PRO FOOTBALL ’95 : Broncos Get Foot Into Win : AFC: Elam kicks five field goals and Elway passes for 317 yards in Denver’s 22-7 victory over Buffalo.

Wade Phillips’ return to Denver was no more satisfying than his first go-around.

Mike Shanahan’s was a lot more pleasant.

Phillips, fired after two mediocre seasons as the Denver Broncos’ coach, came back to Mile High Stadium on Sunday night as defensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills, only to see his unit shredded for 439 yards.

John Elway passed for 317 yards, helping set up Jason Elam’s five field goals, as Denver defeated Buffalo, 22-7, in Shanahan’s debut as the Broncos’ coach.

Rookie Terrell Davis scored Denver’s lone touchdown, a three-yard run with 3:22 remaining.

“We were moving the heck out of the football--we just have to find a way to get it in the end zone,” Shanahan said. “The bottom line is, we found a way to win. We played well in all three phases, and if we do that, we’re going to win some games.”

Despite repeated failures to reach the end zone, the offense brought from San Francisco to Denver by Shanahan produced 24 first downs. Shannon Sharpe caught 10 passes for 180 yards, and Davis ran for 70 yards in 20 carries.

Sharpe said a key for the Broncos was making big plays when Buffalo blitzed.

“We knew Wade was going to bring the house, and when he did we knew we’d have to make him pay,” Sharpe said. “I feel I can beat most linebackers and safeties in this league, and Mike kept calling my number. It just snowballed.”

Denver’s suspect defense, rebuilt after ranking last in the NFL in 1994, limited the Bills to 234 yards and mounted a crucial goal-line stand in the third quarter, holding the Bills scoreless to preserve a 12-7 lead. On fourth and goal from the one, fullback Carwell Gardner was stopped by safety Steve Atwater for no gain.

Later in the quarter, the Broncos began a drive from their 22-yard line. Helped by a defensive holding penalty on cornerback Thomas Smith--which gave the Broncos an automatic first down after an incomplete pass on third and 16--the Broncos drove for Elam’s fifth field goal. Elway completed passes of seven, 15 and 22 yards to Sharpe, and Elam made it 15-7 with a 37-yard field goal with 10:23 to play.

On Denver’s next possession, Sharpe caught passes of 14 and five yards from Elway, who scrambled 15 yards on a key third down. Elway’s 35-yard pass to Ed McCaffrey got Denver inside the Bills’ 10, and Davis scored three plays later.

Buffalo’s only score came on its second possession of the game as Jim Kelly, who completed only 12 of 28 passes for 154 yards, passed 34 yards to Andre Reed.

“We laid an egg on offense,” Buffalo Coach Marv Levy said. “I want to look at the game tapes before I make any judgments about the defense. Wade has worked very hard and done a lot with the defense. He will have a lot of chances to celebrate this year.”