Denver, CO
Broncos Super Bowl history: Super Bowl XXII vs. Washington
The Denver Broncos third Super Bowl appearance was the first time they would be heavily favored to win. John Elway was the reigning NFL MVP after a dominant season and the Broncos steamrolled through the AFC playoffs to face an underdog Washington Redskins team that would start the first African-American quarterback in Super Bowl history. But to understand what made Denver a favorite in this game, we’ll need to take a look at their incredible season.
Broncos’ 1987 Season
The 1987 season was a strike-shortened year and three games were played by ‘scrubs’. Denver came out of that with a 2-1 record and John Elway would take over from scrub quarterback Ken Karcher. The strike happened between Weeks 3-6. Denver would start out 1-0-1 and then under Karcher they would end up 3-1-1 with back-to-back wins over AFC West rivals. Not a bad sub.
After knocking off a bit of rust, Elway and the Broncos offense went crazy winning six of their last seven games including a prime time thriller against the vaunted Chicago Bears defense in Week 10. After falling down to the Bears 14-0 early, Elway charged back three second quarter touchdowns. Then Denver would fall behind again in the second half. Down 29-24 in the fourth quarter, Elway would march his team down the field for the decisive touchdown to win the game 31-29. He finished with 341 yards passing and three touchdowns.
Denver’s 10-4-1 finish to the season ended up being the number one seed in the AFC. Elway as the MVP was at the peak of his game. Denver looked prime for another deep playoff run.
1987 Playoff Run
They wasted no time getting back to the AFC Championship game after steamrolling the Houston Oilers 34-10, but they would face a familiar foe in the Cleveland Browns. A year removed from “The Drive” the Browns were looking for revenge and redemption from last year’s humiliating home defeat at the hands of Elway.
Denver wasted little time asserting dominance streaking to a 21-3 lead at halftime, but Cleveland came out swinging in the second half with three touchdowns in the third quarter. They would tie things up early in the fourth before the Broncos took a large 38-31 lead and then that’s when Mile High Magic would strike.
“The Fumble”
After putting together a magnificent drive that would potential match the Broncos own “Drive” from the year prior, it looked like Ernest Byner would run straight into the end zone to tie the game up when disaster struck at the goal line. Denver would recover and take a safety to send themselves to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.
Super Bowl XXII Recap
This game was a bit more special to me at the time, because as a budding Broncomaniac I also had a step-dad who was a huge Washington Redskins fan. He was a blue collar guy and that team back in the early 80s was just that kind of team. A huge fan of John Riggins and then Timmy Smith, my old man was always a fan of the underdog nature of his favorite team back then.
However, my 9 year-old self only saw that the Broncos were favorited by a field goal and John Elway was obviously a stud who could do no wrong. Sadly, I talked a lot of smack all week and that would earn me some come-uppin’s on game day. More on that later.
Washington that year was beleaguered by injury at the quarterback position and had finally settled on Doug Williams for the playoffs. That after Williams had played sporadically throughout the year with snaps in Weeks 1-2, 10-11, and in Week 15. That had to play in the Broncos being favored heading into this game, but Williams showed up in January in historic ways.
After dispatching the heavily-favored Chicago Bears on the road, they dominated the Minnesota Vikings to earn a trip to the Super Bowl.
Everything for Denver seemed to go right according to plan with John Elway firing a deep pass 56-yards to Ricky Nattiel for the quickest touchdown in Super Bowl history up to that point and would go into the second quarter up 10-0 over Washington. Then all hell broke loose and Denver’s top ranked defense also seemed to vanish.
Washington’s five touchdowns in that quarter were on mostly long plays: 80 yards pass, 27 yards pass, 58 yards rush, 650 yard pass, and an 8 yard pass. Their 35-10 lead was completely insurmountable as they went into cruise control for an eventual 42-10 championship.
The brutal second quarter led Doug Williams to a historic Super Bowl MVP with a 340 yards, 4 touchdown day. However, the incredible stat lines don’t end there. Timmy Smith put up 204 yards and two touchdowns on just 22 carries — also MVP-worthy numbers and Ricky Sanders snagged 9 passed for 192 yards and two touchdowns — again, also MVP-worthy numbers. Just a brutal day all around for Denver and a harbinger for worse days to come for that 1980s team.
As for me, the old man who was quiet all week while I jabbered my nine year old mouth off taught me a valuable lesson. The lesson being if you can’t take it, don’t dish it. The jabbering and glee thrown in my face that second quarter taught me that I can definitely take it, so to this day I dish it no matter what. It still sucked that day, though!
I do miss our football talks. He passed away in 2015, but I’ll always remember this Super Bowl as one of my earliest sports memories of note. Losing sucked, but I cherish the memory of this day anyway.
Go Broncos!
Denver, CO
Keeler: Why did 2026 Broncos trade for Jaylen Waddle? Because they learned a lesson from 2025 Chiefs
Even Snakes roll snake eyes. As a Broncos quarterback, Jake Plummer went 3-3 in one-score games during the 2004 regular season. In 2005, Jake The Snake improved to 5-2 in those tilts. Plummer followed that up with a 3-5 record in one-score games during 2006.
Down. Up. Down. Close wins in the NFL, year-to-year, are about as consistently reliable as New Jersey Transit.
“You can’t coach clutch,” Plummer texted me Tuesday. “It’s either in your blood, or it isn’t.”
The Bo-lief is strong enough in Broncos Country right now to bench press a F-450 Super Duty. Bo Nix is 24-10 as a Broncos QB1 in regular-season tussles, 25-11 overall. He’s 13-8 in games decided by eight points or fewer as an NFL starter, and went 12-2 last fall.
