Elway Gives 9-1 Odds on Retirement

Win or lose, the fans of Denver will most likely witness John Elway’s final game in Mile High Stadium next Sunday in the AFC championship game.

Elway, who has yet to make a final decision on whether he will retire or play another year, met recently with owner Pat Bowlen and indicated once again he is leaning heavily toward retirement.

“He was said it was 90%,” Bowlen said, “but that was better than the 99.9% he had said earlier.”

Elway, who said he had decided to retire after last year’s Super Bowl win, changed his mind later in a large part to help Bowlen win a referendum for a new stadium.

“Hopefully, I can come up with something to get him back next year,” Bowlen said.

Elway made his first appearance in Mile High Stadium on Aug. 5, 1983, in an exhibition game against the Seattle Seahawks, entering the game in the second half and throwing a touchdown pass to Rick Upchurch on his first drive. He went on to win more regular-season games than any quarterback in NFL history--148, with 82 losses and one tie.

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There was 9:50 left in the first quarter and Denver running back Terrell Davis had already topped his rushing totals for the entire game in the Dec. 21 meeting with the Dolphins.

Miami limited Davis to 29 yards in 16 carries in a 31-21 victory, but Davis picked up 35 yards on his first five carries, and then went three more on his next two tries to score the Broncos’ first touchdown of the game.

“I guess they were [ticked] off about the game we beat them,” Miami cornerback Terrell Buckley said after Davis and the Broncos rolled over them.

Miami gave up an NFL-low six rushing touchdowns in 16 regular-season games; the Broncos had three Saturday.

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Davis, who has averaged an NFL all-time best 105.1 yards per regular-season game in his four years, became the second Bronco to be the Associated Press most valuable player.

Davis received 25 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, finishing ahead of Minnesota quarterback Randall Cunningham (14), Atlanta running back Jamal Anderson (four) and Minnesota rookie wide receiver Randy Moss (four).

Elway won the award in 1987.

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Denver has won five consecutive playoff games, outscoring its opponents, 149-75, including 90-38 in the first half. The 35-point margin of victory was the largest in team history. . . . Does it matter who the Broncos play next week? Denver has won 18 games in a row in Mile High Stadium--its last loss coming against Jacksonville in the playoffs two years ago. . . . The Broncos, who have sold out 230 consecutive games, are 32-3 in Mile High during Mike Shanahan’s reign as head coach.