NFL Playoff Recap (Denver-Kansas City)
Posted: Sun January 4, 1998 at 9:12 p.m. EST
DENVER 14, KANSAS CITY 10
Terrell
Davis rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead
fourth quarter score, and cornerback Darrien Gordon
made two clutch defensive plays in the final quarter to lead the Denver Broncos to a 14-10
victory over the Kansas
City Chiefs in an AFC divisional playoff game.
The Broncos (14-4) will meet the Pittsburgh Steelers
(12-5) next Sunday in the AFC Championship Game. It will be the third time
in four years that Pittsburgh will host the AFC title game.
"This was one of the best football games I've ever been involved in,"
said Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. "It was hard hitting on both sides of the
ball. I was really pleased with the way we hung in there and came up with
big plays. I'm really pleased with the character of our team."
It marked the second time in three years that the Chiefs (13-4)
entered the playoffs as the AFC's top seed and lost in the divisional
round. Two years ago, Kansas City was beaten at home by Indianapolis,
10-7.
"I'm disappointed," said Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer, who fell
to 5-11 in the playoffs with three losses to Denver. "I told our football
team that I have no words of wisdom that are meaningful to them at this
point. Without a doubt, the men in that room gave everything to this
organization that one could ever ask."
Davis scored on a pair of one-yard runs and rushed for 70 yards on 11
carries in the second half after being held to 31 yards on 14 carries in
the first half.
"Our commitment today shows we're going to run regardless of the
situation," said Davis, who recorded his third 100-yard game of the season
against the Chiefs. "We kept running and we wore them down."
Gordon tackled Kansas City's Louie Aguiar three yards shy of a first
down on a 4th-and-6 play off a fake field goal in the fourth quarter and
deflected the final pass from Kansas City's Elvis Grbac away
from intended receiver Lake Dawson in the
end zone with 12 seconds left.
The Chiefs took their first lead of the game, 10-7, when Grbac hit
tight end Tony
Gonzalez with a 12-yard scoring pass on a 3rd-and-7 play with 10
seconds left in the third quarter.
But Denver quickly responded. Following a 43-yard pass from John Elway to Ed McCaffrey to
the Kansas City 1, Davis was stuffed for no gain on consecutive running
plays. Facing a 3rd-and-goal, Shanahan opted to give the ball to Davis
again and he bolted up the middle for a one-yard touchdown to give Denver a
14-10 lead with 12:32 remaining in the fourth quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Chiefs took over at their own 28. On the
first two plays, Grbac hit Andre Rison with a
23-yard pass and Marcus Allen broke
off a 14-yard run to the Denver 35. But the drive stalled when Grbac threw
an incompletion on a 3rd-and-6 play at the Denver 31.
Pete
Stoyanovich was sent out to attempt a 48-yard field goal, but
Schottenheimer tried a fake. Holder Aguiar took the snap on 4th-and-6 and
raced to his right. But the Broncos were not surprised by the fake and
Aguiar was tackled by Gordon, three yards shy of a first down with 9:37
left.
"We've run fakes all year and this was specifically for Denver, but it
didn't work out," said Aguiar. "I was looking for number 21 ( Denver's Randy Hilliard)
and I saw 33 (Denver's Dedrick Dodge)
standing next to him. I should have called it off and taken a delay of
game."
The Chiefs reached the Denver 20-yard line in the closing seconds. A
29-yard pass interference penalty against Broncos cornerback Ray Crockett, a
12-yard pass from Grbac to Dawson on a 4th-and-9 play, and a 23-yard pass
from Grbac to Rison moved Kansas City to the Denver 28.
But on a 4th-and-2 play at the Denver 20 with 19 seconds left and no
timeouts, the Chiefs elected to take a shot in the end zone instead of
shooting for the first down. Grbac threw to his left for Dawson, who raced
for the end zone, but Gordon cut in front of the receiver and deflected the
ball away.
"Lake ran a fade route," said Grbac. "I didn't see what Andre did on
the other side. We were trying to make a play when we had to."
"We needed a TD, we just came up short there," said Dawson. "We had
some big plays throughout the course of the game, but we just came up
short."
Grbac completed 24-of-37 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown. Rison
finished with eight catches for 110 yards.
Elway was 10-of-19 for 170 yards. He attempted just eight passes in
the second half and completed three passes for 64 yards.
"Our defense was outstanding and they have a great defensive team,"
said Elway. "I just tried not to press any harder than I normally do
today. I get in trouble when I press."
Former Chief defensive end Neil Smith, who
signed as a free agent with Denver in the off-season, and Alfred Williams
had two sacks apiece for the Broncos.
Denver was 1-5 on the road in the playoffs, excluding Super Bowls,
entering Sunday's game at Kansas City. Ironically, the lone win came when
Elway led what is known in football lore as "The Drive" when the Broncos
defeated Schottenheimer's Cleveland Browns, 23-20, in overtime in the 1986
AFC Championship Game.
""No, I don't feel cursed," said Schottenheimer. "But it is
frustrating and disappointing."
After a scoreless first quarter, Kansas City thought it drew first
blood when Stoyanovich kicked a 34-yard field goal with 6:53 left in the
second quarter, but a holding penalty against Greg Manusky
negated the points. Pushed back to a 44-yard attempt, Stoyanovich, who
converted 26 of 27 field goals during the regular season, clanked one off
the crossbar.
The Broncos then took over at their own 35 and marched 65 yards in
eight plays. Davis capped it with a one-yard run with 1:56 left in the
half. Elway hit tight end Dwayne Carswell
with a 26-yard pass and connected with Rod Smith on a
17-yard play to key the drive.
Davis' score was the first rushing touchdown allowed by Kansas City in
its last 42 quarters at home, dating back to November 24th, 1996 against
San Diego.
On the ensuing kickoff, Kansas City's Tamarick
Vanover fumbled at the 27 after being hit by Denver's Anthony Lynn. Detron Smith of
the Broncos appeared to be on the verge of recovering the fumble, but
mishandled the ball and Vanover was able to retrieve it.
The Chiefs opened the second half with a fury. On the first play from
scrimmage, Grbac hit Rison with a 34-yard pass to the Denver 36. On a
3rd-and-5 at the 31, Grbac connected with tight end Ted Popson on a
13-yard pass to the 18.
Two bootleg runs by Grbac moved the Chiefs to the Denver 6. But on a
3rd-and-goal at the Denver 3, Gonzalez made a leaping catch of a Grbac
pass, but failed to get both feet inbounds in the end zone. The Chiefs
settled for a 20-yard field goal 3:18 into the third quarter to pull within
7-3.
Davis took over on Denver's next possession. He caught a 17-yard pass
from Elway and broke off a 41-yard run to the Kansas City 11. But while
Davis was resting on the sideline, Derek Loville
fumbled after he was hit by defensive end John Browning and
Chiefs safety Reggie Tongue
recovered at the Kansas City 11 with 7:26 left in the quarter.
The Chiefs drove 65 yards in four plays later in the quarter to take
their first lead of the game. Grbac hit reserve receiver Joe Horn with a
50-yard pass to the Denver 15. Two plays later, Grbac rolled right and hit
Gonzalez in the back of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown with 10
seconds left in the third quarter.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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