SAN DIEGO - Somewhere between John Elway famously helicoptering his way to a first down and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen holding up the Lombardi Trophy and saying "This one's for John," there came a controversial coaching decision. Lost among Terrell Davis' three rushing touchdowns and John Elway's first Super Bowl victory was the decision by Green Bay coach Mike Holmgren to let the Broncos score the game-winning touchdown to give the Packers time for a potential game-tying drive. It was a gutsy call, one showing an incredible amout of faith in his offense and quarterback Brett Favre.
And it was the wrong one.
It's easy to say in retrospect that Holmgren did the wrong thing. Knowing what we know now - that Favre's last-ditch drive that started out looking so promising would end up fizzling out on a fourth-down incompletion at the Broncos' 35 - it's easy to say "See? He shouldn't have let them score! How can you do that in the Super Bowl?" But that's not why it was the wrong thing to do. It was wrong because Holmgren had the down wrong.
After a tense, back-and-forth game, the defending champion Packers had tied Super Bowl XXXII at 24 on a 13-yard pass from Favre to Antonio Freeman just more than a minute into the fourth quarter. From there, both defenses tightened up, and the score remained tied until the Broncos got the ball at midfield with 3:27 left. A facemask penalty and a 23-yard pass gave the Broncos first-and-goal from the 8.
This is where Holmgren's confusion likely set in. On the first play inside the 10, the Broncos committed a holding penalty, pushing the ball back to the 18-yard line. On first-and-goal from the 18, Davis carried the ball down to the 1-yard line with 1:47 left. Likely forgetting about the penalty, Holmgren thought this run gave the Broncos a first down and that, with the Packers holding only two time outs, they wouldn't have enough time to drive down field if the Broncos sufficiently ran out the clock. But it was second down, meaning that if the Packers had gotten two stops, the Broncos would have likely been kicking a go-ahead field goal with about 1:40 or so left on the clock - plenty of time for Favre to try for a last-ditch drive.
As it was, the Packers let Davis run in for the one-yard touchdown. Favre got the Packers down as far as the Denver 31 yard line in the fourth, but ran into two bits of bad luck. The first came when Freeman couldn't hold on to a pass that would have given Green Bay the ball at the 15 yard line, and the second came when the Packers had to use their final time out after that play because of an injured player. After Favre's final pass was broken up, the Broncos celebrated their first Super Bowl victory.
Would the final drive have played out differently if Holmgren had known the proper down and distance? Possibly. The Packers were in field goal range when their final drive fizzled out. But there's no guarantee they would have stopped Davis twice at the one-yard line anyway. And there's no guarantee the Broncos would have played the same prevent-style defense on the last drive if they were only holding a 3-point lead rather than a 7-point lead. Either way, the game has become known for Davis' three touchdowns and Elways famous helicopter run rather than for Holgren's gaffe, and it's probably better that way.
Showing posts with label Denver Broncos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Denver Broncos. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
January 17, 1988: The Fumble
DENVER - If you freeze the play at just the right time, you can imagine it as the most exciting moment in franchise history. There was Earnest Byner, ball in his right hand, big hole in front of him, about to tie the AFC Championship game at 38.
This was the Browns' destiny. Last year, it was Cleveland with the 7-point lead late in the fourth quarter, playing at home, then watching John Elway drive down the field to tie the game. That became forever known as "The Drive," and Cleveland fans were still bitter about it.
Now, the tables were turned. It was the Broncos who had the 7-point lead late in the fourth quarter, playing at home. It was the Browns who drove down the field, putting themselves in position to tie the game. Then they called that handoff to Byner, who got the ball cleanly and started running off-tackle left. It looked like he would walk in ...
In the immediate years preceding the Super Bowl, the Browns were an NFL dynasty. They won four straight AAFL championships, then won four titles in 14 years after joining the NFL. The Browns last NFL title was in 1964, the year before the Super Bowl was instituted. Bad luck there. Twice more in the 1960s, they lost with the Super Bowl just a game away. Then ... nothing. No playoff wins for 16 years as they tried to return to the top. They finally broke through in 1986, before Elway and The Drive knocked them away. This year, it would finally happen.
Byner looked like he was coming in clean, but Broncos defensive back Jeremiah Castille had a shot at him. Castille reached in and hit the ball, jarring it loose, the fell on the ball at the 2-yard line. The Browns were devastated. Their fans went catatonic. Two yards from the goal line, and the ball was lost. Their best chance at a Super Bowl, and they came up 2 yards short.
The Broncos gave the Browns an intentional safety, cutting their lead to 38-33, but there wasn't enough time left for the Browns to mount a touchdown drive. They would be sitting out the Super Bowl again. Two years later, they lost to the Broncos in the AFC championship a third time. They've never been as close to the Super Bowl since.
