With the Broncos in the playoffs for the first time since the 2005 season, The Denver Post is looking back each day this week at a previous appearance:
The Broncos had to figure this might not be their day when quarterback John Elway was intercepted by Pittsburgh's Levon Kirkland on the game's second play, but the Steelers failed to capitalize. Norm Johnson's 38-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide left on a 38-degree afternoon at Three Rivers Stadium on Jan. 11, 1998.
It was the 1997 AFC championship game, with a berth in the Super Bowl at stake. And, en route to a 24-21 victory, the visiting Broncos quieted a crowd of 61,382 early when Terrell Davis ran 8 yards for a touchdown on Denver's second possession to make it 7-0.
The Steelers' ground game clicked into gear, however, and Pittsburgh took a 14-7 lead after touchdown runs by quarterback Kordell Stewart, the former Colorado star, and powerful running back Jerome Bettis.
A wild second quarter produced another lead change when Broncos fullback Howard Griffith caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Elway for a 17-14 Denver advantage. Then, with 13 seconds remaining before halftime, Ed McCaffrey caught a 1-yard flip from Elway for another score.
That 10-point cushion proved to be enough for the Broncos. The only score of the second half was a 14-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to former CU teammate Charles Johnson with 2:46 remaining in the game.
Elway went 18-for-31 passing for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Stewart was 18-for-36 for 201 yards and one touchdown. The big difference proved to be Stewart's three interceptions, compared with one pick against Elway.
Two weeks later against Green Bay, the Broncos earned their first Super Bowl title, becoming the first AFC team in 14 years to claim the Vince Lombardi Trophy. And to think they did it as a wild-card representative.
The National Football League (NFL) playoffs begin Saturday. Twelve teams will battle it out over the next three weekends to see which two teams will play in the Super Bowl on February 5.
Football folks love to talk about who will win the big games. Unlike in sports where teams play several games a week, football teams play only once a week. That leaves plenty of time to talk. Coaches, TV announcers and just plain fans analyze the offenses, defenses, quarterbacks, even the weather to predict which team will win.
Football, like many sports, is pretty simple. Each team tries to score points when it is on offense and tries to stop the other team from scoring when it is on defense. The best teams score a lot more points than they give up.
With that in mind, let's rank the 12 playoff teams by taking the total number of points they scored during the 2011 regular season and subtracting the number of points they let other teams score. It's one way of judging the best teams. Here's the point-difference list for the teams in the playoffs. (A minus score means the team gave up more points than it scored.)
Playoff teams ranked by points scored minus points allowed
In the past 10 years, 15 of the 20 teams that made it to the Super Bowl had a point difference of at least 100 points during the regular season. A 16th team, the 2001 New England Patriots, had a point difference of 99.
So chances are good that one or two of the top five teams on the list - the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers or Baltimore Ravens - will play in Super Bowl XLVI. (That's the Roman numeral for 46.) They all scored at least 100 more points than their opponents this season. I didn't include the Houston Texans because their best quarterback, Matt Schaub, broke his foot and can't play in the playoffs.
I'm sure that Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions fans will scream that their teams are going all the way. Pittsburgh, with its top-rated defense, could pull off an upset. But I think the Saints will play the Patriots in a high-scoring Super Bowl.
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