Elway Beats the Clock Again : Interconference: He runs four yards for a touchdown with 1:46 left to give Denver a 24-19 victory over Phoenix.

John Elway saw the Denver Broncos’ AFC West lead slipping away and knew it was his kind of situation.

Elway, who has made a career of such finishes, drove the Broncos 66 yards in six plays, scoring the winning touchdown on a four-yard run with 1:46 left Sunday to beat the Phoenix Cardinals, 24-19.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘How can we be losing this game with four minutes left?’ ” Elway said.

The Broncos (11-4) were trailing, 19-17, despite having nearly twice the total offense of the Cardinals (4-11).

“I was thinking how bad it was going to feel if we lost this game. I thought, ‘Just give me another chance.’ And the defense did.”

The Broncos got the ball back with 3:53 left, and Elway promptly threw 22-yard passes to Shannon Sharpe and Vance Johnson. Steve Sewell ran for 18 yards inside the 10-yard line, and Elway swept the right side from four yards out for the touchdown.

The victory kept Denver, which clinched a playoff spot last week, in contention for a first-round bye in the playoffs. The loss was the seventh in a row for the Cardinals (4-11).

Elway, whose three interceptions during the second half were converted into three field goals by Greg Davis to put the Cardinals ahead, got the winning touchdown on a third-and-goal play. He faded to pass, then ran to the right corner, beating linebacker Freddie Joe Nunn to the end zone.

“I had Sewell in the flat, but they picked him up,” Elway said. “So I took it in. I think Freddie Joe Nunn stumbled, and there was nothing between me and the corner.”

As he went into the end zone, Elway was hit on his right elbow. He came into the game with a sore right shoulder and a bruised muscle in his right forearm.

“There was a part of my elbow that wasn’t bruised, so I had to hit it,” he said.

Said Phoenix Coach Joe Bugel of Elway: “He’s a play-maker. He makes something out of nothing.”

Added rookie cornerback Aeneas Williams, who had two of the Cardinals’ interceptions, “Elway made the big plays, just like he’s been doing his entire career.”

Cardinal linebacker Ken Harvey said Elway’s touchdown was “the right call for the defense we were in at the time.”

Denver Coach Dan Reeves said the last drive “is something that John has done an awful lot.”

After that score, the Broncos withstood a Cardinal drive that reached the Denver 27-yard line, where Chris Chandler was sacked by rookie Kenny Walker on the game’s final play.

“Any time you let a team hang in there against you, you’re always in jeopardy of losing,” a relieved Reeves said. “(The Cardinals) kept making plays. Williams made two great interceptions and gave them outstanding field position. Thank goodness our defense was able to hold them to a field goal.”

The Cardinals rallied from a 17-6 third-quarter deficit to score on four consecutive possessions.

Phoenix got a solid performance from Chandler, who made his first start for the Cardinals after being picked up on waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month.

Chandler flipped a pass in the left flat to Ernie Jones, who eluded three would-be tacklers while running down the sideline for a 45-yard scoring play that pulled the Cardinals to 17-13 with 3:02 left in the third quarter.

Four plays later, Williams intercepted Elway’s pass at midfield, and three Chandler completions offset two sacks to set up Davis’ 28-yard field goal with 10:13 left.

On Denver’s next play from scrimmage, Williams intercepted another pass by Elway and returned it 23 yards to the Denver 26. Davis kicked a 38-yarder for a 19-17 advantage with 8:24 left.