32 carries for 167 yards

Broncos' Davis shoulders the offensive load again

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Posted: Sunday January 17, 1999 11:46 PM

Davis: "We came out and played a great second half and wore them down a little bit. We made better adjustments in the second half." AP

DENVER (AP) -- While his Denver Broncos foundered for most of the game, Terrell Davis flourished -- as usual.

He rushed for 75 of Denver's meager 108 yards by halftime. Then, after the Broncos fell behind 10-0 three minutes into the third quarter, Davis got even better.

He rushed for 6 yards to help set up John Elway's 11-yard scoring pass to fullback Howard Griffith. He added a 5-yard gain before Jason Elam kicked a tying 44-yard field goal. Then Davis ripped off a 20-yard run to set up Elam's 48-yarder, making it 13-10.

Finally, with time running out in the quarter, Davis took a pitchout on the left side and danced 31 yards for a clinching touchdown in the Broncos' 23-10 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.

Davis finished with 167 yards rushing on 32 carries.

Davis, the league's MVP this season after rushing for 2,008 yards, said a fierce wind that gusted into the 30 mph range wreaked havoc with Denver's passing game in the early going.

But he also said his team needed to calm down.

"We were a little overanxious. I know I was," he said. "At the half, we knew we needed to calm down and just do our jobs, just go back to the basics."

Davis and his teammates were aware that Sunday's game was likely to be the last at Mile High Stadium for Elway, who figures to retire after this season. And that may have played a role in the slow start.

"Everybody is excited about playing in a game of this magnitude, and I think everybody was trying to do too much. And some of it could have been because of John."

"We came out and played a great second half and wore them down a little bit," Davis said. "We made better adjustments in the second half."

Davis has rushed for at least 100 yards in six straight postseason games. In succession, he has run for 184, 101, 139, 157, 199 and now 167 yards.

"In the playoffs, I try to focus a little harder," he said. "I try to catch better and block better and run a little harder."

Davis said he had problems with the wind on a couple of pitchouts and he fumbled one of them. Under such conditions, the running game becomes especially important. Denver had 178 yards on the ground compared to the Jets' 14.

"It doesn't matter if it's a day like today or not," Elway said. "You want Terrell Davis back there. He's the best running back in the game."

Despite the 10-0 deficit that quieted the crowd in the third quarter, tight end Shannon Sharpe wasn't worried.

"I really wasn't concerned when we got 10 down because they really hadn't stopped Terrell all day," he said. "With Terrell, we could do pretty much what we wanted."

 

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