1990 Is a Comeback Season in the Making for John Elway

For a few minutes Monday, the Denver Broncos and John Elway weren’t on their usual perch a mile above the rest of the teams in the American Conference.

The fourth-quarter sight of 260-pound Kansas City Chiefs fullback Christian Okoye barreling over 185-pound Broncos cornerback Tyrone Braxton brought out animal instincts from the Chiefs. They smelled blood from a wounded champion. Linebacker Chris Martin stepped onto the field and pointed his finger into the faces of Broncos. Taunts filled the September mountain air. The AFC kings were dying.

“I’m tired of you guys winning,” is what Broncos receiver Mark Jackson said he overheard the Chiefs shouting at his teammates. When you win three AFC titles in four years and lose three Super Bowl games, you expect criticism. When you’re John Elway, you expect worse.

So there was Elway Monday night, facing fourth down and the season. The Chiefs led, 23-21, thanks to an improbable 83-yard touchdown by Stephone Paige, a possession receiver who would lose to a linebacker in a match race. It was fourth-and-10 at the Broncos’ 17 with just more than one minute left. Elway had thrown 10 consecutive incompletions.

One more errant toss and Elway’s chances of returning to the Super Bowl this season were dim. The Broncos would have been 0-2 and no team has ever won the AFC West with such a bad start. The Chiefs were excited. Joe Montana is known as the Comeback Kid. Elway is known as the quarterback Super Bowl viewers hope will never come back.

“I guess the toughest thing for me is the fact that I’ve lost every one individually,” Elway said. “When you talk about Denver’s losses you talk about John Elway losing the Super Bowl. That is probably the most difficult thing.”

But the Super Bowl isn’t until January, so watch out. Elway burned the Chiefs with a 49-yard fourth-down bullet to Vance Johnson, and a minute later, the Chiefs were 24-23 victims. He may not be Mr. January, but the guy is sure deadly during the fall.

“I think the key is, ‘What if we hadn’t done it,”’ Elway said. “If we lose that game, it would have turned our world upside down. We would be 0-2 and we lose a game on the homefield to the Chiefs.”

Elway’s back. In some ways, he’s better than ever. Monday night’s fourth-down miracle illustrates why Elway keeps going to Super Bowls. At least twice a year, he turns sure losses into improbable victories. That two-game swing is the reason the Broncos finish 11-5 instead of 9-7 and, in two of three cases, it’s the reason they secured homefield advantage for the playoffs.

As AFC teams all know, the teams with the homefield advantage usually go the Super Bowl. That is unless you force Elway to drive 98 yards in Cleveland Stadium in the final minutes of an AFC Championship game.

His big play Monday, The Throw, they’re calling it in Denver, marked the 17th time in Elway’s eight seasons he’s brought the team from behind in the fourth quarter with his $2 million a year right arm. Blame the Super Bowl losses on Elway, if you wish. But the Broncos know he’s their ticket to the game.

It’s funny how Elway’s ability to come back has become so commonplace. Jackson, for example, rooted for Paige to go the entire 83 yards for the touchdown so that the Broncos could get the ball back with 1:44 and three timeouts left.

“(Tackle) Gerald Perry had the quote of the day,” Jackson said. “He said, ‘Let’s just do it.’ When your offensive linemen have that kind of confidence, that’s good. Usually, they are worried about not getting beat by a defender.”

In many ways, 1990 is a comeback year for Elway. Losing a third Super Bowl hit him hard. He sneaked away to a new home in Palm Springs during the off-season and got away from the Denver fans and press, who, he claimed, suffocated him last season.

Reaching the age of 30 was another eye opener for Elway. Suddenly, a touch of football mortality reached him. Four years remain on his six-year, $12.7 million contract, but before camp, Elway started dropping hints he isn’t certain he’ll finish the pact.

Each year, he must wait until January to try to erase the Super Bowl stigma tagged to him.

“It still stings,” Elway said. “It’s a dark cloud that’s hanging over us.”

Elway reported to camp slimmer and mentally fresher and had a great training camp. Then came the season-opener against the Los Angeles Raiders. He wilted from heat exhaustion in 100-plus degree heat as the Broncos suffered a 14-9 loss.

No matter how much he tried to hide it, Elway, who completed only 14-of-31 passes, ached emotionally through the week that followed.

