It's Monday Night Football…on Friday! This was a rare treat brought to us by the NFL and ABC in the mid-80s where they would play on Friday night in Week 16. It’s an early kickoff - 5:00 on the west coast - so it’s a late arriving crowd.
This is the second of three consecutive seasons of the Broncos and Seahawks concluding their regular seasons with a non-Sunday game in the Kingdome. This time around, only the Broncos have something at stake. The Jets and Patriots both lost in week 15, so the Broncos can clinch a playoff spot with a win and either a Jets or Patriots loss on Sunday. The Seahawks’ record stands at 8-7 so there will be no playoffs for them, although they do have a chance at the rare 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2 feat. Their entire season has alternated two wins and two losses. If the pattern follows, the Seahawks will lose this game.
Frank Gifford, working his 300th broadcast on ABC, declares, “The Kingdome. It's a beauty!” The camera pans the interior of the stadium which even by 80s standards was a bit of an eyesore. Perhaps realizing what he just said he follows it with, “Not a whole lot of cosmetics…”
Steve Largent goes over 10,000 career receiving yards on the first Seahawks possession. On the next play, Dave Krieg goes deep for Daryl Turner for a 41-yard touchdown. However, it will be Turner's last catch of the game and season. He has 23 touchdowns in 69 career receptions.
It’s five days before Christmas so they are saying Happy Holidays a lot. We get a shot of Santa. Apparently the northwest was in the midst of an epic fog storm which made visibility extremely poor and travel nearly impossible for several days. They talk extensively throughout the first half of the difficulty the crew had in just getting to Seattle for the game because very few flights were getting into or out of Seattle.
ABC is providing generous holiday helpings of the Seattle cheerleaders - aka "The Seagals" - whenever there is a lull in the on-field action. I love any cheerleader group that uses a pun for their name - see also the Buffalo Jills. The Seagals are basically wearing one-piece swimsuits with big sleeves.
One of many sideline shots provided by ABC |
The Broncos finally get something going with just over six minutes remaining when Elway connects with Clint Sampson for a 46-yard gain. Two plays later he has Mike Barber open for the touchdown, but Barber trips on a seam in the Kingdom rug. But on 3rd and 10, and Elway hits Steve Watson for the touchdown.
In addition to the Seagals, there is also a band on the sidelines. Not like a rock band, but a band with chairs and music stands and brass instruments. I'm not sure if they were a regular fixture at Seahawks games or if this was a special occasion. Anyways, it was something fun you could do in the 80s with all the extra space afforded by these multipurpose stadiums.
The Seagals accompanied by a band |
The Broncos get the ball back with under two minutes left and it really seems like they want to provide the audience with a chance to get a jump on halftime. After a sack and a penalty, they have a 3rd and 18. But Elway completes a pass downfield to Clint Sampson, who bounces off the tackler for a few extra yards. Suddenly, the Broncos have the ball at the Seattle 32 with 36 seconds left. Passes to Steve Sewell and Butch Johnson get them inside the 10, and Rich "Carlos" comes on to kick a field goal and make the score 17-10.
Clint Sampson breaks free for extra yards |
The recording of the game doesn't provide the in-depth look at the knee that ABC was promising at halftime. Not sure how deep they were going to be able to get in 15 minutes.
The Seahawks get the ball first in the second half but have to punt it. The Broncos really seem to want to end their streak of scoreless third quarters and get a little frisky with their play calls. Elway completes a pass to Mark Cooper, the offensive lineman, that gets them to the Seattle 38. The drive stalls and Chris Norman comes out to punt. However, instead of kicking, Norman winds up and throws deep to Ricky Hunley, who can't come down with it.
On their next possession, they get to the Seattle 35 and face a 4th and 8. They again eschew the punt and Elway passes to Gerald Willhite, who picks up 16 yards. He's having a good game with 3 catches for 45 yards.
However, the third quarter ends with the Broncos again failing to score. The last time the Broncos scored in the third quarter was in their first game with Seattle on October 20. The last time they scored a touchdown in the third quarter was October 6 against the Oilers.
Willhite winds up with the touchdown after they switch ends of the field, and the game is tied at 17.
