Looking back on the greatest AFC Championship game ever — ‘The Drive’

At least in my opinion.

The AFC Championship is upon us and no Broncos fan wants to see the Chiefs in another Super Bowl.

So Broncos Country, you have one job…

But this time of year is also the time to remember The. Greatest. AFC. Championship. Game. Ever.

“The Drive.”

Any Broncos fan alive in the 80s knows exactly where they were when they watched that unbelievable finish for the Broncos to get to their first Super Bowl in the John Elway Era.

I still have memories of jumping up and down with five of my friends on a gigantic sectional couch screaming with pure joy.

That 5:32 left in the game was the longest “five-and-a-half minutes” of game time I have ever watched. Not to mention the overtime to follow.

But remembering — and rewatching — that game always brings back the same joy.

The Drive

After a muffed punt, John Elway started at the two-yard for the insurmountable challenge.

Except it wasn’t insurmountable because it was No. 7, the king of comeback drives.

And according to Broncos’ lore, Keith Bishop told the huddle, “We’ve got them right where we want them.” In interviews later, Elway would say that they knew it was a “do or die situation” and the choice was either to go home or go to the Super Bowl.

They chose Super Bowl.

Sammy Winder would get the call first, catching a pass for five yards. He would run two more plays, getting just enough for a first down 3rd-and-2.

On the next set of downs on 2nd-and-7, Elway would scramble for 11 yards and a first down to Denver’s 26.

Elway would move the ball downfield on the next two plays with key completions – first to Steve Sewell for a 22-yard gain followed by a 12-yard catch from Steve Watson, putting the Broncos at the Browns’ 40 just as the two-minute warning sounded.

The next two plays would give Broncos’ fans consecutive heart attacks – an incomplete pass to Vance Johnson followed by a sack and 8-yard loss.

With 1:47 to go on 3rd-and-18, Elway would connect with Mark Jackson for a 20-yard gain and a first down at Cleveland’s 28. Following another incomplete pass, Elway found Sewell for a strike and a first down at the 14.

Elway missed to Watson on 1st-and-10, but on second down he was flushed out of the pocket and scramble nine yards to the five-yard-line.

On the 15th play of the drive with 39 seconds remaining, Elway would strike gold on 3rd-and-1 and hit Jackson for the game-tying touchdown. Rich Karlis would have no trouble adding the extra point.

Memory is a funny thing. Every time I rewatch The Drive, I am reminded of how many close calls there were long before actually tying the game. And I almost always forget we had to go into a sudden death overtime to actually win 23-20. The touchdown was so exciting, my memory seems to stop there.

But when I watch that OT drive, I remember how nervous I was with every throw and relieved with every catch. And I absolutely love seeing again how high Karlis and Gary Kubiak jump in the air after the kicker hits the 32-yard winner to send the Broncos to the Super Bowl.

And to commemorate this amazing game, FOCO.com has a John Elway “The Drive” bobblehead that really should be in your collection if you’re into that sort of thing…

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