Denver Wins At Pittsburgh
They won Sunday with vengeance, with focus and with third-down precision. They won on the run and on the road, before 61,382 hostile fans in Three Rivers Stadium. The Denver Broncos won the American Football Conference title, 24-21, over the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Sunday game full of emotion and momentum and could-have-beens and should-have-beens.
When it was over, the Broncos owner, Pat Bowlen, walked into the spirited Denver locker room holding the AFC championship trophy high.
But Denver coach Mike Shanahan said, “This is not the trophy we want. The one we want is much bigger than this and a lot more shiny.”
And that was it. The celebration began.
Shanahan was talking Super Bowl XXXII on Jan. 25 in San Diego, where the Broncos (15-4) will meet the Green Bay Packers (15-3).
The Broncos earned the trip because they outplayed the Steelers, outhit and outhustled them, made fewer turnovers and caught a few breaks. And the Denver offense made the Pittsburgh defense pay dearly in their third-down matchups.
Fourteen times Denver lined up for a third-down play. Eight times Denver converted (57 percent). That is a lot. And it kept happening in unusual fashion. Third-and-2? Denver would get 11 yards. Third-and-4? Denver would get 18 yards.
It was the Denver linemen blocking with zest and zeal and the Denver receivers, Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey, making that pay off. It was Shanahan calling challenging and dangerous plays in those critical situations. It was the quarterback, John Elway, who had a total of 15 passing first downs.
“On third-and-short plays, the defense is looking for Terrell Davis to bang it up in there,” said Smith, who caught six passes for 87 yards. “We know this. So our coaches call something with maximum protection to guard Elway. We knew the receivers would be in single coverage in those situations. In the pass route, you beat your man and you’re home free.”
The third-down play that Pittsburgh will remember most came with two minutes remaining and Denver at its own 15. A first down and Denver is on its way to running out the clock. No first down and Pittsburgh has a chance to tie the game, maybe win it. Pittsburgh had just scored a touchdown on a 10-play, 79-yard drive.
Elway dropped back and zipped the ball over the middle to tight end Shannon Sharpe. Six yards needed? Well, this pass gained 18. That was the kind of game, in a nutshell, that it was for the Pittsburgh defense.
Denver dominated in the first half. It scored all of its points in the first half and 17 of them in second quarter. It led at halftime by 24-14 and the Denver defense would only allow that one long Steelers scoring drive just before the game’s final drive. In the AFC now, Denver is king.
The game began all Steelers.
On Denver’s first possession, Levon Kirkland intercepted Elway (18 of 31 for 210 passing yards, two touchdowns, one interception) at the Denver 43. But when Norm Johnson missed a 38-yard field goal wide left, a golden opportunity was missed. So were three points Pittsburgh would so desperately need.
Davis rushed for a gamehigh 139 yards and scored the game’s first points on an 8-yard run. But Kordell Stewart matched him, scampering 33 yards for a score. It was 7-7 with 6:16 left in the first quarter. Jerome Bettis ran for 1-yard and it was Steelers ahead, 14-7. Then Denver blew Pittsburgh away.
Two touchdowns and a field goal produced in the final 8:20 of the half by the Denver offense proved enough. Big turnovers by Stewart, who threw three interceptions, helped.
Broncos 24, Steelers 21
Denver 7 17 0 0 - 24
Pittsburgh 7 7 0 7 - 21
Den-Davis 8 run (Elam kick) Pit-Stewart 33 run (N.Johnson kick) Pit-Bettis 1 run (N.Johnson kick) Den-FG Elam 43 Den-Griffith 15 pass from Elway (Elam kick) Den-McCaffrey 1 pass from Elway (Elam kick) Pit-C.Johnson 14 pass from Stewart (N.Johnson kick) A-61,382.
Den Pit
First downs 23 23
Rushes-yards 30-150 27-161
Passing 195 193
Punt Returns 2-19 1-19
Kickoff Returns 4-69 4-62
Interceptions Ret. 3-6 1-0
Comp-Att-Int 18-31-1 18-36-3
Sacked-Yards Lost 2-15 3-8
Punts 5-31.4 4-42.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 4-21 4-71
Time of Possession 30:01 29:59 Individual statistics
RUSHING-Denver, Davis 26-139, Elway 2-9, Hebron 2-2. Pittsburgh, Bettis 23-105, Stewart 3-44, McAfee 1-12.
PASSING-Denver, Elway 18-31-1-210. Pittsburgh, Stewart 18-36-3-201.
RECEIVING-Denver, R.Smith 6-87, McCaffrey 5-37, Sharpe 3-49, Griffith 2-26, Hebron 1-9, Davis 1-2. Pittsburgh, Thigpen 6-92, Hawkins 4-30, C.Johnson 3-34, Blackwell 2-19, Bruner 1-16, Lester 1-7, Bettis 1-3.
MISSED FIELD GOALS-Pittsburgh, N.Johnson 38 (WL).