PRO FOOTBALL; Elway's Drive II Kicks Out OilersBy MICHAEL MARTINEZ,Published: January 5, 1992Somewhere deep in his mind, John Elway must play these moments again and again, perhaps as much for pleasure as preparation. One day, he will need to rewind and repeat them.Five years after his most glorious moment with the Denver Broncos -- a 98-yard touchdown drive against the Cleveland Browns -- Elway engaged in heroics once more. This time, it brought the Broncos from behind to a 26-24 victory today over the stunned Houston Oilers and into the American Football Conference championship game.Elway marched the Broncos from their 2-yard line to the Oilers' 11, without the help of timeouts, converting two remarkable fourth-down plays to keep the drive in progress. Then David Treadwell kicked a 28-yard field goal in front of 75,301 at Mile High Stadium with 16 seconds left to end a game that reached its dramatic moments in the final two minutes."I'm numb; that's the biggest way to describe it," Broncos Coach Dan Reeves said afterward. "To overcome what we overcame was amazing."When you've got No. 7, anything is possible."It was Elway, No. 7 on his uniform but not always No. 1 among the Denver fans through his career, who brought them back. But it only came after the defense, unable to stop Oiler quarterback Warren Moon (27 for 36 passing, 325 yards) until his team's final possession, held firm.Still, it didn't look good. A punt put the ball at the Denver 2, and then Elway (19 for 33, 257 yards) jogged easily onto the field with a mile's worth of field ahead of him."The defense played great all day," said Elway, giving his teammates more credit than they may have earned. "I'm just thankful the offense could pick it up."Elway's two critically important plays came on fourth down, but there was also this: a 22-yard pass to Michael Young on the first play that moved the Broncos from deep in their own territory."The biggest play was the first one," Reeves said. "It gave us breathing room."Next: On a fourth-and-six play from the Denver 28, Elway scrambled for 7 yards. Then: On a fourth-and-10 from the Bronco 35 with 59 seconds left, he avoided a rush, stepped forward and found Vance Johnson, who adjusted his route, for 44 yards to the Oilers' 21."I was sitting in a zone defense," Johnson recalled. "When John scrambled out of the pocket, I drifted to the right and they just lost me. They were concentrating on trying to stop John." All DownhillFrom there, it almost looked easy. Steve Sewell ran for 10 yards to the 11, and Treadwell, who kicked a season-best 49-yarder in the third quarter, kicked the winner. But he had to overcome a low snap from center to the holder, Gary Kubiak."It came in a little low," said Treadwell. "Kube trapped it, then put it back up. I don't know that I adjusted, but I may have double-clutched."The comeback brought back memories of Elway's other great drive, a 15-play march in the 1986 conference championship against the Browns. It tied the game and allowed Elway to move the Broncos 60 more yards for a 23-20 victory.Did it bring back memories?"For me it did," Johnson said. "We aren't going to the Super Bowl with this win, but we are going to the A.F.C. championship game, which for me is just as important."By halftime, the Oilers were in front, 21-13, and their methodical run-and-shoot offense continually poked holes through Denver's defense.In four first-half possessions -- not including the last one, which was cut short by intermission -- the Oilers finished with three touchdowns and one interception of Moon.Moon's first drive of the clear but cold day was almost perfect: a 49-yard pass to Haywood Jeffires, an incompletion, a 6-yard run by Lorenzo White and the closer, a 15-yard pass to Jeffires in double coverage. Just like that, 7-0. Oilers Go Up, 14-0The second time he got the ball, Moon took his time. He used up 5 minutes 39 seconds, moved the Oilers 63 yards in 9 plays.It ended with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Drew Hill, who went uncovered virtually the length of the play.It was 14-0 now, but the Broncos finally began to move offensively. Of course, it didn't hurt that the Oilers were called three times for penalties measuring 25 yards in Denver's 65-yard drive, twice on third downs. Elway hit wide receiver Vance Johnson for a 10-yard touchdown pass, but the extra-point attempt missed when Kubiak was unable to put the ball down properly and David Treadwell kicked it wide to the left.Moon responded by taking Houston 80 yards with the help of a penalty on the Broncos that nullified an interception by free safety Steve Atwater.Moon completed three successive throws to wide receiver Curtis Duncan for 11, 3 and 6 yards, the last one giving Houston a 21-6 lead.Atwater's interception of a Moon pass at the Bronco 12, though, allowed Elway to move his team 88 yards for its second touchdown near the end of the half. He converted a third-down pass to Michael Young that put the ball at the Oilers' 34, then followed it with a 23-yarder to Ricky Nattiel.Finally, from the 1, running back Greg Lewis pushed his way across the goal line, and it was 21-13.
. Ouch!!
a game.
