NFL Old School Game of the Week: Elway & Broncos Knock off Montana & 49ers in Infamous "Snowball Game"

 Broncos quarterback John Elway threw for 215 yards and two TDs in leading Denver to a comeback win over the 49ers in 1985.

When the San Francisco 49ers traveled to Mile High Stadium to take on the Denver Broncos in week 10 of the 1985 NFL season, they knew they had a daunting task ahead of them as they would have to deal with the noise from nearly 75,000 Bronco fans.

Little did they know that one fan would have a impact on the game not by making noise but by throwing an object onto the field.

The Broncos came into the game atop the AFC Western Division with a 6-3 record while the defending Super Bowl champion 49ers came in with a 5-4 record, hoping to get a win to make up some distance on the 1st place Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Western Division.

Both teams were led by future Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks as San Francisco was led by two-time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana while Denver had third-year sensation John Elway at the helm.

Two days before their showdown, seven inches of snow fell in Denver forcing the field crew at Mile High Stadium to try and get as much snow off the field before the Broncos' showdown with the 49ers on Monday Night Football.

The crew got the playing field clear but the stands were still filled with snow as the temperature at kickoff was 17 degrees with a wind chill of 9 degrees.

It was a scene reminiscent of the Broncos' last Monday Night Football appearance when they defeated the Green Bay Packers 17-14 in a blizzard(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-broncos.html).

The 49ers got the ball to start the game as they drove from their 20-yard-line to the Denver 41-yard-line until they were forced to punt when Max Runager shanked the punt as the kick only went one yard to give the Broncos the ball at their 40-yard-line.

While the shanked punt did not immediately hurt the 49ers as the Broncos went three-and-out on their first possession of the game, it come back to haunt after the 49ers went three-and-out on their ensuing possession to give Denver the ball at the San Francisco 37-yard-line.

From there, running back Sammy Winder would carry the ball two straight times for six yards to set up 3rd & 4 when Elway found Steve Watson for 13 yards and a 1st down which was followed by two more runs by Winder for 10 yards to give Denver a 1st & goal at the 49ers' eight-yard-line.

After a two-yard run by Winder on 1st down and a three-yard catch by the running back on 2nd down, Elway found another Denver running back, Gene Lang, for a three-yard touchdown to give the Broncos a 7-0 lead with 4:47 left in the first quarter.

The Broncos would have their own special teams miscue later in the quarter when 49ers linebacker Ron Ferrari partially blocked a punt to give San Francisco the ball at the Denver 40-yard-line.

Montana would hit tight end John Frank for 14 yards to start the drive which was followed by three straight running plays that picked up 18 yards until Montana threw two straight incomplete passes to force the 49ers to settle for a 26-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter to cut the Broncos' lead to 7-3.

49ers quarterback Joe Montana completed 17 of 40 passes for 222 yards and threw one TD.

Following an exchange of punts, the Broncos had the ball at their 42-yard-line facing a 2nd & 1 when Elway handed the ball off to Winder, who ran up to the line of scrimmage then tossed it back to Elway on a flea flicker as the third-year quarterback hit Vance Johnson for 50 yards to give Denver a 1st & goal at the San Francisco eight-yard-line.

Three plays later, the Broncos were in the end zone again as Elway connected with Watson for a six-yard touchdown to increase the Denver lead to 14-3 with 8:59 left in the second quarter.

Later in the quarter, the 49ers would be given a great opportunity to score their first touchdown of the game as center Glenn Hyde's 4th down snap went over the head of punter Chris Norman, who managed to get on the football before he was touched by Ferrari to give San Francisco the ball at the Broncos' four-yard-line.

After a two-yard run by Derrick Harmon, Montana lofted a pass to the back of the end zone intended for running back Earl Cooper, who bobbled the ball before making the catch, only to land out of bounds to make the pass incomplete and bring up 3rd down where fullback Roger Craig dropped a Montana pass to set up 4th down.

Instead of taking a 19-yard field goal to make it 14-6, head coach Bill Walsh decided to go for the touchdown as Montana handed it off to Craig who was tackled by Broncos defensive end Andre Townsend one yard short of the end zone to give the ball back to Denver at its one-yard-line.

The Broncos would drive to their 31-yard-line before they had to punt the ball back to the 49ers who took over at their 39-yard-line with 1:43 left in the first half and three timeouts.

The drive got off to a good start as Montana completed a 33-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Jerry Rice to give the 49ers a 1st down at the Broncos' 28-yard-line as the next three San Francisco plays picked up nine yards to set up a 4th & 1 at the 19-yard-line when Walsh decided to go for the 1st down.

This time, Walsh's gamble would pay off as Montana handed it off to Craig, who ran for eight yards and a 1st down at the Denver 11-yard-line.

Two incomplete passes and a nine-yard run by Craig would set up 4th & 1 at the Broncos' two-yard-line when Walsh decided to send in the field goal unit to give the 49ers some points before halftime.

