Denver Broncos vs. Cleveland Browns: January 11, 1987
“The Drive”
If you are a fan of the Broncos, regardless of when you were born, you are likely aware of this game, that would go down in history and become a defining point of John Elway’s career as quarterback.
If anyone ever doubted Elway’s desire to win and competitiveness, those debates would be put to bed in January of ’87 in the AFC Championship Game.
With 5:43 left in the fourth quarter when John Elway and the Broncos took over in the Cleveland Browns’ end zone, the city of Cleveland was celebrating. They would be Super Bowl-bound, because up seven and considering the fact that Elway would have to take the offense the full 98 yards, there was no way the Browns would let this slip through their hands.
The Dawg Pound was about to meet future Hall of Famer Elway. 15 plays and 98 yards later, Elway tied the game up on a 5-yard pass to Mark Jackson. Rich Karlis would kick the game-winner in overtime and the Broncos would go on to win 23-20 in NFL Network’s second-best playoff finish of all time.
There are truly not enough words to express the awesomeness of this contest. Watch the entire game here.
Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos: September 8, 2016
In Week 1 of the 2016 NFL Season, which would prove to be Gary Kubiak’s swan song as an NFL head coach, Week 1 brought a Super Bowl rematch between the Broncos and the Carolina Panthers.
Trevor Siemian would get his first NFL start, and the game began with the presentation of the trophies by Elway and Peyton Manning. Although this game was only the beginning of a Super Bowl hangover, it will bring back happy memories, especially of the “No Fly Zone” who kept Cam Newton in check all game long.
This game truly came down to the wire, ending on a 50-yard miss by Graham Gano, and the Broncos would escape with a 21-20 victory.
Watch the highlights here.