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| John Elway would pull another rabbit out of his hat as he brought the Broncos back from a two-touchdown deficit to defeat the Chiefs in Week 5 of the 1992 NFL season. |
One of Elway's favorite teams to torment were the Kansas City Chiefs in which he lead the Broncos to six 4th quarter comeback wins.
One of his most famous came in Week 5 of the 1992 NFL season in a showdown for 1st place in the AFC West.
The Broncos entered the game with a 3-1 record and were hoping to get back to the Super Bowl, one year after losing to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game.
Led by head coach Dan Reeves and with Elway in his prime, the Broncos were Super Bowl contenders entering the 1992 season.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs entered the contest with the Broncos with an identical 3-1 record.
Under head coach Marty Schottenheimer, the Chiefs had experience an renaissance of winning as Marty had lead the Chiefs to three straight winning seasons and back-to-back playoff berths after nearly two decades of mediocrity as the Chiefs had only two winning seasons and one playoff berth between the years 1974 and 1988.
After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, the Broncos got the ball at their 12-yard-line and were able to drive to the Kansas City 36-yard-line thanks to Elway's right arm as he completed three passes for 29 yards and ran it once for six yards.
But a false start penalty and three straight incomplete passes forced the Broncos to punt the ball back to the Chiefs, who took over pinned back at their six-yard-line.
The Chiefs were able to drive to midfield when Krieg threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Willie Davis to put Kansas City on the scoreboard as the Chiefs took a 7-0 lead with 12:12 left in the second quarter.
Following the Chiefs touchdown, the Broncos took over at their 17-yard-line and put together a 12-play, 60-yard drive which saw Elway complete three of four passes for 34 yards and running backs Gary Green and Reggie Rivers combining for 24 yards on four runs.
The drive was capped off with a 41-yard field goal by David Treadwell to cut the Chiefs' lead to 7-3 with 5:10 left in the first half.
After an exchange of punts, the Chiefs took over at their 22-yard-line with 1:25 left before halftime and two timeouts in their pocket.
A 34-yard pass interference penalty on Broncos strong safety Dennis Smith put the Chiefs at the Broncos' 23-yard-line with 45 seconds to go.
But after a false start penalty and a sack of Krieg would force the Chiefs to settle for a 44-yard field goal by Nick Lowery as time expired in the first half to give the Chiefs a 10-3 lead after 30 minutes of play.
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| Chiefs quarterback Dave Krieg completed 22 of 31 passes for 301 yards and throw one touchdown pass. |
The Chiefs got the ball at their 20-yard-line to start the second half but it took them just three plays to get to the Broncos' 22-yard-line as Krieg hit Davis for 23 yards to start the drive which was followed by a one-yard run by Barry Word and then a 19-yard pass from Krieg to J.J. Birden that became a 34-yard play when Dennis Smith was called for a late hit on the play.
It appeared that the Chiefs were going to have a 1st & goal at the Denver five-yard-line after Krieg threw a 17-yard pass to Birden, but offsetting holding penalties on both teams negated the play, meaning the Chiefs had to replay 1st & 10 at the 22-yard-line.
From there, the Chiefs would only gain four more yards, forcing them to call on Lowery again to kick a 36-yard field goal, which he made to increase the Kansas City lead to 10-3 with 11:19 left in the third quarter.
The Broncos got the ball at their 20-yard-line for their next drive and after two straight incomplete passes to begin the drive, Elway would connect with Arthur Marshall for 21 yards and a 1st down, which was followed up by a 48-yard pass to tight end Reggie Johnson which put Denver at the Kansas City 11-yard-line.
But the Chiefs defense stiffened and forced the Broncos to settle for another field goal, a 22-yarder to Treadwell which cut Kansas City's lead to 13-6 with 7:51 left in the third quarter.
The Chiefs would begin their next drive again from the 20-yard-line and behind the right arm of Krieg were able to drive to the Broncos' 26-yard-line as Krieg completed four passes to four different receiver for a total of 53 yards.
But after two straight running plays netted no yards and a quarterback sack by Broncos linebacker Karl Mecklenberg, Lowery was called on again to kick another field goal, this one from 49 yards out.
This time, Lowery could not come through as his kick sailed wide right, keeping the score 13-6 and giving the ball to the Broncos at their 31-yard-line.
On the first play of the drive, Elway hit tight end Shannon Sharpe for 48 yards to give the Broncos a 1st down at the Chiefs' 21-yard-line, only to have Elway get sacked on the next play by Chiefs defensive end Neil Smith for a nine-yard loss.
The Broncos would be forced to settle for a 36-yard field goal attempt by Treadwell, which sailed wide left, only to have Kansas City be called for running into the kicker, drawing a five-yard penalty and giving Treadwell a second shot at making a 13-9 game as he attempted a 31-yard field goal.
But Chiefs nose tackle Dan Saleaumua blocked the kick which was picked up by Chiefs cornerback Albert Lewis whose 12-yard return gave Kansas City the ball at their 31-yard-line just 19 seconds into the 4th quarter with Kansas City still hanging on to a 13-6 lead.
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| Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery would account for 13 of the Chiefs' 19 points with four field goals and an extra point. |
The Chiefs' next drive got off to an auspicious start as a holding penalty pushed them back 10 yards but on 2nd & 14 from the Kansas City 25-yard-line, Krieg hit running back Barry Word for a 14-yard pass play that got 15 yards added on to after Mecklenberg was called for roughing the passer giving the Chiefs a 1st down at the Broncos' 44-yard-line.
