N.Y. Jets at Denver


Breaking down the Jets and Broncos


AFC: Tuna stocks the cupboard


Focal Point: Shanahan vs. Parcells


A final four to shout about


Tackling the Tuna


Broncos run wild in rout of Dolphins


Davis puts hurt on Dolphins defense


Broncos' Davis adds MVP to his list of accolades

The early returns were in, and the Dolphins had every indication they were in for a long day. Broncos running back Terrell Davis was just getting started, gaining 38 yards on the Broncos' first drive, which he capped with a one-yard touchdown run.

"I could tell early on that we had it going,'' Davis told the Rocky Mountain News.

Things quickly went from bad to worse for Miami. Davis capped the Broncos' second drive with a 20-yard touchdown run, leaving Ray Hill grasping at air. All that was missing from Davis' Roadrunner rendition was a rooster tail of dust as he tore through the Miami defense.

	Terrell Davis Running Back Denver Broncos Profile Statistics Career Notes
	1998 SEASON STATISTICS G CAR YDS AVG LNG TD 16 392 2,008 5.1 70 21

And after the dust had settled on the Broncos' 38-3 rout Saturday, the 1998 NFL MVP had 199 yards rushing -- the sixth-best single-game total in NFL playoff history. After the game, he sat down with ESPN's Sal Paolantonio for the Sunday Conversation.

Paolantonio: What does being MVP of the league mean to you?

Davis: It means a lot. I mean, that's a pretty big award. That's probably the biggest individual accomplishment I can receive because you're (going up against) the entire league, not just an offensive player or defensive player. To be selected out of all of the players in the league, that's something I never thought I could win.

I just see myself as a piece to the puzzle. We have a lot of players who play a big role on this team with Shannon Sharpe, Rod Smith, Ed McCaffrey and the line.

John and I, I think we complement each other with the run and the pass. He spreads it out for me a lot of times, and sometimes I'll bring everybody down inside and he'll throw the ball for 400 yards, or something like that. So, I think we work well together.

Paolantonio: Do you think people will look at Saturday's game and say the Dolphins were a hurt team?

Davis: People never give us the credit we deserve, but that's fine. That's fine, I think we have a team, that we feed off that. The Dolphins came here, and they had a few people down. They were beat up, but that's football. This late in the game, if you don't have people there you have to be ready to go.

But we try not to look at that. We try to go into each game, and take it as if everyone's healthy and try to plan accordingly.

Paolantonio: Let's put this season in perspective. When the Broncos were unbeaten and eyeing a perfect season, how difficult was it to sustain that momentum?

Davis: It was tough. It was tough to go out there each week and try to bring you're A-game to the table. You have a lot of teams gunning for you. They recognize that you're undefeated, and everybody wants to be the team that says that they knocked you off of that track.

	WHAT A RUSH
	Terrell Davis' performance against Miami ranks sixth in terms of single-game playoff rushing totals:
	Season		Yards
	Eric Dickerson vs. Dallas	1985	248
	Keith Lincoln vs. Boston	1963	206
	Timmy Smith vs. Denver	1987	204
	Freeman McNeil vs. Cincinnati	1983	202
	Lawrence McCutcheon vs. Cincinnati	1975	202
	Terrell Davis vs. Miami	1998	199

So going through each week and trying to bring you're A-game to the table was pretty tough, and I think it was wearing on our team and I could feel it.

Paolantonio: Was it the talk, the hype, the media? What was it?

Davis: It was a lot. It's just going out there each weekend and trying to duplicate the feat . each week going out there and just trying to play well was tough enough, especially going on the road and going to other people's backyards. That's not easy to do.

Paolantonio: You went into the playoffs with two losses in your last three games, including the loss at Miami on Monday night in Week 16. Was there any sense that confidence was being lost in the locker room?

Davis: I don't think there was. If you came around our team I think people recognize that you just reeled off 13 straight games, we've already clinched home-field advantage and sometimes you have a tendency to slack up a little bit.

I think we were victims of that, coming in, slacking up, not playing our best games. But it happened, I think our team was smart enough to regroup and come back and recognize that, hey, it's the playoffs now.

Paolantonio: This team still carries the ghost of the playoff loss to Jacksonville two years ago, why is it?

Davis: I don't know.

Paolantonio: You won a Super Bowl since then.

Davis: But losing hurts more than winning feels good, and each time someone takes something from you like that I think it's going to stay with you for a long time. And I right now, I think to this day, we still think about that Jacksonville loss.

Paolantonio: What has Elway taught you about the game of football?

Davis: John is a professional, and for me, I'm glad I had an opportunity to play with him for four years. Just watched him, how he goes out there and handles the pressure of being a prime-time player. Each time he goes out there each week, he brings his game out there.

And for me, that's on and off the field. I watch John all of the time. I have some questions about how you handle going to the mall or going to get some gas or whatever, and you encounter fans. What do you do in situations like that? They don't have a handbook on how to deal with success so I need to ask John and watch him and he has pretty much been my role model.

Paolantonio: What has Mike Shanahan taught you about this game?

Davis: He doesn't allow me to go out there and be complacent with what I do. I can't go out there each week and miss a read or drop a ball, and feel that I'm the big man and I can do those things. Mike, won't let that happen.

Paolantonio: What do you want to accomplish this season.

Davis: Championship. Two in a row would be sweet.