Although Elway's performance in the AFC Championship Game was widely considered his best ever, many sports writers and fans believed that the Broncos ' best effort would not be good enough to beat the 49ers.

Although Young was offered a job as the Broncos starting quarterback, he retired because of his repeated concussions.

Although he was highly productive in two seasons with the Broncos, totaling 179 rushes for 656 yards ( 3. 7 avg.

Although the injury was expected to keep him out for only a maximum of six weeks, the Broncos needed the roster spot and he was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.

Although the Broncos wanted him to return for his 18th NFL season, at age 39 Beuerlein decided to retire.

Although a productive and popular player with the Browns, Byner is probably best remembered for one play, The Fumble, in which he lost the ball on the three-yard line while attempting to score against the Denver Broncos during the 1987 AFC Championship game.

Although coming off of his worst performance as a Raider, Campbell was assured the start against the division rival Denver Broncos in Week 7 due to Gradkowski's continuing struggles with the shoulder injury he sustained against the Chargers.

Although Broncos coach Chris Petersen claimed to have found a dead duck on the field in 2007, the origin of the duck on the field has never been confirmed.

Although they were forced to maintain a sharper watch, this activity enabled them to ride in and rack their broncs without any particular attention being paid them.

Although his tender nights were not the ones I dreamed of, nor was it for yachts, sports cars, tall drinks, and swimming pools, nor yet for money or what money buys that I burned, I too was burning and watching myself burn.

Although this kind of wholesale objection came at first from some men who were not technically Puritans, still, once the Puritans gained power, they climaxed the affair by passing the infamous ordinance of 1642 which decreed that all `` public stage-plays shall cease and be forborne ''.

Although because of the important achievements of nineteenth century scholars in the field of textual criticism the advance is not so striking as it was in the case of archaeology and place-names, the editorial principles laid down by Stevenson in his great edition of Asser and in his Crawford Charters were a distinct improvement upon those of his predecessors and remain unimproved upon today.

Although there were no startling developments in shotgun design this year, a number of new models and variations of existing models did hit the market.

Although there were only four fluids tested, it was apparent that there were two distinct types.

Although the elections were for local officials, it was not necessary to conduct the elections so as to prevent parties from publicly identifying their candidates.

Although the monarch had frequently asserted that the elections were to be without party significance, his action was an implicit admission that party identifications were a factor.

Although Rhode Islanders were preparing for the state elections, they watched John Brown's trial with extreme interest.

Although we enjoyed our rounds of the government offices in Vientiane, with officials offering tea and pleasing conversation in French, we were getting nowhere.

Although federal and city narcotic agents sometimes worked together, Sokol continued, rivalries developed when they were `` aiming at the same criminals ''.

Although he later broke with the churches because he believed that they were insufficiently outspoken against social evils, he remained a devout Christian.

Although they " were expecting to see activity in the brain's reward centers ", based on the idea that " people perform altruistic acts because they feel good about it ", what they found was that " another part of the brain was also involved, and it was quite sensitive to the difference between doing something for personal gain and doing it for someone else's gain ".

The Turkish language and the Islamic religion were gradually introduced as a result of the Seljuk conquest, and this period marks the start of Anatolia's slow transition from predominantly Christian and Indo-European and Semitic-speaking, to predominantly Muslim and Turkish-speaking ( Although some ethnic groups such as Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians and Georgians retained Christianity and their native languages ).

Although the Indian and Greek concepts of the atom were based purely on philosophy, modern science has retained the name coined by Democritus.

Although Romanticism and Neoclassicism were philosophically opposed, they were the dominant European styles for generations, and many artists were affected to a greater or lesser degree by both.

Although Andean Amerindian peoples crafted ceremonial jewelry of gold and other metals the mineralizations of the Andes were first mined in large scale after the Spanish arrival.

Although at least three pads were planned, only two, designated A and B, were completed in October 1965.

Although the proposal seemed to have been approved, the plans of the British were thwarted by the uprising of Dost Muhammad's son Muhammad Akbar Khan, who defeated and annihilated the British-Indian garrison at Gandamak on its retreat from Kabul in January 1842.

Although some of his lands were restored to the control of his relatives, his safe return could not be arranged, and Hasan Ali Shah was forced to remain a permanent resident of India.

