Super Bowl LIV is about ready to kick off. Yes, it is the Kansas City Chiefs facing the San Francisco 49ers so the Denver Broncos and their fans will have to wait at least another year to be on this stage.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t relive some of the team’s best Super Bowl moments.
Last year, I counted down the team’s best individual performances in a Super Bowl.
The Broncos have played in eight Super Bowls, creating a lot of memories in them. Many of those memories haven’t been all that pleasant as the Broncos have been on the wrong end of some of the biggest blowouts in the history of the Big Game.
But the team has won three Super Bowls and there were several great plays that had to be made in order to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
Not all of these plays came from Super Bowl victories. These were just the five best plays ever made by the Broncos in a Super Bowl game, though most of them were instrumental in the team’s ultimate success.
No. 5: Cam Newton stripped for the second time: Super Bowl 50
As dominant as the Broncos’ defense was against the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, the team clung to a 16-10 lead with just over four minutes to play in the game. The Panthers had the ball and faced a critical 3rd-and-9 from their own 24-yard line.
That’s when Von Miller, the game’s eventual MVP, came through to wreak some more havoc.
Miller knocked the ball from the hands of Newton and after it bounced around, T.J. Ward eventually scooped it up and set the Broncos up with a 1st-and-goal which would lead to the game-sealing touchdown.
No. 4: John Elway to Ricky Nattiel: Super Bowl XXII
Super Bowl XXII could not have gotten off to a better start for the Broncos, who were playing in the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.
After forcing the Washington Redskins to go three-and-out on their first possession, the Broncos took over at their own 44-yard line. Elway took the team’s first offensive snap and threw a dart to Nattiel who had gotten separation for a 56-yard touchdown.
Sadly, there weren’t any more highlights for the Broncos in this game. They got out to a 10-0 lead and ended up losing 42-10.
No. 3: Elway hits Rod Smith for 80-yard TD: Super Bowl XXXIII
In Super Bowl XXXIII, the Broncos were big favorites over the Atlanta Falcons to win the game and repeat as Super Bowl champions. But with about five minutes left in the first half, they held just a 10-3 lead.
The play that broke the game open came following a missed field goal by the Falcons. On the very next play, from his own 20-yard line, Elway bootlegged out and threw a bomb to Smith, who had gotten past Falcons safety Eugene Robinson on the play for an 80-yard score.
Denver went up 17-3 and never looked back in a 34-19 victory.
No. 2: Von’s first strip of Newton: Super Bowl 50
The Broncos were massive underdogs against the Panthers in Super Bowl 50 but the defense, led by Miller, changed the trajectory of that game with this play.
Denver had kicked a field goal on its opening drive to take a 3-0 lead and after the teams traded punts, the Panthers faced a 3rd-and-10 from their own 15-yard line. Miller then beat Panthers tackle, Mike Remmers, badly, getting to Newton.
He almost took the ball right out of his hands but the ball did come free and Broncos defensive lineman Malik Jackson fell on the ball in the end zone.
No. 1: Helicopter dive: Super Bowl XXXII
This is an easy choice as No. 1 because it’s not just the best play the Broncos have ever had in a Super Bowl, it’s the best play in team history.
Much like the game against the Panthers 18 years later, the Broncos were two-touchdown underdogs against the Green Bay Packers. This game was a back-and-forth dogfight but this was the play that stood out and to this day, over 20 years later, it still does.
Facing 3rd-and-6 from the Green Bay 12-yard line with the scored tied 17-17, Elway dropped back and saw an opening. At 37 years old, he launched himself into three Green Bay defenders to make sure he got the first down, being spun around in the process.
Elway hit the ground hard, but he had the first down and two plays later, Terrell Davis ran in a 1-yard score to put the Broncos up 24-17 in a game they would eventually win to get their first Super Bowl victory in franchise history.
