Super Bowl XXXIII

January 31, 1999, Miami, Florida

Denver Broncos 34, Atlanta Falcons 19

Before the game

Playoffs:

• Wild Card:
  • 1/2/1999: AFC: Miami Dolphins 24, Buffalo Bills 17
  • 1/2/1999: NFC: Arizona Cardinals 20, Dallas Cowboys 7
  • 1/3/1999: AFC: Jacksonville Jaguars 25, New England Patriots 10
  • 1/3/1999: NFC: San Francisco 49ers 30, Green Bay Packers 27
  • Byes: AFC: Denver Broncos, New York Jets; NFC: Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings

• Divisional Playoff:
  • 1/9/1999: AFC: Denver Broncos 38, Miami Dolphins 3
  • 1/9/1999: NFC: Atlanta Falcons 20, San Francisco 49ers 18
  • 1/10/1999: AFC: New York Jets 34, Jacksonville Jaguars 24
  • 1/10/1999: NFC: Minnesota Vikings 41, Arizona Cardinals 21

• Conference Championship:
  • 1/17/1999: AFC: Denver Broncos 23, New York Jets 10

In John Elway[?]'s last home game of his career, he completed only 38% of his passes. However, running back Terrell Davis[?], the NFL MVP in 1998, ran for 167 yards, and Denver capitalized on 6 turnovers by the Jets.

• • 1/17/1999: NFC: Atlanta Falcons 30, Minnesota Vikings 27 (OT)

After Minnesota kicker Gary Anderson[?] missed a field goal with two minutes to play in the fourth quarter (his first miss of the season), the Falcons tied it up on a 16-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Mathis[?]. In overtime, Falcons quarterback Chris Chandler[?], on a bad ankle, drove 70 yards to set up Morten Andersen[?]'s 38-yard field goal that put Atlanta in the Super Bowl for the first time in team history.

The game

The defending champion Broncos, who won 13 straight games in the regular season, were the heavy favorites. The Falcons were riding a wave of emotion from their comeback win in Minnesota and the mid-season heart bypass surgery of head coach Dan Reeves[?]. Atlanta safety Eugene Robinson[?] was arrested on prostitution charges the night before the game.

The game was a rematch between the Broncos, led by longtime quarterback John Elway[?] and coached by Mike Shanahan[?], and Reeves, the Denver coach between 1981 and 1992. Under Reeves, Shanahan was offensive co-ordinator in Denver until he was fired in 1991 over their relationship with Elway. Reeves and Shanahan had been at odds with each other ever since.

Atlanta opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal on its first drive of the game, but Denver immediately countered with a touchdown drive, where fullback Howard Griffith[?] scored from a yard out. Star wide receiver Shannon Sharpe[?] was injured on that first series and wouldn't return.

The Falcons designed their defense to control running back Terrell Davis[?], the MVP of both the season and of the previous Super Bowl. Although not his dominant self, Davis still racked up 109 yards in the game.

In the second quarter, the Broncos blew the game away after Morten Andersen[?] missed another field goal. Elway, starting from his own 20-yard line, faked a handoff to Davis and fired a deep pass to Rod Smith[?], who took it all the way for a touchdown. The score at halftime was 17-6 for Denver.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Broncos continued their stellar play in the fourth. Chris Chandler[?] was intercepted twice on Atlanta's first two drives in the quarter (the Falcons had four turnovers all told in the game), setting up Bronco touchdowns (by Griffith and Elway) in each case. After the Elway touchdown, the Falcons finally found the end zone when Tim Dwight[?] returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards.

Atlanta scored again when Terrance Mathis[?] caught another touchdown with 2:04 to play, and they recovered the onside kick after that. But Denver's Tyrone Braxton[?] recovered a fumble with 1:30 left to seal the victory.

Elway, who was named MVP of the game, retired following the season.

See Also:

• Super Bowl