Although he only recorded one reception during the regular season, Garrett caught a combined total of 13 receptions for 231 yards and 4 touchdowns in Washington's 3 playoff games.

Although the Mariners subsequently lost the ALCS to the Cleveland Indians ( managed by later Mariners manager Mike Hargrove ), that moment remains one of the most memorable in Mariners history, capping a season that " saved baseball in Seattle ", Seattle's improbable late season playoff run that year, spurred by the return of Griffey from injury, led to the construction of Safeco Field and the future security of a franchise rumored for years to be on the move.

Although they lost the series, Doug Collins was praised for turning around a lottery team in his first season, as well as winning a playoff game when many pundits predicted that the Sixers would be swept.

Although the Cavaliers made regular playoff appearances, they were unable to advance beyond the first round.

Although they had the youngest average age of any WNBA team, the Liberty managed to win 19 regular season games in 2008, to defeat the Connecticut Sun in the first round of playoff action, and to come within two points of defeating the Detroit Shock in the third and last game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Although they finished 16th in 1985 – 86 and re-election was a threat right up to the final few games of the season, they emerged as strong promotion contenders in the 1986 – 87 season, finishing sixth on 70 points and occupying the final playoff place in the division.

Although Vincent's vision never really came into fruition, Major League Baseball did in fact realign in 1994, albeit in the form of three divisions in each league, and the addition of an expanded playoff format.

Although the Clarence Campbell Conference was renamed the Western Conference in 1993, the Campbell Bowl continues to be awarded to the conference's playoff champion.

Although the Clarence Campbell Conference was renamed the Western Conference in 1993, the Campbell Bowl continues to be awarded to the conference's playoff champion.

Although they slumped to a. 500 record in the second half, it was enough to finish second, behind Central Division-winning Memphis, at 15 – 5 and take the wild card slot in the six-team playoff series and earn a bye in the first round.

Although in mid-August they were 13½ games behind the league-leading Dodgers, they won 37 of their final 44 games to tie Brooklyn on the final day of the regular season, forcing a three-game playoff.

Although the ten Playoff Bowls were official third place playoff games at the time they were played, the NFL currently classifies them as exhibition games, and does not include them in the official results ( or statistics ) for the post-season.

Although Osgood posted winning records for both seasons, the Blues did not advance past the playoff quarterfinals, losing to the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks, respectively.

Although Ćiro achieved some memorable victories with Neuchâtel against Swiss powerhouses FC Basel and FC Zurich, they finished the season in 9th place ( in a 10-club league ) and went to relegation playoff.

Although the Trail Blazers were eliminated from playoff contention, Telfair scored the winning basket against the Houston Rockets on April 5, 2006.

Although Favre threw for 281 yards, he tied a playoff record by tossing six interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns.

Although they would jump out to a 17-10 lead in the 3rd quarter, the Dolphins would rally back behind quarterback Dan Marino, who threw for 196 yards and a touchdown, leading his team to their first playoff win on the road since 1972 in what ultimately proved to be the final game played at the Kingdome and the final win of Marino's career.

Although he finished the Sabres ' 1971 – 72 season with just 8 wins in 36 games, Crozier coached the Sabres to a playoff berth the following season, posting a winning record of 37 – 27 – 14.

Although diagnosed as a sprain, given that it was the same knee he had surgery on earlier in the year – and that the Saints were now out of the playoff picture with only two games left in the 2008 season – Bush was placed on injured reserve, ending his season early for the second year in a row.

Although Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino completed 33 out of 64 passes for 422 yards, the Bills jumped to a 27-0 lead going into the fourth quarter, and rushed for an NFL playoff record 341 yards.

Although the Buffalo offense had trouble getting into the end zone because it was both quarterback Jim Kelly and running back Thurman Thomas's first game after recovering from injuries, kicker Steve Christie made an NFL playoff record-tying 5 field goals.

Although Preston lost the Third Division playoff final 4-2 to Wycombe Wanderers, Bryson himself scored with a spectacular overhead kick.

Although Parker eventually regained his starting spot, Toronto fell further behind the playoff race as a result of changing rosters and inconsistent performances, dropping to 21 – 34 just before the All-Star break.

Although the Redskins gained only 120 yards on offense, the lowest total in NFL playoff history for a winning team, they converted two turnovers into touchdowns.