In Super Bowl XXXIII, Chandler looked like ... well, the old Chris Chandler.
The journeyman who ricocheted to five teams in his first nine seasons resurfaced against the Denver Broncos, throwing three
interceptions Sunday night to doom any chances of an upset for the Atlanta Falcons.
"We could have done things better," Chandler said. "But they did a good job covering things."
Both Chandler and his teammates were new at all this, so maybe it was understandable they froze up against the savvy Broncos, who won their second consecutive championship with a 34-19 victory.
A few days earlier, Chandler chuckled when a reporter pointed out he had a better quarterback rating than Elway the last two
seasons. Maybe Chandler knew what he was talking about.
Chandler, who had thrown only 13 interceptions all season, was picked off on three straight possessions in the second half, the first two coming when their was still a glimmer of hope for the Falcons.
With Atlanta trailing 17-6, Chandler moved the Falcons to the Denver 41 with a 19-yard pass to Tony Martin and a 12-yard run of his own. But Chandler was sacked for a 6-yard loss, then misfired on a pass over the middle that was picked off by Darrius Johnson
and returned 28 yards.
Denver's Jason Elam missed his second straight field goal,
keeping Atlanta hanging on by its fingertips. Once again, they couldn't maintain their grip.
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Sunday, Jan. 31
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Sunday, Jan. 31
Chris Chandler looked
a little nervous in his first Super Bowl, and he seemed somewhat sluggish. When the Broncos brought seven and eight players to the line of scrimmage, it looked like he didn't know what to do.
When Denver packed the line, Chandler was trying to force the ball over the middle. I couldn't understand why he kept looking
inside, when he had plays working to the outside time after time.
And it seemed the Falcons went away from the play-action pass they used all season. When Denver was stacking seven and eight men at the line of scrimmage, the Falcons needed to give Chandler the authority to change the play at the line of scrimmage and get the team in the right play at the right time. When Denver was stacking the line of scrimmage, Atlanta
wasn't running play-action pass like it needed to.
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Chandler's pass was deflected at the line by Keith Traylor and
landed right in the hands of Darrien Gordon, who returned it 58
yards to set up a touchdown run by Howard Griffith. The score was
24-6, the game was out of hand.
"Things were there for the taking," Chandler said. "It was just unlucky things that happened. A guy tips a ball. You never
plan on that."
Chandler had one final chance, moving the Falcons to the Denver
21. But he overthrew a pass just short of the end zone, leaping in
the air in disbelief as Gordon picked off another one.
The 50-yard return that followed set up another touchdown. This
season was over.
"They covered things well in the red areas (inside the 20) and
they deserve some credit," Chandler said.
Chandler, 33, finally found a home with the Falcons,
who acquired him for mere fourth- and sixth-round draft picks prior
to the 1997 season.
Since then, he's been a Pro Bowler twice and actually posted
better numbers the past two seasons than Elway.
Chandler's stature vaulted even higher when he threw for 340
yards against the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings in the
conference title game. He directed a game-tying touchdown drive
with less than a minute to go in regulation, then drove the Falcons
into range for the winning field goal in overtime.
But the traits that marked Chandler's turn in life deserted him
in the biggest game of his life. And Elway walked off the field as
a unanimous choice for MVP and his second straight Super Bowl
victory.
