1977 season: Broncos 20, Oakland 17
The Broncos scored two touchdowns off second-half turnovers to advance to their first Super Bowl. Denver took a 7-3 lead in the first quarter when Craig Morton found Haven Moses for a 74-yard touchdown, and then the defense rose up after halftime. Defensive end Brison Manor recovered a Clarence Davis fumble at the Oakland 17 midway through the third quarter, and Jon Keyworth scored four plays later on a 1-yard run. Then in the fourth quarter, Bob Swenson returned an interception 14 yards to the Raiders’ 14, and Morton found Moses three plays later for a 12-yard score and a 20-10 lead.
1986 season: Broncos 23, Cleveland 20, OT
Two words: The Drive. With 5:48 left to play, John Elway directed a 15-play, 98-yard drive to send the game into overtime. Getting to the Browns’ 14 with 47 seconds to play, Elway ran 9 yards on second down then found Mark Jackson in the end zone to force the overtime. After holding the Browns on their first drive in OT, the Broncos started on their 25 and Elway had passes of 22 yards to Orson Mobley and 28 yards to Steve Watson in the series to set up Rich Karlis’ 33-yard game-winning field goal.
1987 season: Broncos 38, Cleveland 33
With the Browns driving in the final minutes, backup cornerback Jeremiah Castille made the game-saving play. Cleveland had first down at the Broncos’ 8 with 1:12 left in the game, but Castille came up and stripped the ball from running back Earnest Byner at the 3, and then recovered the ball to seal the win. At one point, Denver had a 28-10 lead in the third quarter before the Browns tied it at 31 on a 4-yard Bernie Kosar-to-Webster Slaughter pass. Denver took the lead on a five-play, 75-yard drive capped by John Elway’s 20-yard pass to Sammy Winder with four minutes to play.
1989 season: Broncos 37, Cleveland 21
The Broncos got three field goals off three Bernie Kosar interceptions as the Browns were held to 256 yards.
1991 season: Buffalo 10, Broncos 7
After a scoreless first half, Buffalo’s Carlton Bailey intercepted a John Elway pass and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Gary Kubiak replaced Elway, who injured his thigh, and engineered a touchdown drive that ended with 1:43 left on the clock. The Broncos recovered the onside kick, but Kirby Jackson stripped the ball from Steve Sewell on first down, and the Bills recovered.
1997 season: Broncos 24, Pittsburgh 21
The Broncos became the fifth wild-card team to advance to the Super Bowl since wild cards were instituted in 1970. Denver scored two touchdowns after the 1:47 mark of the second quarter, giving them a 24-14 lead.
1998 season: Broncos 23, New York Jets 10
John Elway had trouble passing in the wind in the first half, then settled down in the second after the Jets had built a 10-0 lead. Elway heated up with a 47-yarder to Ed McCaffrey that led to an 11-yard scoring strike to Howard Griffith. Two Jason Elam field goals and Terrell Davis’ 31-yard touchdown run had the Broncos up 20-10 at the end of the third quarter.
