Elway Rallies Broncos Past Oilers, 27-21 : AFC: In repeat of last year’s playoff game, Elway directs winning fourth-quarter drive, his 31st game-saving march.

As John Elway trotted onto the field, the Denver Broncos down 21-20 with 1:56 left, Houston Oiler linebacker Eddie Robinson shouted: “Not this time, Elway.”

You’ll have to excuse young Robinson, a rookie. Perhaps he should have listened to the more experienced Bruce Matthews, who has seen a little more.

“A one-point lead means nothing in Denver,” the offensive lineman said.

It took only 22 seconds for Elway to show that one more time. He drove the Broncos 80 yards in three plays for fullback Reggie Rivers’ 20-yard touchdown run, lifting Denver over the Oilers, 27-21, Sunday.

It marked the third time this season Elway had directed a victorious comeback drive in the final minutes, and the 31st game-saving drive he’s engineered in his 10-year career.

“I guess I don’t want to understand how I do these things,” Elway said.

For a few moments, it appeared the Oilers had avenged their 26-24 playoff loss to the Broncos last year, a bitter setback that included--what else?--an Elway-directed scoring drive in the final minutes, that one covering 87 yards.

This time, Oilers quarterback Warren Moon marched Houston 94 yards, the final seven coming on his touchdown pass to Haywood Jeffires to make it 21-20. The Oilers must have felt pretty comfortable with their lead, but they left Elway far too much time to perfect another improbable ending.

“But you must realize I’m just one-eleventh of what happens out there,” Elway said. “We never feel like we’re out of a game. Everyone knows we can always win, and we seem to come up with the big plays when we need to.”

Elway promptly passed 39 yards to Mark Jackson, then connected with Vance Johnson for 21 yards, before Rivers’ run up the middle.

Dan Reeves has watched all of Elway’s comebacks and is still amazed.

“To have another comeback like that is unbelievable,” he said.

Denver (5-2) moved a game ahead of Kansas City in the AFC West.

Houston (4-2), which had its four-game winning streak ended, mounted a desperation threat in the waning seconds, as Moon’s 23-yard scramble and his 20-yard pass to Jeffires moved the Oilers to midfield before time expired.

It was Denver’s 14th victory in the last 15 home games.

Elway threw a 42-yard scoring pass to a wide-open Jackson, and Gaston Green sprinted 67 yards for another score as Denver took a 20-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Houston had drawn ahead 14-10 midway through the third quarter on Lorenzo White’s five-yard scoring run. But Denver responded with an 81-yard march, overcoming two holding penalties in the process.

One of the penalties wiped out Jackson’s apparent 38-yard touchdown catch. Jackson made it count two plays later, taking advantage of blown coverage to put Denver ahead 17-14 with one minute left in the third quarter.

Two plays into the fourth quarter, Frank Robinson blocked Greg Montgomery’s punt, and Denver’s Victor Jones recovered at the Houston nine-yard line. Denver had to settle for David Treadwell’s 28-yard field goal with 12:33 to play that made the score, 20-14.

The Broncos stopped a later Houston threat on safety Dennis Smith’s interception at the Denver 13, but with under six minutes remaining, Moon drove the Oilers 94 yards for the go-ahead score, a march that included his 72-yard pass to Curtis Duncan.

A blocked punt by Bubba McDowell also set up Moon’s eight-yard touchdown pass to Ernest Givins for Houston’s only score of the first half.

Moon, who had been sacked an NFL-low four times, was sacked four times by the Broncos.