The Colts finished 0 – 8 – 1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season and earned the team the right to select Stanford quarterback John Elway with the first overall pick, but Elway refused to play for Baltimore, and using leverage as a draftee of the New York Yankees baseball club, forced a trade to Denver.

The Broncos won the AFC West with an 11 – 5 regular season record, largely through the play of their quarterback John Elway.

In just his fourth season in the league, Elway made an impact to the team with his ad-libbing skills.

But in 15 plays, Elway led Denver 98 yards for a game-tying touchdown pass with 39 seconds left.

Elway completed 5 of 6 passes for 46 yards and rushed for 14, while Karlis finished the drive with a 33-yard field goal, making the score 33-13.

Elway finished the game with 22 out of 37 pass completions for 304 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.

The Broncos routed the Houston Oilers in the Divsional round of the playoffs, 34 – 10, jumping to a 14 – 0 first quarter lead off of two quick Oilers turnovers, with Elway completing 14 of 25 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns in the game.

Elway responded with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Winder, taking the lead back with less than five minutes left in regulation.

Coming into Super Bowl XXII, the Broncos were favored to win (- 3 as noted on the NFL Today show by Jimmy " the Greek " Snyder ) because most experts thought both teams were equal in terms of talent with Elway presumed to be the superior quarterback to Williams.

Elway finished the game with 14 out of 38 pass completions for 257 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions.

He was also Denver's second leading rusher with 32 yards on 3 carries ; this would be the only Super Bowl in which Elway did not score a rushing touchdown.

However, Elway destroyed any chance of a Browns comeback by leading the Broncos 80 yards and scoring with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Winder on the first drive of the fourth quarter.

Elway finished the game with 385 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions, while also leading Denver in rushing with 5 carries for 39 yards.

Elway then capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run on third down, cutting their deficit to 41 – 10.

Elway was held to just 10 completions out of 26 attempts for 108 yards with no touchdowns, and was intercepted 2 times.

Buffalo then played against Denver Broncos, who were coming off a 26 – 24 win over the Houston Oilers in which quarterback John Elway led them on an 87-yard drive to set up kicker David Treadwell's game-winning field goal with only 16 seconds left.

The AFC Championship Game appeared to be the best defensive effort by Buffalo all season, as they held the Broncos to only a touchdown, while also limiting Elway to just 11 of 21 completions for 121 yards and no touchdowns, with 1 interception.

The only other quarterbacks to start four at the time were Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana, with John Elway and Tom Brady since joining this exclusive club.

The Broncos ' offense, under the leadership of Elway and running back Terrell Davis, had another outstanding regular season, ranking 2nd in the NFL with 501 points and gaining 6, 276 yards ( 3rd in the league ).

Two plays later, Elway finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, giving the Broncos a 31-6 lead.

Two plays later, a 25-yard completion from Elway to McCaffrey set up Elam's 37-yard field goal with just over 7 minutes left in the final period.

The Falcons lost Super Bowl XXXIII to John Elway and the Denver Broncos.

Led largely through the play of quarterback John Elway and a defense that led the AFC in fewest yards allowed, Denver posted an 11-5 regular season record and two narrow playoff victories.

On the Broncos ' first play after receiving the opening kickoff, quarterback John Elway faked a handoff, then spun around and ran in the opposite direction for a 10-yard gain to the Denver 34-yard line.

With Denver deep in its own end of the field, Bronco tight end Clarence Kay caught a pass from Elway for a gain of 25 yards.

This proved crucial, as on the next play Giants defensive tackle George Martin sacked Elway in the end zone, recording a safety and cutting the Denver lead to 10-9.

Denver finally scored a touchdown when Elway found Johnson on a 47-yard bomb later on, which was the 100th recorded Super Bowl touchdown.

After forcing Washington to go 3 and out, the Broncos ' scored on their first play from scrimmage, when quarterback John Elway threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to wide open receiver Ricky Nattiel, giving Denver a quick 7 – 0 lead after just 1: 57 had elapsed in the game.

Then Elway was intercepted again on the Broncos ' ensuing drive, this time by Brooks, who returned the ball 38 yards to the Denver 37-yard line.

Bennett had another great game, constantly pressuring Elway and tackling Denver rushers behind the line of scrimmage three times.

Mike Shanahan was hurt and angered by Reeves ' pregame assertion that Shanahan and Elway had conspired to have him fired during his stint at Denver.

Immediately after the Broncos got the ball back, Smith broke ahead of Falcons safety Eugene Robinson, caught a pass from Elway, and took off for an 80-yard touchdown reception, giving Denver a 17-3 lead ( the fourth 80 + yard touchdown pass play in Super Bowl history ).

Green later married hall of fame quarterback John Elway, who played for Raiders rival the Denver Broncos.

* John Elway ( Denver Broncos NFL ) and Wayne Gretzky ( Edmonton Oilers NHL ) have summer homes here.

* John Elway, quarterback of the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, hit his first professional home run at Dwyer Stadium while playing minor league baseball.

John Albert Elway, Jr. ( born June 28, 1960 ) is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League ( NFL ).

Elway was drafted # 1 overall in the 1983 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts before being traded to the Denver Broncos.

After two more Super Bowl losses, the Broncos entered a period of decline ; however, that would end during the 1997 season, as Elway and Denver won their first Super Bowl title by defeating the Green Bay Packers 31 – 24 in Super Bowl XXXII.

Elway joined Denver as one of the most highly anticipated athletes in the history of the NFL.

Still, Elway had an impressive performance, throwing for 304 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, while also leading Denver in rushing with 27 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

After the Broncos won Super Bowl XXXII during the previous season, many wondered if 15-year veteran quarterback John Elway would retire now that he finally won a Super Bowl.