“Beside the Super Bowl, that’s probably the most disappointed I’ve been in a long time,” he said. “I took a lot of criticism. I didn’t play well, so I can’t say I didn’t deserve it.”

Yet those thoughts didn’t cross his mind on that fourth-and-10 against Kansas City.

“You’re in a situation where you have nothing to win,” Elway said. “A lot of guys think it’s more pressure, but there really is not. To me there is far less pressure.”

Montana says plays seem to slow down during crucial situations. He should know. His 24 fourth-quarter come-from-behind victories with the San Francisco 49ers top even retired Dallas Cowboys Roger Staubach, who had 23 fourth-quarter come-from-behind victories, including 14 in the final two minutes.

“It’s not that things slow down, but they seem to be more clear,” Elway said.

What is clear is that Elway’s ability to spark a comeback with one-play puts him in the class with Staubach, Montana and Ken Stabler.

“I think John and Roger are very similar,” said Broncos Coach Dan Reeves, who played with Staubach and coaches Elway. “Both of them had that tremendous arm and the ability to scramble and make things happen. I think both teams have reacted to both quarterbacks the same way. They never really feel they are out of a ballgame.”

Except in Super Bowls, where their average loss is by 32 points.

“One Super Bowl win will get rid of that,” Elway said. “You just can’t come to grips with, ‘hey, if you lose the Super Bowl, you are not the second-best team in the league, you’re the 28th-best team.”’

17 COMEBACKS FOR NO. 7

Dec. 11, 1983--Elway throws three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter in a 21-19 victory over the Baltimore Colts.

Nov. 4, 1984--Elway engineers an eight-play, 78-yard drive that brought the Broncos from a 19-12 deficit and set up a 26-19 victory over the New England Patriots.

Nov. 11, 1984--Down 13-9 with 3:30 left, Elway drives the Broncos 77 yards in 10 plays in a 16-13 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

Dec. 9, 1984--Elway drives Denver to a 28-yard field goal with 2:08 left in a 16-13 victory over the Chargers.

Nov. 11, 1985--On a third-and-10, Elway, trailing the San Francisco 49ers, 16-14, avoids a Ronnie Lott blitz and fires a third-down completion that set up a game-winning field goal. Broncos win, 17-16.

Dec. 1, 1985--Completing four consecutive passes in a touchdown drive, Elway rallies the Broncos from a 23-17 deficit to a 31-19 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dec. 14, 1985--Elway recovers from a five-interception game by firing a 42-yard pass to Steve Watson that rallies the Broncos from a 13-7 deficit to a 14-13 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Dec. 20, 1985--The Seattle Seahawks lead, 17-0, in the first half. Elway, who passed for 432 yards, rallies the Broncos and hits a 27-yard pass with less than two minutes remaining that puts the Broncos in position for a game-winning field goal. Denver wins, 27-24.

Sept. 7, 1986--A 9-yard touchdown pass to Gene Lang in the fourth quarter leads the Broncos to a 38-36 victory over the Los Angeles Raiders.

Sept. 28, 1986--Elway leads 19-point second half in a 27-20 comeback victory over the Patriots.

Jan. 11, 1987--The Drive. Elway marches 98 yards in final seconds to beat the Cleveland Browns, 23-20 in overtime.

Dec. 16, 1988--An eight-play, 61-yard drive pays off in a 31-29 victory over the Chicago Bears.

Jan. 17, 1989--Elway makes a long march for a touchdown that beats the Browns, 38-31, in a game the Browns almost tied. Running back Earnest Byner fumbled as he headed for the Broncos’ goal line. Broncos win, 38-33.

Oct. 10, 1989--Elway directs a 74-yard drive in final five minutes to beat the Chargers, 17-16.

Nov. 11, 1989--Elway’s field goal drive from his 20 in the final 5:24 features a 21-yard bullet to Mark Jackson. Broncos beat the Chiefs, 16-13.

Jan. 7, 1990--Elway’s 65-yard drive rallies the Broncos to a 24-23 victory over the Steelers in an AFC playoff game. The winning score came with 2:27 left on the clock.

Sept. 17, 1990--Elway, taking the ball from his 17, hits Vance Johnson for a fourth-down 49-yard gain that sets up game-winning field goal in a 24-23 victory over the Chiefs.