Waiting On Elway Denver Has Its First Super Bowl Victory, Now What’s Next For Its Qb?

Wishful thinking by Mike Shanahan and Terrell Davis, or an accurate reflection of John Elway’s mindset?

The Denver coach and Super Bowl MVP believe their 37-year-old quarterback will return next season.

“I would really be surprised if he retired,” Shanahan said Monday after a night of celebration.

Denver’s 31-24 victory over Green Bay was the first for the franchise in five shots at the title game and ended the AFC’s Super Bowl losing streak at 13. It also served as the centerpiece in Elway’s brilliant career.

And he remained the focal point after what was probably the best Super Bowl ever - just as he was before the game in his bid to finally win the ring that had eluded him three previous times. The Broncos lost those Super Bowls (1987, 1988, 1990) by a total of 96 points and were 11-point underdogs Sunday.

Davis had his heroics - 157 yards on 30 carries and three 1-yard touchdown runs, including the winner with 1:45 left. But Elway - his quest fulfilled, his NFL future uncertain - provided the lasting imprint.

That was even true for his 8-year-old son, Jack, whom Elway carried on his shoulders into the locker room after celebrating on the field for a half-hour.

“John’s little boy got into the locker room and he started asking where the rings were,” Shanahan said. “We had to tell him that it will take a few months to get them.”

Elway, who has had a variety of injuries to his shoulder and arm, plans to take a few weeks off to think about his future, then talk to Shanahan and owner Pat Bowlen about a possible 16th season.

He is financially set, having netted approximately $80 million by selling his seven Denver-area car dealerships to Wayne Huizenga, owner of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, baseball’s Florida Marlins and the NHL’s Florida Panthers.

But Shanahan noted Elway has considered retirement after the past three or four seasons. And his teammates believe - hope? - he will be back to help them seek a second straight title.

“I told him that he’d better not retire,” Davis said.

Shanahan ended up making what sounded like a plea.

“Do you retire just because you won a championship?” he asked. “If he’s playing at a competitive level, why not come back.”

As for the game, the main question concerned Green Bay’s decision to let Davis score on second-and-goal from the 1 - instead of attempting a time-consuming goal-line stand. After the touchdown, the Packers had 1:45 and two timeouts to come back.

On Monday, Packers coach Mike Holmgren said he mistakenly thought it was first-and-goal when Davis scored, instead of second-and-goal.

Had Green Bay stopped Denver on the next two plays and used its two timeouts, the Packers could have gotten the ball back with almost 1:30 left.

“But at any rate, we made the decision,” Holmgren said. “I wanted the ball back.”

Green Bay safety Eugene Robinson said he thought it made sense to concede the touchdown and give quarterback Brett Favre & Co. the ball with as much time as possible.

The Packers reached the Denver 31 before John Mobley clinched it for the Broncos when he tipped Favre’s pass intended for Robert Brooks with 28 seconds remaining.

“At least we made it interesting,” Holmgren said. “It was a strategy I felt was our only chance to win. There would have been only 10 or 15 seconds left the other way.”

Shanahan thought there might be more time - a minute or more. And if the Packers had resisted, they might have held the Broncos to a field goal, meaning if they reached the 31, they would have been in range for an attempt at a tying field goal.

“You can think of it in different ways,” he said. “Indianapolis beat them by kneeling down and then kicking and there was no time left. It’s funny. That touchdown looked awfully easy from the field. It wasn’t until I saw the replay later that I realized how easy it was.”

The fact there’s second-guessing makes it obvious this Super Bowl was indeed special. In 10 of the 13 games during the NFC streak, the final half of the last quarter was just a matter of running out the clock.

Yes, this was the best of Super Bowls.