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Addition by subtraction Two Denver losses add up to a winning formula
Posted: Sunday February 28, 1999 10:27 AM
MIAMI (CNN/SI) -- Mike Shanahan didn't have a perfect season on Monday, but he had a perfect answer for why his Broncos had repeated as Super Bowl champions. One key to the Broncos' 34-19 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, he said, was a mediocre four-game stretch late in the season that included two losses and took away the pressure of an undefeated season, keeping his team focused on its original goal -- winning the Super Bowl. "After winning last year, we were going to get everyone's best shot," he said. "Throughout the whole year, that's how our team played. The only time we didn't play at that level was when we ... played the Giants and Miami. We didn't play at the level we were capable of playing." The Giants and Miami handed the Broncos their only losses during a 17-2 season. Those defeats came after two mediocre wins against San Diego and Kansas City that improved the team's record to 13-0, three games short of becoming the first team to finish the regular season unbeaten since the 1972 Dolphins. It was clear at the time that the pressure was building on a team that otherwise could have cruised into the playoff with the home field and a perfect record. But after the Broncos lost 20-16 on the road to the Giants and 31-21 eight days later in Pro Player Stadium -- where they beat the Falcons on Sunday night -- they were relieved of the burden of making NFL history. When they got another shot at Miami at home 19 days later in their first playoff game, they were ready. "If we didn't play great in that game, I would have been the most surprised guy in the world," Shanahan said. They did, winning 38-3, then beating the New York Jets 23-10 in the AFC championship game before going on to Sunday's victory. Now the Broncos will try to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. Their chances should become clearer in the spring when John Elway decides whether to retire. Elway, who won the game's MVP award by completing 18 of 29 passes for 336 yards, almost retired before this season and said again in December that he would finally step down. He emphasized that with a victory lap after the AFC title game in what was presumed to be his final game at Mile High Stadium. But after Sunday's game, he wasn't so sure, as teammates implored him to stick around one more season. On Monday, he said what he said at this time last year -- that he'd talk with his wife, children, parents and friends before making a final decision. He plans to decide by April so Shanahan and the Broncos will know if they'll have to run a quarterback competition in camp among veteran Bubby Brister, who was 4-0 in starts last season and won two other games off the bench, and two youngsters -- Jeff Lewis and Brian Griese. "At 38 years old in the twilight of my career, I tend to favor the now and not tomorrow," he said. "I don't want to walk away too late. But I also know by the way I played last night that I can still play." Shanahan, meanwhile, was engaging in a little wistful thinking. "I think we've got a good shot," he said. "We have our nucleus coming back next season. That certainly can't hurt us." Especially if that nucleus includes John Elway.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||
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