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 Melancholy Monday Broncos' home win streak ends at 24 in near record-setting loss
Posted: Tuesday September 14, 1999 05:18 PM
By Ryan Hunt, CNN/SI Leave it to Dan Marino to snap one of the longest home winning streaks in NFL history and give the defending Super Bowl champions a rude awakening. In Monday night's 38-21 win over Denver, the Dolphins quarterback won his eighth consecutive season-opening game and ended the Broncos' 24-game regular-season winning streak in Mile High Stadium in the process. And for Super Bowl champions, the thumping was nearly historic. Only a late score kept it from being the worst ever to start the season. Still, the loss ties for the second worse by a defending champion in the season opener since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. In 1993, Dallas was thumped by Washington 35-16.
The Broncos' loss marked the 13th time in 30 years the defending champ has started 0-1. Denver won its season opener on MNF last season 27-21 over New England. Then again, Monday mistakes by champs aren't anything new. Of the last six defending champions to lose their season opener, all have been beaten on Mondays. And of the six best home winning streaks in league history, four have ended on Mondays. In all, defending champs are 6-7 on Monday nights since 1970. San Francisco (1990), the New York Giants ('91), Green Bay ('97) and Denver ('98) are the only Super Bowl winners to win on MNF this decade.
Marino, meanwhile, has made 35 Monday appearances in his 16 seasons. And he's had his share of Monday night magic. He's completed 747 of 1,207 passes for 9,076 yards and 70 touchdowns, not to mention Marino's most famous Monday night victory -- a 38-24 win over the undefeated Chicago Bears in 1985.Marino handed the Broncos their worst home loss since a 41-6 thumping at Green Bay on Dec. 8, 1996. Monday's 17-point loss also was Denver's worst in Mile High since 1994, when the Raiders crushed the Broncos 48-16.
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