Rewatch: Broncos at Falcons 9/22/85

This is a game that I probably didn’t get to see back when it was originally broadcast. At the time, we received our television signal from Northern New Mexico via aerial antenna, so the stations were all out of Albuquerque. We usually got the Broncos games, especially if they were in the 2 PM slot. But Albuquerque was truly Dallas Cowboys territory, so on occasion we were deprived of the Broncos game if there was a conflict. At the time, NBC had rights to inter-conference games in which the AFC team was the visitor. On this week it so happened that both the Broncos and Cowboys were slated to play in the early slate of games. And since in both cases NBC had the broadcast (the Cowboys were hosting the AFC Browns), the Broncos game took a back seat in New Mexico.

This game was called by Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy. Sometimes Criqui just calls him Trump. Not sure how that would go over today.

Broncos take the lead when rookie Vance Johnson hauls in a short pass from Elway and then takes the pass 63 yards for a touchdown.

Even though they got the big play, Elway seems a little off his game and is intercepted twice in the early going. The Falcons return the second one for a touchdown to tie the score.

The game is tied at 14 when Elway finds Watson for a 40-yard gain to the Atlanta 1, and Sammy Winder scores to put the Broncos back in front. Falcons QB Steve Bartkowski attempts to execute a two-minute offense, but under pressure is intercepted by Louis Wright, and the Broncos take their lead into halftime. 

This turns out to be the Broncos’ last appearance at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, which is an interesting venue for football. This being a September game, a good portion of the playing surface is dirt due to their shared arrangement with the Atlanta Braves. Multi-purpose stadiums are now a thing of the past, but were fairly commonplace in the 1980s - nearly half of NFL teams shared their stadium with a baseball club, including the Broncos.

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium

The football setup in Atlanta is clearly not ideal. As seen in the picture above, the near sideline runs from third base to first base, so if you're sitting behind the dugouts or home plate you are a long ways from the football action. In other multi-purpose setups the sideline typically runs parallel to one of the baselines. The far sideline is not quite as bad although a little irregular. Seats near the goal lines are closer than those on the 50-yard line.

Even though their stadium is half-empty, the Falcons have not given up the fight. On the first play from scrimmage in third quarter, Bartkowski goes deep to Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, who has beaten Mike Harden. White Shoes hauls it in for a 62 yard touchdown. He breaks out his wobbly-kneed funky chicken dance and gets flagged for taunting although it is pretty benign by today’s standards. 

The Broncos retake the lead on a couple of Rich Karlis field goals, but a short punt by Chris Norman puts the Falcons back in business with primo field position at the Denver 40. Moments later, Bartkowski finds White Shoes for another touchdown and there is another end zone dance and another flag. The Broncos defeated two 1970s Houston Oilers legends the prior week, but can they defeat a third?

The Falcons take a 28-27 lead on the extra point, and with 15 minutes and 7 seconds remaining, it is still anyone’s game. 

However, things quickly swing back in Denver’s favor. Elway goes deep for Clint Sampson and pass interference is called at the Atlanta 30. On top of that, the Falcons are flagged an additional 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. The 57 yards of combined penalties set the Broncos up on the Atlanta 15, and they score moments later on a 2-yard run by Gene Lang to retake the lead.

The Falcons start moving the ball again and cross midfield. They have a 3rd and 4 from the Denver 42 and Bartkowski throws deep but Wright has good coverage. So it’s 4th and 4 with about 10 minutes still left in the game. It would seem to make sense to punt it in this situation and pin the Broncos back in their own end. Maybe they force a turnover or get a defensive stop and get the ball back. There is still plenty of time on the clock and they are only down six points. 

But for some reason the Falcons decide to go for it on fourth down. Maybe they had no faith in the defense and figured the only shot they had at winning this game was to simply outscore the Broncos. Bartkowski hits White Shoes on a short pass over the middle but Steve Foley brings him down about two feet shy of a first down. 

The Broncos take over at their own 38 and almost immediately wind up in 3rd & long and it looks like the strategy might pay off for the Falcons. They blitz, but Elway gets it off to Vance Johnson, who makes a nifty grab on the sideline just past the first-down marker and gets his feet down in bounds. The second nice play of the day for Vance and it appears the kid has a future in orange. The Broncos wind up with a field goal and go up 37-28.

The Falcons take one more shot. Bartkowski completes a deep pass to Stacey Bailey but the ball is knocked loose by Tony Lilly and recovered by Harden. The Broncos run some time off the clock and then Elway goes for the kill shot, finding Butch Johnson for the 31-yard game-clinching touchdown. It was Elway’s third TD pass of the game and his ninth of the season. The Broncos wind up with eight scoring drives in the game and the 44 points is the highest single-game output thus far in Elway’s young career.  

The Broncos improve to 2-1 on the season, putting them in a four-way tie atop the AFC West.