013-01-04 13:29:19

Wild to see this again, thanks for sharing! Early in the drive, 4th and long and to see Elway scramble for the first down on a knee he was limping on is quite impressive. He had ice in his veins and found a way to keep moving down field.

Posted by Bronco_JJ on 2013-01-04 13:17:47

Besides being a complete Elway homer, one of the reasons that I still consider him the best QB ever is that it seemed like he always had a free pass rusher to deal with before he could get off any pass. Sometimes it seemed like he had a four man offensive line, which isn't too far from the truth if you are familiar with how much they struggled in the 80s to find a LT. It has been a long time, but the promising but injury plagued Jim Juriga comes to mind. There aren't too many QBs who have possessed Elway's combination of leadership, mobility and passing ability, and even fewer who could have performed so well under so much duress in my opinion.

Oh yeah, the old Mile High Stadium crowd and the 80s NFL apparel... some good stuff. Still have a few of those stylish articles of clothing somewhere in my closet.

Posted by Broncos777 on 2013-01-04 13:11:27

Good grief, the lack of talent around Elway is unbelievable to this day. Sieve offensive line, RB's outa the trash bin and pedestrian WR's. I'm only 43, but I've never seen someone do so much with so little on the football field.

Posted by pubkeeper on 2013-01-04 13:09:37

Not picky, just fact. Thanks, it's been fixed.

Posted by Douglas Lee on 2013-01-04 12:38:21

As tachiini mentions above, I had forgotten what a great job Kubiak did in getting that crappy snap from Kartz placed down in time for Treadwell's kick. Man, the old Mile High was such a rockin' place! Thanks for the memories Doug!

Posted by SteveS on 2013-01-04 12:37:20

Wow, 10 minutes into that clip we were still only at our own 35. It seemed like on almost every play Elway was running for his life within two seconds of the ball being snapped. And were you allowed to just tackle receivers before the ball arrived?

Posted by AldenBrown on 2013-01-04 12:31:30

This may be a little picky but Elway's first comeback was not in Baltimore (as per the poll). That game against the Colts (Elway's rookie year)was the second game of the season and was tied 3-3 at the end of 3 quarters, and the Broncos did come back to win, but Steve DeBerg replaced Elway late in the third and led the Broncos to two TDs. Broncos won 17-10.
Elway did produce a comeback that year against the Colts. For some strange reason, they played twice that year. The second game was in Denver in December. Colts led 19-0 at the end of three, but three TD passes from Elway made the final score 21-19. I remember watching both games. The Colts fans in Baltimore were furious at Elway for refusing to play there. I remember one middle aged woman holding up a sign that said KILL JOHN ELWAY. And she was screaming. Foaming at the mouth.
The 4th quarter of the game in Denver was awesome.

http://www.denverbroncos.com/n...

http://www.pro-football-refere...

Posted by bradley on 2013-01-04 12:28:27

3 words for JE: moxie, chutzpah, cojones

Posted by Brian M. Jacobson on 2013-01-04 12:21:00

oh hell yes! tyjmfe!!

Posted by Jenny Jackson on 2013-01-04 12:08:03

I was at that game as well, when I was 13. My dad got us tickets for my birthday, and that will probably always stand out to me as the best birthday present I've ever received. I'll go with this one as his greatest comeback for that reason alone, with acknowledgement to The Drive and Super Bowl 32 (not nearly as dramatic but it deserves mention simply for being the bronco's first super bowl win)

Posted by Hercules_Rockefeller on 2013-01-04 12:01:28

Kubiak with the hold... dont mess up ... he got it off! IT'S GOOD!!

Man, I was 8 years old jumping up and down in the living room.. good memories..

TYJE -- never gets old

Posted by tachiini on 2013-01-04 11:49:07

Ah, the memories...from when we were all younger than we are now.

Posted by hcubed on 2013-01-04 11:48:29

oh MAN! I still remember watching this game as an 11 year old kid. I really liked football before this moment. But this was the moment when I fell in love with football (and Elway). I remember hating Chris Dishman passionately. I remember how amazing that entire fourth quarter was. DAMN what a game! And good grief was good ol' Mile High stadium

L O U D !!!!!!

Thanks for bringing back this memory. Great stuff.

Posted by EastCoastBronco7 on 2013-01-04 11:39:24

I had the great privilege of being at that ballgame as a 12 year old kid. My parents put me on a plane from Montana to Denver where I met my aunt and uncle. I watched the game with my cousins in their parents' seats. We were down low on about the 30 yard line and I vividly remember The Vance rattling that chain link fence right below us after the big play down the sideline on 4th and 10. To this day the best event I have ever seen live. Thanks for posting Doug.

Posted by ButteBronco on 2013-01-04 11:25:39

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