The Broncos put up a mark of 11-2 in one-score games in 2025, tying an NFL record for one-score victories (11) in a season. Nix replaced Patrick Mahomes as the NFL’s Comeback King. Before the madness of Sean Payton’s fourth-down call in the AFC Championship, Denver had a method.
“The ones that have it, you can see it in their eyes,” Plummer continued. “It permeates the whole situation and something akin to faith!”
Faith is contagious.
Fortune is fickle.
Why did Denver trade for Jaylen Waddle?
Why are fans clamoring for another hammer at tailback to pair with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey?
Why do they want more speed at inside linebacker, someone who can run with tight ends up the seam?
Because history doesn’t say 11 one-score victories is hard to repeat.
History says it’s nearly impossible.
Over the last five decades, only five NFL teams have won 10 or more one-score games in a season — the Broncos became the newest member of that club last December.
But get a load of how those other four teams fared the very next year:
• 2024 Chiefs: 11 one-score wins, 15 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 1-9 in one-score games, six wins overall.
• 2022 Vikings: 11 one-score wins, 13 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 6-8 in one-score games, seven wins overall.
• 2019 Seahawks: 10 one-score wins, 11 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 8-3 in one-score games, 12 wins overall.
• 1978 Oilers: 10 one-score wins, 10 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 6-3 in one-score games, 11-5 overall.
Summing up? Two of the four teams that’d racked up double-digit close wins regressed badly, while the other two improved slightly.
But none of them won more than eight games by eight points or less the following season.
In fact, their combined winning percentage in one-score games that next year was 45.6% (21-25). And the average relapse was a 3.25-win falloff compared to the prior season.
With a tougher schedule, a new offensive coordinator and the usual spate of wacky, unpredictable NFL gremlins lurking, would it shock you if the Broncos finished 11-6? Or 12-5? In this division, you’d take either one of those records in a so-called “regression” year. Take it and run with it.
The Broncos’ floor is as high as it’s been since Sheriff Manning hung up his spurs. The ceiling is fluid. You swap draft picks for a proven, win-now talent such as Waddle because the football gods are going to demand that you make your own luck from here on out.
“Each season is different,” Plummer said. “When there is unfettered belief in each other, it’s contagious and those wins can happen naturally. On the contrary, when there is unrealistic expectations from the outside, pressure to perform can impede the natural flow of what’s happening on the field. That’s why believing is paramount to achieving!”
While the Snake’s Dove Valley chapter was coming to a close, the New Orleans Saints won four games by eight points or less in 2006, en route to a 10-6 mark.
The Saints were 2-3 in those close contests the next season and slipped to 7-9 overall. The year after that? A 3-6 record in one-score games and an 8-8 mark overall. Payton knows. And if he doesn’t, he’s sure as heck about to find out.
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Two more days of record-breaking heat are forecast for northern Colorado this week, including in the Denver area, according to the National Weather Service.
Earlier forecasts from the weather service projected 90-degree temperatures in Denver on Wednesday, which would have marked the city’s first of the year and earliest on record. The expected temperature high has since dropped to 88 degrees, which would still break daily and monthly heat records, according to the weather service.
NWS Tuesday forecasts:
- 64 degrees in Dillion, breaking the 63-degree record for March 24.
- 75 degrees in Evergreen, breaking the 71-degree daily record.
- 81 degrees in Denver, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 83 degrees at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 83 degrees in Boulder, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 84 degrees at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, breaking the 80-degree daily record.
NWS Wednesday forecasts:
- 69 degrees in Dillion, breaking the 62-degree record for March 24.
- 80 degrees in Evergreen, breaking the 75-degree daily record.
- 88 degrees in Denver, breaking the 75-degree daily record and the 86-degree March heat record. Denver has broken or tied the March heat record three times so far this month, according to the weather service.
- 89 degrees at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 87 degrees in Boulder, breaking the 78-degree daily record.
- 89 degrees at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, breaking the 79-degree daily record.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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Denver, CO
Married couple stars on stage at Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ “Dracula, a Comedy of Terrors”
The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is celebrating more than 100 performances of its hit comedy “Dracula, a Comedy of Terrors.” The show, which puts a funny twist on the classic tale of Dracula, is filled with comedy and romance, and that romance can be seen both onstage and off.
“It is a great date night. It is fast, it is fun,” said Marco Alberto Robinson, the actor who portrays Dracula on stage.
“People leave with a smile on their face, it is a good time,” said Adriane Leigh Robinson, an actress who plays multiple characters during the show.
The duo not only finds romance on stage in the production, but off stage, they are already in love.
“We are just best buddies,” Marco Robinson said.
“We are married,” Adriane Robinson said as she laughed.
The duo has lived in Denver for years and has enjoyed helping bring Dracula to life at the Garner Galleria.
“Dracula is a cult classic about a blood thirsty monster. But this is different, because he is not only blood thirsty, he is spicy,” Adriane Robinson said.
The other cast members of the production told CBS News Colorado they are confident both Robinsons are capable of starring on Broadway in New York. However, both said they have found a purpose and belonging in Denver and at the DCPA.
“We have found a super tight and loving community that we don’t ever want to leave,” Adriane Robinson said.
Both have been in many productions at the DCPA, but added Dracula has given them an opportunity to explore a side of their relationship that they’ve never had before.
“It’s the easiest (to be romantic interests on and off stage),” Adriane Robinson said.
“It is super easy. We can come up with something at home and bring it in. It is nice to not be passing ships,” Marco Robinson said.
Both said they have an appreciation for the surrounding arts community in Colorado, and have loved being on the same funny production in Dracula, a Comedy of Terrors.
“We are putting roots down here, and regional theatre is super important. And, the Denver Center is doing some of the best of it,” Marco Robinson said.
Dracula, a Comedy of Terrors, plays at the DCPA through May 10. For more information on tickets, visit their website.
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