Super Bowl: 5 key plays that led to Broncos’ first championship

John Elway’s helicopter dive

The plays on this list are set in chronological order from the opening kickoff, rather than the impact they had on the game. Because this right here, was the biggest play in this game.

In fact, I feel this is the biggest play in Denver Broncos history.

When you look at the box score, it just shows an 8-yard run by Elway. But when you go back and watch it, you see this (video).

This is the signature play of Elway’s career and for those fans who had followed Elway’s entire career, particularly his Super Bowl failures, this play was everything.

Keep in mind that at the time of this run, he is 37 years old. He is toward the tail end of his career and he threw his body into three Green Bay defenders, got spun around, and landed hard on his tailbone. But it was enough to move the chains.

At this point, the game was tied 17-17 and Elway’s first down, which set the ball up with a 1st-and-goal from the Packers’ 4-yard line, would lead to a 1-yard Davis touchdown run.

That would put the Broncos up 24-17 in the late stages of the third quarter.