Three plays later, the Chiefs were faced with a 4th & 1 situation at the Broncos' 35-yard-line when Schottenheimer decided to go for the 1st down, instead of attempting a 52-yard field goal.
Christian Okoye got the one yard needed for the 1st down and after a 16-yard pass from Krieg to Davis on 3rd & 3, the Chiefs had a 1st down at the Broncos' 11-yard-line.
But like they had for most of the game, the Denver defense bended but did not break as they held the Chiefs to just two more yards and forced them to call on Lowery to kick a 26-yard field goal, which he made to make it a two-score game at 16-6 with 6:16 to go in the game.
It appeared the Broncos on their way to defeat when on the next play from scrimmage, Elway was sacked by Smith for the third time in the game, this time forcing a fumble that was recovered by Smith to give the ball to Chiefs offense at the Broncos 16-yard-line with a chance to put the game away with a touchdown.
However, the Chiefs could only pick up one yard, forcing them to call on Lowery again, who made a 33-yard field goal to increase the Kansas City lead to 19-6 with exactly 5 minutes to play.
Despite the two-touchdown lead, the Chiefs knew the game wasn't over, especially with Elway on the other side.
But a two-touchdown deficit with five minutes to go seem like an impossible task, even for Elway.
If the Broncos were to win, they would need a touchdown as quickly as possible as they took over at their 20-yard-line.
Going to a no-huddle offense, Elway began the drive with a eight-yard pass to Sharpe, followed by an incomplete pass, then a four-yard pass to Sharpe for a 1st down at the Denver 32-yard-line.
After another incomplete pass, Elway would hit Mark Jackson for back-to-back passes totaling 14 yards and another 1st down at the Denver 46-yard-line.
Elway would go back to Sharpe for a nine-yard pass on the next play from scrimmage then after an incomplete pass, the Broncos crossed up the Chiefs with a draw play to Rivers, who picked up eight yards for a Broncos 1st down at the Chiefs' 37-yard-line.
Elway connected with Sharpe again for nine more yards, then hit Jackson for eight yards for a 1st down at the Kansas City 20-yard-line.
Elway would threw an incomplete pass on 1st down then would get sacked by Chiefs defensive end Leonard Griffin forcing a 3rd & 15 situation as the two-minute warning hit.
That is when Elway lofted a pass down the right sideline that was caught by Jackson for a 25-yard touchdown which with Treadwell's extra point cut the Chiefs' lead to 19-13 with 1:55 left in the game.
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| Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe would be Elway's favorite target in the game with nine catches for 118 yards. |
Expecting an onside kick, the Chiefs were surprised when kicker Brad Daluiso kicked it deep which was received by Dexter Carter who only returned it five yards to the Kansas City five-yard-line with 1:50 left.
The Chiefs needed just one 1st down to put the game away and seemed in good position to get that 1st down after two straight runs by Word picked up seven yards setting up a 3rd & 3 situation.
But a false start penalty and a run by Word that not only gained zero yardage, but stopped the clock as Word was shoved out of bounds, lead to the Chiefs punting the ball back to the Broncos from their seven-yard-line.
Bryan Barker got off a 48-yard punt but Marshall would return the kick 28 yards to the Kansas City 27-yard-line with 1:17 left and one timeout in the Broncos' pocket.
Elway would hit Marshall for 11 yards on 1st down, then hit Marshall again for four yards leading him to burn the Broncos' last timeout with 43 seconds left as Denver faced a 2nd & 6 from the Chiefs' 12-yard-line.
That is when Elway fired a pass for the right corner of the end zone that was caught by Vance Johnson for his first and only catch of the game, a 12-yard touchdown that sent the crowd at Denver's Mile High Stadium into a frenzy.
With Treadwell's extra point, the Broncos had a 20-19 lead with 38 seconds to go.
The Chiefs took over at their 20-yard-line, hoping to drive far enough to call on Lowery to attempt a game-winning field goal.
The drive got off to a great start as Krieg hit Davis for 30 yards on the first play of the drive to give the Chiefs a 1st down at midfield.
However, Krieg would threw straight incomplete passes forcing a do-or-die 4th down & 10.
Krieg would complete the 4th down pass to Birden, but only for six yards, forcing the Chiefs to give the ball back to the Broncos, who took one knee to run out the clock and come away with the 20-19 win.
It seemed that the comeback win over the Chiefs would spark the Broncos to another AFC West title as they were in 1st place after 11 weeks of the season with a 7-3 record.
But a four-game losing streak and then a Week 17 loss to the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium, would not only keep the Broncos out of the playoffs with a 8-8 record, it ended the Dan Reeves era in Denver as he was fired in the offseason after 12 years as the Broncos head coach.
Like I wrote above, the Chiefs would get revenge in Week 17 by blowing the Broncos out 42-20 to earn a Wild Card spot with a 10-6 record, only for Kansas City to lose in the Wild Card to the AFC West champion San Diego Chargers 17-0.
Elway would remain in Denver for six more years, eventually ending his 16-year career with back-to-back Super Bowl wins.
Ironically in his final season, Elway would direct one more 4th quarter comeback win over the Chiefs, leading the Broncos from a 10-point 4th quarter deficit and to a 35-31 win as he hit Shannon Sharpe for the game-winning touchdown in what would be his 35th and final 4th quarter comeback win.
Below, are highlights of the 1992 Chiefs-Broncos game:
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