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 — A lieutenant with Berthoud Fire who was injured after he was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver in Denver last month is making progress, according to a Tuesday update.
The wrong-way driver, identified as 25-year-old Kevem Dos Santos, was killed in the May 17 crash inside the barrier-separated HOV lanes on Interstate 25.
Ken Bradley, the Berthoud Fire lieutenant, was traveling to work when the crash occurred. He was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.
The crash left Bradley with multiple fractures in both legs, fractures to his left arm, a dislocated right shoulder, several broken ribs, and a collapsed lung.
Bradley’s family said he is now able to get in and out of his wheelchair on his own. But he faces additional surgeries this week to reconstruct his ankles and feet.
His family thanked the more than 800 donors who have contributed $85,000 to his GoFundMe and said he remains in good spirits.
Police have not said how Dos Santos managed to access the gate-controlled HOV lanes, leaving many questions unanswered.
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Denver will reimburse developers working on reviving the Rossonian Hotel up to $15.5 million in sales and property taxes after the council approved the urban development proposal during its meeting Monday.
The decision comes after Denver Urban Renewal Authority found that the site was “blighted,” meaning there are unsafe living or working conditions and environmental contamination.
DURA recommended the city allow “tax increment financing,” or TIF, to remediate those problems and get the project off the ground.
“This tax increment financing is one of the final pieces that makes the Rossonian possible. Without it, this project does not happen,” said Paul Books, one of the owners of the building. “But with it, we are working through the last remaining steps to break ground this summer.”
The project, in the Five Points neighborhood, is part of the Welton Corridor Urban Redevelopment Plan. The six-parcel property is in the namesake intersection of Welton, 27th and Washington streets.
The building, once called the Baxter Hotel, was a popular event space for jazz performances between the 1930s and 1950s. Performers such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday took the stage there. It is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. The building has been vacant since the 1990s.
Palisade Partners, who purchased the property in 2017, plan to build 126 hotel rooms, a restaurant and an event space. They will also construct a new 8-story building between the Rossonian and the Hooper building as part of the redevelopment.
“We’ve concluded that the project does require assistance in order for it to be delivered as it has been contemplated,” said Bill Pruter, executive director of DURA.
Tax-increment financing, which is essentially a tax break or subsidy, allows developers to freeze how much is paid in property or sales taxes at a base level for up to 25 years, and then reinvest what would be paid above that back into certain elements of their projects.
For this project, the developers will be able to reinvest up to $15.5 million — which would otherwise go to the city’s bank account — into their project.
The city will reimburse the tax dollars for specific project costs mostly related to rehabilitation of the building. That includes up to $6.7 million on the plumbing and HVAC work in the new building and up to $2.3 million on the visible structure of the Rossonian Hotel.
The city will also reimburse up to $155,000 for “project art,” according to a presentation from DURA. DURA requires that 1% of the project’s costs be spent on art.
The tax freeze will last until the $15.5 million is reimbursed or in 25 years, whichever comes first.
“This project will bring new life to one of the most important corners in our neighborhood while preserving one of Denver’s most iconic cultural landmarks,” said Norman Harris, executive director of the Five Points Business Improvement District.
The total project is expected to cost $101 million and to be completed in 2028.
A roster move the Denver Broncos made back in March to clear cap space has come to fruition, as linebacker Dre Greenlaw’s post-June 1 designation release has taken effect.
As it turns out, the Broncos did gain more cap space with the move. While it appeared that the Greenlaw release had already been accounted for on sites such as Over The Cap, it actually had not.
Broncos’ Cap Space Grows
Instead, it turns out the $18.8 million in cap space the Broncos had prior to June 1 did not account for Greenlaw’s release. The Broncos now have more cap space than before, with $25.7 million available with his release in effect.
This means the Broncos have less need to cut players simply to create cap space. They can afford to keep the players they have on the roster until training camp starts, then make roster decisions based on what happens in the preseason.
The additional cap space will also help with accommodating any extensions the Broncos decide to give to players with expiring contracts. Players such as wide receiver/returner Marvin Mims Jr. and cornerbacks Ja’Quan McMillan and Riley Moss are among the younger players who might be in line for extensions, depending on how the Broncos value them and what they are seeking in a new deal.
Not to mention veterans, like backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham and left guard Ben Powers, both of whom are entering a contract year.
Potential for More Cap Carryover
The cap space also helps with the potential for more salary-cap carryover heading into 2027. Right now, the Broncos are projected to have just $2 million in cap space, but that does not account for carryover.
If the Broncos are wise with how they manage the cap in the coming months, they could carry over a significant amount of cap space into 2027. That alone will help alleviate the team’s cap situation next year.
Some might wonder whether the Broncos try to make another big move before training camp, but doing so would mean giving up cap space or draft capital that could be useful when it comes to improving the roster in 2027. We can’t rule out a trade, of course, but the added cap space doesn’t guarantee a trade is coming.
But the good news is the Broncos will be in a better cap position than before. We’ll see what moves come next and how that impacts cap space.
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