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Raring to go Broncos back in the big one, ready to defend title
Posted: Friday January 22, 1999 09:20 PM
DENVER (CNN/SI) -- The Denver Broncos have much to celebrate. After dealing with the pressure of chasing an undefeated record and NFL history -- and after two losses in the last three weeks of the season raised doubts about them around the league -- the Broncos have once again emerged as poised and tested AFC champions. Now, they turn their attention to the surprising Atlanta Falcons, a team led by outstanding running back Jamal Anderson. "I talk to Jamal every week. I'm gonna see him down in Miami," said Denver running back Terrell Davis, the league's MVP. "That's what he told me last week. So that's gonna be real cool." Davis and Anderson finished 1-2 in the race for the rushing title this season, with Davis becoming only the fourth player in NFL history to run for 2,000 yards (he finished with 2,008). Anderson, meanwhile, carried the ball 410 times, more than any back in the history of the league, and wound up as the NFC's leading runner, with 1,846 yards. The difference between Davis and Anderson may not seem like that much -- at least by the numbers -- but the difference between the two teams, in many ways, is huge. The Broncos are making their sixth trip to the Super Bowl, capturing their first title last year as underdogs to the Green Bay Packers. The Falcons, in their 33rd year in the NFL, are in the Super Bowl for the first time. "The bottom line is, I think we're all thrilled about going back to the Super Bowl. But our work's not done yet," said Denver quarterback John Elway, who won his first Super Bowl last season. "This is what's exciting. This is what we've played for, to get back and get a shot to defend." The Dallas Cowboys defended their Super Bowl title in 1994 (after the '93 season), the last team to do so. For the Broncos to pull it off this season, they'll have to get past a team that won 14 games in the regular season and beat the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game.
The Falcons also have a coach in Dan Reeves who has Super Bowl experience: This is his ninth Super Bowl, his fourth as a head coach. He lost his previous three as head coach when he was with the Broncos. "I'll tell you this," said Shannon Sharpe, the Broncos' big-play, big-mouthed tight end. "You give [current Broncos coach] Mike Shanahan two weeks to prepare for anybody -- anybody short of God's Angels -- we like our chances." The game will showcase guys like Anderson and Davis and Elway and Sharpe, but the real heroes may end up being on defense. Denver's defense has been stellar in these playoffs. The Broncos held the New York Jets' Curtis Martin to a paltry 14 yards rushing on 13 carries in Sunday's AFC Championship game and forced six turnovers. The Broncos have allowed just 13 points in two playoff games. "It feels great as a player and as a team. When someone doubts you and doesn't think you can do something, you go back and you put it back in their face," Broncos safety Tyrone Braxton said. "Everybody's doubting our secondary. {But] our defense the last couple games, we came out and played some great games." Perhaps no one better exemplifies the Broncos' defense than veteran linebacker Bill Romanowski, who got up woozy after smacking Jets running back Curtis Martin on Sunday, missed a few series after that but still ended up with a critical fumble recovery late in the game and a team-high 11 tackles. He also forced a fumble before he was KO'd early in the third quarter. "When you come to the postseason ... defense has gotta step it up. And that's what we've done so far," said Romanowski, in his 11th season. "Defense wins championships, and we went out there and showed not only ourselves, but this country, that we're for real." Said Neil Smith, the team's talented defensive end: "A lot of people looked us off at the end when we lost two straight and thought that we were done. It was the same thing that happened to us last year. We have a lot of veteran players who know when to step up and know when to get it done." Elway takes the Broncos to Miami in what looks to be his swan song, trying to cap off his Hall of Fame career with a second straight Super Bowl title. With a suddenly dominant defense, coupled with the always explosive Broncos offense, he has to like his chances.
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