By Jeremy Harris
Four times the New England Patriots have marched into Denver during the AFC playoffs. Four times, most recently in Sunday’s 20-18 defeat in the AFC Championship game, their Super Bowl dreams were snuffed out by the Orange Crush. With eye black residue from Sundayโs game likely still visible on Tom Bradyโs face, we revisit the three times prior to Sundayโs defeat that the Patriotsโ Super Bowl aspirations tumbled in Denver like boulders down the Rocky Mountains.
January 4, 1987: The Patriots failed to make the postseason in their first six seasons after the 1970 merger. They made two forays into the playoffsย in the second half of the 1970โs (1976 and 1978) and were defeated in the divisional round both times. After six seasons with just a token playoff appearance in the 1982 strike-shortened season, their fortunes began to change behind 1983 first round draft pickย QB Tony Eason. After a winning season in 1984, they became the first team in league history in 1985 to win three playoff games on the road en route to the Super Bowl.
For an encore, the Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins 34-27 in the final game of the 1986 season, clinching the AFC East title with an 11-5 record and ending a 17-game regular season losing streak at Miami. Led by a core of young players such as LB Andre Tippett, RBโs Tony Collins and Craig James, WR Irving Fryar and Eason, the Patriots appeared to be an ascending team.
Their opponent in the 1986 divisional round of the playoffs, the Denver Broncos, had traveled a similar path. The Broncos failed to make the playoffs in their first seven post-merger seasons before emerging as the AFC Champions in 1977 and making the playoffs twice more in 1978 and 1979.
After a three-season drought, the Broncos made the playoffs in 1983 and 1984, both times losing their first game. They missed the 1985 playoffs despite an 11-5 record.
The Broncos were led by the first overall pick in the 1983 draft, QB John Elway. They also boasted a young core that included LBโs Karl Mecklenburg and Simon Fletcher, DL Rulon Jones and WRโs Mack Jackson and Vance Johnson.
With the Raiders and Miami Dolphins missing the playoffs in the same season for the first time post-merger, a power vacuumย emerged that one of these talented teams appearedย primed to fill.
The game did not disappoint. Twice Tony Eason connected with veteran WR Stanley Morgan on touchdown passes. Elway rushed for a score, and he staked the Broncos to a 20-17 lead in the third quarter when he connected with WR Johnson on a 48-yard scoring strike. With just under two minutes remaining and the Patriots starting a drive in the shadows of their own goal line, DL Jones crashed through the Patriotsโ offensive line and sacked Eason for a safety to clinch Elwayโs first postseason victory and the Broncosโ first since 1977.
The Broncos won the AFC Championship game the following week at Cleveland when Elway engineered โThe Driveโ late in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. Two weeks later, they were smashed in the Super Bowl for the first of three times in the 1980โs before Elway finally claimed a Lombardi trophy at the conclusion of each of his final two seasons (1997 and 1998).
The Patriots window closed faster than one of Elwayโs laser passes. The Patriots would slip to 1-15 by 1990 and did not make the playoffs again until 1994.
January 24, 2006: The Patriots were seeking to become the first team in league history to win three consecutive Super Bowls. The Broncos had not won a playoff game in three appearances in the six seasons since Elway retired.
After getting off to an uncharacteristically slow start in the regular season (6-5), the Patriots rallied to a 10-6 record and claimed the AFC East title. They then clobbered the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-3 during the playoffโs wildcard round to advance to Denver, which tallied the best record in the AFC (13-3)ย behind veteran QB Jake Plummer, in his third season with the Broncos following six with the Arizona Cardinals.
Denver was clinging to a 10-6 lead late in third quarter when Broncosโ CB Champ Bailey intercepted QB Tom Bradyโs pass in the end zone and returned it 99 yards to the Patriotsโ one. Broncos’ RB Mike Anderson smashed through for a touchdown and a 17-6 momentum-changing Broncosโ lead. Patriotsโ WR/KR Troy Brown fumbled a punt that the Broncosโ parlayed into a 24-6 lead that held up in a 27-13 triumph.
The Broncos would lose the next week at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game.
January 19, 2014: After the 2005 season, the Broncos went five seasons without making the playoffs. Though they made the postseason in 2011 with an 8-8 mark and even won a playoff game at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers with Tim Tebow under center, it was clear that they needed an upgrade at QB to compete for a championship.
Enter Peyton Manning, who had been discarded by the Indianapolis Colts after missing the 2011 season with a neck injury.
Manning led the Broncos (13-3) to the playoffs in 2012, where they were upset by the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round. In 2013, the Broncos (13-3) made a return visit to the postseason behind Manning, and they defeated the San Diego Chargers in the divisional round to advance to the conference championship game.
New England (12-4) won the AFC East title and throttled the Colts in the divisional round, setting up another clash with Denver.
In a turnover-free game, the Broncos, whoย amassed over 500 yards of offense, led New England 23-3 early in the fourth quarter behind two Peyton Manning touchdown passes and three Matt Prater field goals. Brady scored a rushing touchdown with just over three minutes remaining to cut the score to 26-16, but New Englandโs two-point conversion attempt, which could have reduced the deficit to one possession, failed, effectively ending the game
Unfortunately for the Broncos, the celebration of their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1998 season was short-lived. The Seattle Seahawks routed Denver 43-8.
But now Denver is returning to the Super Bowl after serving up another dose of Orange Crush on the Patriots in the venue thatโs been kryptonite to Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the dynastic New England Patriots.ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
