Maybe Elway wasn't really the Most Valuable Player of Super
Bowl XXXIII (receiver Rod Smith and linebacker Bill Romanowski might have been more worthy), but in retrospect, Elway was one of the best players the game has ever seen. Retrospect, because it is quite possible, despite his coy deflections, that this was the last game of his career. Call it a hard-earned lifetime achievement award.
Last year in Super Bowl XXXII, Elway dutifully handed the ball off to MVP Terrell Davis, whose migraine headache morphed into a monumental pain the Green Bay Packers couldn't deal with. On Sunday, it was defense that delivered Elway a 34-19 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
"When you have an offense as high-powered as we do -- with a John Elway, Terrell Davis, Shannon Sharpe, Ed McCaffrey, Rod Smith -- when you have stars like that on offense, they'e going to get the attention," Romanowski said. "As a defensive player, you know that. You realize that. That is life. That's how things are.
"But defense wins championships. The guys on this team know that it came down to playing great defense to get to where we are now."
Before he mentioned Elway in his postgame press conference, Denver coach Mike Shanahan, admittedly an offensive guy, gave credit where it was due.
"I think it was a great performance by our defense," Shanahan said. "Any time your secondary is able to come up with interceptions
like they did, there is going to be a great pass rush as well. They put pressure on the opposition, and today was typical how they played the last couple of years."
The defense held Atlanta's Jamal Anderson to less than 100 yards and
harassed quarterback Chris Chandler into throwing three times as many
interceptions as touchdowns.
The turning point of the game? It will be written that the couplet of Morten Andersen's missed 26-yard field goal and Elway's 80-yard touchdown pass to Smith marked where the Broncos finally ultimately asserted themselves on a game open to suggestion. Others will suggest it was three second-half interceptions by guys named Darrien and Darrius.
I believe, on the other hand, it was a handful of plays, all made early on by the Denver defense:
On the ninth play of the game, with Atlanta on the Broncos' 8-yard-line, Romanowski personally crushed the Falcons' pocket. On third-and-goal, with Atlanta looking to take a stunning 7-0 lead, Romanowski buried Chandler for a 7-yard sack. The Falcons came away with a relatively disappointing field goal.
Atlanta was on its own 36, facing a third-and-1. Defensive end Alfred Williams spun 360 degrees around fullback Brian
Kozlowski and planted Anderson for no gain. No points came of it for Denver's offense, but the defense had sent another damning message.
On the very first play of the second quarter, on third-and-1 at the Denver 26, the Falcons called one of their favorite and most successful plays: Anderson between the tackles. But even with guard Bob
Hallen in the backfield, Denver linebacker Glenn Cadrez snuffed Anderson
and his 30-inch thighs.
Make that fourth and 20 inches. Atlanta coach Dan Reeves, in life an exceedingly conservative
man but weirdly wild in certain offensive situations, went for it.
With Romanowski screwing up the blocking scheme, Anderson was forced wide and stopped again, this time by Keith Traylor. The Broncos only went on to kick a field goal and take a modest 10-3 lead, but the Falcons seemed sobered by the turn of events.
It got gruesome after that. The Falcons, who didn't turn the ball over once in the first half, lost it four times in five second-half drives.
On Atlanta's first possession Darrius Johnson intercepted Chandler.
On the Falcons' second possession, Darrien Gordon intercepted Chandler.
On the third possession, Gordon got his second interception. On the fifth possession, safety George Coghill knocked the ball loose from Anderson and safety Tyrone Braxton recovered.
By then, the game was long over.
And when Elway came out of the game, he sort of skipped to the Broncos' sideline. The 38-year-old quarterback raised his arms in touchdown fashion, punctuating his 16-season career with the universal sign of victory.
He's due. For years, Elway carried this team. The Broncos lost three Super Bowls with Elway as the fulcrum. Now, after wondering if he would ever win a Super Bowl ring, he has two. Terrell Davis gave him one last year. The second one was on the defense.
Greg Garber writes regularly for ESPN.com.