That is when a Broncos fan made his or her presence felt as a snowball landed right in front of holder Matt Cavanuagh just as center Randy Cross snapped the ball distracting Cananaugh just long enough to make him bobble the snap.

The former University of Pittsburgh quarterback tried to gather himself and find an open receiver but ended up throwing an incomplete pass to give the ball back to the Broncos who took over at their two-yard-line and took a knee to run out the clock in the first half with Denver on top 14-3.

After the Broncos punted on their opening possession of the second half, the 49ers got the ball at their 32-yard-line when Montana connected with Mike Wilson for a 44-yard completion to put San Francisco at the Denver 24-yard-line as Craig ran for 11 yards on the next two plays to set up Montana's 13-yard touchdown pass to Wilson to cut the Broncos' lead to 14-10 with 10:41 to go in the third quarter.

It would not take long for the 49ers to get the ball back as Elway was intercepted by Lott on the Broncos' next play from scrimmage to give San Francisco possession at the Denver 40-yard-line.

The 49ers would run the ball five straight times, picking up 34 yards until the drive stalled at the Denver six-yard-line forcing San Francisco to settle for another field goal attempt by Wersching.

This time, no snowballs were thrown as Wersching calmly made the 22-yard field goal to cut the Denver lead to one point at 14-13 with 7:28 left in the third quarter.

The Broncos would then drive 54 yards in nine plays to set up 1st & goal from the 49ers' nine-yard-line when running back Gerald Wilhite carried the ball on three straight plays picking up eight yards to bring up 4th & goal at the one-yard-line.

Denver head coach Dan Reeves decided to go for the touchdown as Elway handed the ball off to Winder, who was stopped at the line of scrimmage by Lott to keep the Broncos out of the end zone and give the ball back to San Francisco.

The 49ers would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Broncos, who took over at the 49ers' 45-yard-line where Elway completed a 14-yard pass to Johnson on the final play of the third quarter, which was followed by three straight incomplete passes, forcing Denver to attempt a 48-yard field goal by Rich Karlis.

Karlis' kick was long enough but wide left and no good to give the ball back to the 49ers who took over at their 31-yard-line with 14:40 left in the fourth quarter.

Both teams would trade punts until the 49ers got the ball again at their 37-yard-line with 5:30 to go in the game when Montana completed a 13-yard pass to Craig followed by a 16-yard completion to Rice to give the 49ers a 1st down at the Denver 34-yard-line.

After the next three plays picked up six yards, Wersching was called on to attempt a 45-yard field goal, which he made to give the 49ers their first lead of the game at 16-14 with 3:36 left in the game.

Following a 25-yard return by Lang on the ensuing kickoff, the Broncos took over at their 30-yard-line as the drive began with a two-yard run by Wilhite, followed by a false start penalty and an incomplete pass to bring up 3rd & 13 from the Denver 27-yard-line.

That is when Elway scrambled around in the pocket before firing a long pass intended for Watson, only for the pass to hit the right shoulder of 49ers free safety Dwight Hicks, who was defending the Denver receiver,  and fall incomplete.

However, because Hicks never turned around until the ball hit him, he was called for face guarding or pass interference, giving the Broncos a 1st down at the 49ers' 31-yard-line following the 42-yard penalty.

Two more incomplete passes would set up another 3rd down situation for the Broncos when Elway was able to dodge a safety blitz by Lott and fire a 22-yard pass to Watson to give Denver 1st & goal at the 49ers' nine-yard-line.

The Broncos would run three more plays netting only two yards before calling on Karlis to attempt the go-ahead field goal which he made from 24 yards out to give Denver a 17-16 lead with 1:27 remaining.

Rich Karlis(3) would make the game-winning field goal in the infamous "Snowball Game".

The 49ers would get one last chance as they began their next possession at their 20-yard-line but could not pick up a 1st down as the clock ran out with the Broncos on top 17-16.

While the loss to the Broncos did not keep the 49ers out of the playoffs as they finished with a 10-6 record, it did have an effect on their seeding as San Francisco finished one game back of the Rams for the NFC West division title.

If the 49ers had defeated Denver, they would have finished in a tie with the Rams and won the NFC West based on their division record which was better than Los Angeles and would allow San Francisco to earn the #2 seed and a first round bye in the NFC playoffs.

Instead, the 49ers were forced to travel to the Meadowlands where they would fall to the New York Giants 17-3 in the NFC Wild Card Game.

As for the Broncos, they would miss the playoffs despite finishing with a 11-5 record as Denver would finish one game back of the Los Angeles Raiders for the AFC West division title and would lose out on tiebreakers for a Wild Card spot to both the New York Jets and the New England Patriots.

While the "Snowball Game" did not have an significant effect on the Broncos' season, it did change their stadium policies as the organization announced that if any fan threw a snowball onto the field, they would be ejected from the stadium and possibly be banned from attending any more Broncos games.

Three days later after the incident, an anonymous fan apologized for throwing the snowball in an article that was published in the San Francisco Examiner.