Elway Throws ‘Em For A Loop

FROM SPORTS Tuesday, October 8, 1996: Correction Quarterback Drew Bledsoe of New England and tight end Shannon Sharpe of Denver were misidentified in the Sunday’s best list on page C2 of Monday’s report.

While John Elway is still the master of the fourth-quarter comeback, his timing could use some fine-tuning.

Elway led another dramatic rally Sunday, but did it so early he took much of the suspense out of it.

Trailing 17-0 late in the first half and without an effective running game, Elway threw four touchdown passes, three to Shannon Sharpe, as the Denver Broncos rolled to a 28-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

“San Diego used an eight-man front and they were really stuffing our running game,” Elway said. “We knew we were going to have to throw the ball. No question, today was my best game of the year.”

“I’m really proud of the way our team fought back under adversity,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. “We did not panic at halftime. We started throwing the ball a lot more in the second quarter than we planned to, and we picked it up in the second half.”

San Diego coach Bobby Ross said his team “got beat off the line of scrimmage since the very first play of the game. Our pass protection was almost embarrassing. Denver definitely deserved to win that game.”

After San Diego’s Stan Humphries threw his second TD pass, a 6-yarder to a diving Tony Martin, with 2:51 left in the first half, Elway took charge.

He took Denver (5-1) on an 80-yard, five-play drive, completing four straight passes, including a 24-yarder to Sharpe and a 31-yarder to Ed McCaffrey, before hitting Sharpe with a 20-yard TD throw.

“That drive was big,” Shanahan said. “We didn’t have much going for us at the time. We needed a spark to get momentum back in our favor.”

On Denver’s second possession of the second half, Elway hit Sharpe again with a 20-yard TD throw.

Todd Kinchen’s 26-yard punt return gave Denver possession near midfield and, after a 22-yard pass to Sharpe, Elway hit a wide-open Sharpe on a 3-yarder in the rear of the end zone for a 21-17 lead with 3:03 left in the third quarter.

Early in the final period, San Diego was stopped on fourth down at the Denver 38 when safety Steve Atwater separated receiver Charlie Jones from the ball. Denver then went 62 yards in 12 plays for another score, Elway’s 9-yard pass to McCaffrey, with 8:22 left.

Bills 16, Colts 13 (OT)

Steve Christie’s 39-yard field goal with 5:38 remaining gave Buffalo its overtime victory over previously unbeaten Indianapolis at Orchard Park, N.Y.

The Colts, who were the NFL’s last undefeated team, are tied with the Bills for the AFC East lead.

The Bills drove 26 yards to the Colts 22-yard line before Christie won it with his third field goal of the game. His 37-yarder with 15 seconds left in regulation sent the game into overtime, and he also connected from 42 yards.

The winning kick came after Buffalo drove 26 yards to the Indianapolis 22. Reserve running back Darick Holmes helped set up Christie with a 10-yard gain and a key first down.

Buffalo has won 11 straight games decided by a touchdown or less. The Bills also have won all five overtime games at Rich Stadium.

Packers 37, Bears 6

Brett Favre and Antonio Freeman played pitch-and-catch, and Green Bay rolled to its most lopsided victory ever at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

Freeman came down with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Favre on the final play of the first half and made a fully extended grab over Chicago defender Kevin Miniefield for a 35-yard score in the third quarter.

Another Green Bay receiver, Don Beebe, returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown as the Packers beat the Bears for the fifth straight time and the seventh time in the last nine meetings.

Favre completed 18 of 27 passes for 246 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 20 TD throws in six games. Freeman made seven catches for 146 yards.

The Packers, at 5-1, are off to their best start since 6-1 in 1978. The Bears are 2-4 for the first time since 1983.

Vikings 14, Panthers 12

After Cris Carter caught two short touchdown passes that allowed Minnesota to build a 14-0 lead, the Vikings held off Carolina at Minneapolis.

The Vikings took a 14-9 lead into the fourth quarter. They needed to stop the Panthers twice from the 5-yard line to force John Kasay’s field goal with 6:28 to play then needed Dewayne Washington’s second interception of the game to stop the Panthers again with 3:08 remaining.

Although they were outscored in the fourth quarter for the first time this season, the Vikings forced six Carolina turnovers and maintained their first-place tie with Green Bay in the NFC Central.

Patriots 46, Ravens 38

Drew Bledsoe threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns as visiting New England recorded a victory made possible by the Baltimore secondary’s mistakes.

After an unspectacular first half, Bledsoe was 7-for-7 for 104 yards and two touchdown passes on New England’s first two possessions of the second half, which enabled the Patriots to turn a 20-14 halftime advantage into a 35-14 lead midway through the third period.

Bledsoe had plenty of help from Baltimore’s mistake-prone defensive backfield, which committed key penalties and blew coverages in allowing the game to get out of control.

Lions 28, Falcons 24

Scott Mitchell ran for one touchdown and passed for three more, staking Detroit to a 28-0 lead, before the Lions held off winless Atlanta at Pontiac, Mich.

The loss doomed the Falcons to the fourth 0-5 start in club history. But they didn’t go down without a fight. The Lions have won 10 straight and 15 of 16 at the Silverdome.

Jamal Anderson brought the Falcons back with three touchdowns - on runs of 9, 5 and 14 yards - and Morten Andersen’s 47-yard field goal with 5:57 left in the game had the 58,666 fans booing the home team.

Mitchell, who completed 20 of 37 passes for 276 yards without an interception, finally got the Lions’ offense back on track. Mixing passes to Johnnie Morton and Herman Moore with runs by Barry Sanders, the Lions drove from their own 20 to the Atlanta 1. From there, Mitchell dropped to his knee three times, and time ran out.

49ers 28, Rams 11

San Francisco beat St. Louis again, and this time at St. Louis with backups playing key roles.

Backup quarterback Elvis Grbac threw three touchdown passes, two of them to reserve tight end Ted Popson, and the 49ers took advantage of three early turnovers to beat the Rams for the 13th straight time.

Raiders 34, Jets 13

Oakland came alive against hapless New York, riding Jeff Hostetler’s three touchdown passes to victory at East Rutherford, N.J.

The Raiders won for only the second time in their last 12 games.

Saints 17, Jaguars 13

Jim Everett hit Torrance Small with a 6-yard touchdown pass with 1:45 left, giving New Orleans its first victory, a decision over Jacksonville in front of a meager crowd of 34,231 at the Superdome.

Oilers 30, Bengals 27 (OT)

Al Del Greco’s 49-yard field goal 7:07 into overtime gave Houston its victory over Cincinnati, its ninth win in 11 games against the Bengals.

Cincinnati had a chance to win in regulation, but Doug Pelfrey’s 40-yard field-goal attempt as time expired drifted right.

ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Sunday’s Best Quarterbacks Vinny Testaverde 29-45-353-3-1 John Elway 32-41-323-4-1 Scott Bledsoe 25-39-310-4-0 Running backs Eddie George 26-152-1 Joe Asha 21-136-1 Jamal Anderson 16-103-3 Receivers Sterling Sharpe 13-153-3 Antonio Freeman 7-146-2 Joey Galloway 5-139-2<