Mike Harden intercepts Krieg on the second play of the ensuing drive. The Broncos are poised to take their first lead of the game, but Rich Karlis is wide left on a 34-yard field goal attempt and the score remains tied.
The Seahawks put together their first drive of any substance since the second quarter, and a 38-yard run by Curt Warner gets them to the Denver 3. There is much discussion about the knee injury that cost him the 1984 season. The Seahawks aren’t so worried about the knee and hand the ball to him on the next four plays. He finally gets in by leaping over the top on fourth and goal from the Denver 1. With 5:20 left, the Seahawks have regained a 7-point lead. Is the Broncos season near an end?
However, the Broncos respond. Elway spins away from a sack and Steve Watson drifts behind the defense. Elway fires a pass that travels 60 yards in the air to Steve Watson, who hauls it in at the Seattle 5. The throw clinches Elway's first career 400-yard game. Winder carries the ball to the 2 and Willhite takes it to the 1. Sewell is stopped shy of the goal line and the Broncos now face their own fourth-and-goal. They go for it, with Sewell scoring. The extra point ties it at 24 with 2:35 left.
The Seahawks go three and out before the 2 minute warning. The win probability has shifted to Denver.
The Broncos start on the Seattle 40 following the punt. Elway dumps it to Sewell who takes it for a 27-yard gain. However, Jeff Bryant dived and hit Elway below the knee on the play. He gets up hobbling. Didn't Bryant watch the halftime show about the knee?
Gary Kubiak comes on in relief and runs three plays, getting them close enough for a 43-yard Karlis field goal with 55 seconds left. Elway is out on the field to offer congratulations so it's apparently not that serious.
Elway and Kubiak teamed up for winning drive |
The game is not over. The Seahawks still have a shot. They get it across midfield and have a 1st and 10 with 21 seconds left. On 3rd and 10 they get it to the 35 and Norm Johnson comes out for a 52-yard attempt. If he kicks it through, these two teams are headed to their second overtime game of the season. But he hits the upright. Broncos win, 27-24. Battling back from 17 points down on the road to get the win? Denver, are you kidding me?
Elway was known for having a knack for the late comeback with 44 career regular season fourth-quarter comebacks or game winning drives. This marks his 7th such game of the 1985 season. He had no more than 4 in any other season throughout his career.
Near the two minute warning, Frank described scenario that I didn’t fully understand even after listening carefully a few more times. It seems like he’s saying that if Denver and the three AFC East teams all end up at 11-5 then it is going to come down to margin of victory and potentially the Dolphins could lose out on not only their division but a wildcard. But if Miami is out of a wildcard, then who gets it? It would have to be Denver. But they’ve been feeding us the line that only a Jets or a Patriots loss will be good enough to get the Broncos the wildcard.
Since I didn’t understand, I decided to research the entire scenario, which is what totally normal people do. Here’s what I think Frank was suggesting.
If the Jets and Patriots win on Sunday and the Dolphins lose, all four teams will finish 11-5.
In that scenario, the Jets are the AFC East champions by virtue of the third tiebreaker because they have a 9-3 conference record and the Patriots and Dolphins would each be 8-4.
So the next thing would be to apply tiebreakers to determine who among Miami, New England, and Denver gets the wildcard spots.
The first tiebreaker does not apply because Denver and New England didn’t play each other so there was no head-to-head sweep among the three teams. This would mean the Broncos’ loss to the Dolphins is basically “thrown out” of the tiebreaker.
The second tiebreaker is conference record and all three teams would be 8-4.
The third tiebreaker does not apply because the only common opponent among the three teams is the Colts, and there must be at least four common opponents.
So we’re at the fourth tiebreaker, which is plus or minus points in conference games. Denver finished +27 for the season. The Patriots are +33 so in this scenario the Broncos couldn’t pass them. Miami has a pretty wide margin in this category at +63, but this provides the one more avenue for the Broncos to reach the playoffs should the Jets and Patriots both win. If the Dolphins lose their final game by 37 or more points, the Broncos are in. The one problem is that the Dolphins are playing the Buffalo Bills, who are 2-13 on the season. But anything is possible, right?