In addition, he also offered some inside info as to what was wrong with the respective kicking games and he talked about the futures of both the franchises during his postgame chat session Sunday evening. If you weren't up that late, an edited transcript is below.

Salisbury: Well, it turned out about like I thought except I didn't expect Atlanta to turn it over as much.

The Falcons kind of went into a lull. When you get into the red zone and you're kicking field goals against the Denver Broncos, you won't win. If you throw three interceptions and you start chasing Denver, you're done. John Elway was efficient and Terrell Davis did his thing. The defense was the big star.

What questions do you have?

Buddy: What happened to the Falcons? I thought it was going to be closer.

Salisbury: Two things. You need to capitalize when you get it down in the red zone early. You can't turn it over and you can't be in a chase mode with the Broncos. Atlanta got behind early, and they had to force the ball, which got them out of their game plan.

Thordur: Do you think the Broncos have a chance next year with Bubby Brister running the show?

SALISBURY'S FILE

Former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury joined ESPN in August 1997 as sideline reporter for college football games on ESPN2. He also served as an on-site studio analyst at the 1998 Orange Bowl (Nebraska vs. Tennessee) for ESPN's College GameDay and SportsCenter. In 1998 he was named an original analyst for NFL 2Night, the five-night per week League news and information program on ESPN2, and a contributor for Sunday NFL Countdown. Salisbury's eight-year NFL career began in 1986 with the Seattle Seahawks, followed by stints with Indianapolis (1987), Minnesota (1990-94) and San Diego (1996). In between, he went to the Canadian Football League, where he led Winnipeg to the Gray Cup in 1988 and was the league's leading passer in 1989. Upon his return to the NFL with Minnesota he was named the NFL's Player of the Week in 1992 when he threw for 386 yards against the Denver Broncos.

Salisbury: They should be the favorite going in. The defense has played well. They are still young, they have an offensive line that doesn't miss a beat. Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey will continue to get better and they have the best blocking back in the league in Howard Griffith. I think they are good enough to win with Brister, too. That's not taking anything away from John -- he's still the guy I would want in there with everything on the line. Now they need to relax and enjoy this. They have as good of chance as anyone to win. If Elway stays, they are the clearcut favorite. They have as good of chance to 3-peat as there has ever been.

Groganfan: I just wonder what happens to the Falcons now. Is Chris Chandler a one-year wonder? Will he ever make it through another year injury free? Will the Falcons' offensive line improve? In short, will they be a contender next year?

Salisbury: I think Atlanta's success the past two years is no fluke. They have good players in house. They need to upgrade and get a little better up front and they need more depth, but for the most part they are solid. Tight end O.J. Santiago is a good player, but he'll need to step up some in the big games for them to be a factor.

Nickn: Is Elway going to come back next year?

Salisbury: I don't know. I would have to say no. He's taken a lot of hits. If he had to make the decison tomorrow, I think he would hang it up. But he doesn't and the win throws a monkey wrench into the plans. My heart says please stay -- we need you. I think he will retire, but I'm hanging on to the hope that he'll come back for one more year.

Matt: I think we have to give a hand to the Denver defense. They held Jamal Anderson to less than 100 yards and their secondary, which had been labeled the weak point of this team, played a great game.

Salisbury: Denver's defense had a great plan. Their No. 1 priority was to stop Anderson and not let him kill them. If you stop him, you have a chance. If you let him run free, he'll kill you. I'm not surprised they shut him down, though.

You need the pass to set up the run and Atlanta had too many turnovers for that to happen.

Udlaw927: Can Denver make it back to the big dance next year without Elway?

Salisbury: I think this team is good enough to return with Brister running the show. And that doesn't take anything away from John.

Silver Charm: What was up with the kicking tonight? Yuck!

Salisbury: Well, you'll hear it here first on this subject.

I was talking to Vikings special teams coach Gary Zauner about this and he told me the following:

This is the only game that they don't get to use the rubbed down balls. They use brand new balls right out of the box that are hard as a rock. The guys were over-kicking them. He also said that they normally have 24 balls per game, but that they had 100 for this game. That makes a difference because the balls don't get broken in.

Groganfan: All week long we heard that the Falcons' game plan on defense would be to stop Davis and force Elway to beat them. It seemed to me that, especially after the bad Elway performance in the AFC Championship Game, that this was the only chance. Well, he did it. I'm not really an Elway fan, but he was at the top of his game tonight.

Salisbury: Denver didn't give the ball away, they made the big plays and their defense was outstanding.

Steve McLean: I was really disappointed in the Falcons running game I really don't know what happened. What really disappointed me was the lack of yardage from big-time ball carrier Jamal Anderson. Could you please shed some light on what happened?

Salisbury: They stopped Anderson and forced Chandler into a bad game. If you stop them both, you beat the Falcons. The Broncos' offense will get the attention, but the defense was the key all through the playoffs. You need the pass to set up the run and Atlanta had too many turnovers for that to happen. They forced Atlanta into catchup mode early, and that helped take Anderson out of the game some, too.

Gfan: That Tim Dwight is an exciting player. I remember watching him at Iowa. What speed and fearlessness. I hope that the Falcons utilize him more on offense next year. He is a treat to watch play.

Salisbury: His agent had me work with him in the offseason and I also watched him in college. I knew he was something special. He's one of football's most exciting players. He's a weapon that will scare the heck out of people. He's a football player. He's the type of guy that would be all muddy and knocking people around. He's a blue collar worker with white collar talent and that's the best combination.

Thanks for all the questions. Take care.