The next year, when the Browns released their team media guide, people took notice of the cover. At first, it didn't seem odd - it was just a stylized version of a photograph of quarterback Bernie Kosar handing off to Byner. But at closer look, people came to a stunning realization: the picture was taken moments before The Fumble. The Browns had chosen the moment immediately before the most painful turnover in team history to highlight their upcoming season.
In a way, it made sense - a reminder of how close they came to their goals, a way to inspire the team to do just a little bit more. In retrospect, it's haunting, a picture captured at the absolute peak of the franchise, the moment the Browns started to sink.
HONORABLE MENTION -
January 17, 1999: MINNEAPOLIS - I don't know why everybody blames Gary Anderson. I suppose it makes sense for fans of poetic irony - the kicker that hadn't missed all season missing the kick that would have clinched a berth in the Super Bowl. But he just became a convenient scapegoat. After all, when that kick sailed wide left, the Vikings still had a 7-point lead, just over a minute to play. The Falcons shouldn't have had time to drive for a tying touchdown. And they wouldn't have had time if Robert Smith, remembering his knee injury from a couple years before, hadn't run out of bounds untouched three times on that final drive. Stay in bounds once, Robert, and the Falcons certainly don't have time to tie the game. And everybody always forgets that a) the Vikings had 30 seconds left to try to break the tie at the end of regulation and took a knee and b) they got the ball first in overtime but couldn't score. It's just ... it's just ... I don't want to talk about it any more. It's stupid....
This was the Browns' destiny. Last year, it was Cleveland with the 7-point lead late in the fourth quarter, playing at home, then watching John Elway drive down the field to tie the game. That became forever known as "The Drive," and Cleveland fans were still bitter about it.
Now, the tables were turned. It was the Broncos who had the 7-point lead late in the fourth quarter, playing at home. It was the Browns who drove down the field, putting themselves in position to tie the game. Then they called that handoff to Byner, who got the ball cleanly and started running off-tackle left. It looked like he would walk in ...
In the immediate years preceding the Super Bowl, the Browns were an NFL dynasty. They won four straight AAFL championships, then won four titles in 14 years after joining the NFL. The Browns last NFL title was in 1964, the year before the Super Bowl was instituted. Bad luck there. Twice more in the 1960s, they lost with the Super Bowl just a game away. Then ... nothing. No playoff wins for 16 years as they tried to return to the top. They finally broke through in 1986, before Elway and The Drive knocked them away. This year, it would finally happen.
Byner looked like he was coming in clean, but Broncos defensive back Jeremiah Castille had a shot at him. Castille reached in and hit the ball, jarring it loose, the fell on the ball at the 2-yard line. The Browns were devastated. Their fans went catatonic. Two yards from the goal line, and the ball was lost. Their best chance at a Super Bowl, and they came up 2 yards short.
The Broncos gave the Browns an intentional safety, cutting their lead to 38-33, but there wasn't enough time left for the Browns to mount a touchdown drive. They would be sitting out the Super Bowl again. Two years later, they lost to the Broncos in the AFC championship a third time. They've never been as close to the Super Bowl since.
The next year, when the Browns released their team media guide, people took notice of the cover. At first, it didn't seem odd - it was just a stylized version of a photograph of quarterback Bernie Kosar handing off to Byner. But at closer look, people came to a stunning realization: the picture was taken moments before The Fumble. The Browns had chosen the moment immediately before the most painful turnover in team history to highlight their upcoming season.
In a way, it made sense - a reminder of how close they came to their goals, a way to inspire the team to do just a little bit more. In retrospect, it's haunting, a picture captured at the absolute peak of the franchise, the moment the Browns started to sink.
HONORABLE MENTION -
January 17, 1999: MINNEAPOLIS - I don't know why everybody blames Gary Anderson. I suppose it makes sense for fans of poetic irony - the kicker that hadn't missed all season missing the kick that would have clinched a berth in the Super Bowl. But he just became a convenient scapegoat. After all, when that kick sailed wide left, the Vikings still had a 7-point lead, just over a minute to play. The Falcons shouldn't have had time to drive for a tying touchdown. And they wouldn't have had time if Robert Smith, remembering his knee injury from a couple years before, hadn't run out of bounds untouched three times on that final drive. Stay in bounds once, Robert, and the Falcons certainly don't have time to tie the game. And everybody always forgets that a) the Vikings had 30 seconds left to try to break the tie at the end of regulation and took a knee and b) they got the ball first in overtime but couldn't score. It's just ... it's just ... I don't want to talk about it any more. It's stupid....
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