For all his records and experience, Jason Elam might as well have been a rookie for the moment he was in.
Elam had been in win-or-else positions before in his 15 seasons as the Broncos’ kicker, but never while trying to make a decision on the fly before booting on the run. Fortunately, the Buffalo Bills’ Ralph Wilson Stadium crowd Sunday was unknowingly on his side.
As the Broncos’ offense was scrambling off the field while the field goal unit was scurrying on, Elam had the option of canceling the now well-known “Toro! Toro!” signal by yelling, “Clock! Clock!”
Because the Broncos picked up a first down on the previous play, Elam’s “Clock!” command would have made him the quarterback. He, not Jay Cutler, would have placed his hands under center, taken the snap and spiked the ball.
The Buffalo fans, though, let Elam know such a maneuver wasn’t necessary.
“I’m running out onto the field and I’m watching the clock ticking down like everybody else,” Elam said. “And the Buffalo crowd was helping us because they were counting it down for us. When you hear 70,000 people yelling, ‘Eight … seven … six …’ you don’t have to look up to know how much time you’ve got.”
With no time to spare, Elam kicked a 42-yard field goal that turned a 14-12 defeat into a 15-14 season-opening victory for the Broncos. Buffalo fans must be cursing their proficiency at single- digit counting.
This was the 21st game-saving, fourth-quarter field goal in Elam’s accomplished career, but the first that evoked such delirious, midfield pandemonium among his teammates.
“I think it’s the most excited I have ever seen a pro team where everybody hits the field and it’s like a college atmosphere,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said.
Where would Elam rank this kick among his many clutch kicks?
“That was definitely the most dramatic, chaotic ending I’ve ever been a part of,” Elam said. “That’s No. 1 right now.”
It’s not so much experience that enables Elam to come through when it matters most as his attitude. Experience can be overrated. Ask the Bills of the early 1990s how much experience helped them as they were getting ready to lose their third and fourth consecutive Super Bowls.
Elam has experienced his setbacks, the most notable in the snow against Oakland in 2004, when his blocked 43-yard field goal in the final seconds left the Broncos with a 25-24 loss.
“It’s kind of like a golfer – even the best don’t drive it down the fairway every time,” he said. “You do the best you can. I’m not saying it doesn’t bother you, because it does. You hate it. You want to be perfect. I’m competitive and I take pride in my job and I want to help the team out. But you’ve just got to realize this is not a perfect world.”
In the latest game against the Bills, Elam had shaved a 43-yard field goal on the wrong side of the right goal post with 3:32 remaining. This after missing his previous kick from 50 yards.
He didn’t blame either one on the adjustment to his new holder, Todd Sauerbrun, who replaced the retired Jake Plummer.
“Todd did a super job on all my kicks in the game,” Elam said. “It’s just a kicker thing. You don’t like trading holders, period.”
A little more than three minutes and 30 seconds after his previous miss, Elam wasn’t exactly in a groove as he got ready to swing his leg one more time with all of Broncoland piled on his shoulders.
“You’re not thinking about the millions of people watching or anything like that,” Elam said. “More than anything is the preparation of it.”
He recalled how the week before he tied Tom Dempsey’s NFL record field goal of 63 yards in 1998, Shanahan had him try a 63-yard field goal in practice.
“It was the same thing this week,” Elam said. “We practiced that Toro, Toro, Toro, over and over and over. To the people who were watching the game, it might have looked like madness, but it wasn’t. We knew what we were doing.”
Count it down, Buffalo. Three … two … one …
Ballgame.
Elam’s elite
Denver Post Broncos reporter Mike Klis looks at five of the top field goals in Jason Elam’s prolific career:
1. Oct. 25, 1998: Scoot over, Tom Dempsey. Elam’s 63-yard FG ties an NFL record that still stands.
2. Jan. 25, 1998: A 51-yarder against Green Bay gives Denver a 17-7 lead and is the second-longest field goal in Super Bowl history.
3. Sept. 9, 2007: The 42-yarder against the Bills as time expires is Elam’s only game-winning kick in which a miss would have meant defeat.
4. Nov. 22, 1999: Perhaps his most difficult clutch kick. In snowy, freezing conditions, a 53-yarder with seven seconds left ties the Raiders. The Broncos win in OT.
5. Sept. 18, 2005: A 41-yarder with five seconds left gives the Broncos a 20-17 victory against San Diego. After losing the opener, this is the Broncos’ first win in a 13-3 season.
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
