Denver 7 7 0 7--21 Minnesota 0 10 7 0--17MINNEAPOLIS (Nov 24, 1996 - 19:06 EST) -- John Elway was screaming at the ball to hit the turf. Ed McCaffrey was scrambling to make a tackle. Not exactly the way a game-winning touchdown pass is supposed to go.
But that's how it went for the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
McCaffrey caught a 5-yard TD with 19 seconds left on a twice-deflected pass as Elway once again rallied the Broncos in the fourth quarter for a victory, this one 21-17 over the Minnesota Vikings.
"I've seen a Hail Mary, but this wasn't a Hail Mary," said defensive end Alfred Williams. "I guess it was a short version of the Hail Mary."
McCaffrey's miracle gave Denver (11-1) its eighth straight victory, matching the second-longest streak in franchise history. It also was the 34th time Elway has led the Broncos to a win in the fourth quarter.
Elway finished 27-for-36 for 334 yards, and he was 10-for-13 for 144 yards in the fourth quarter. Even though fantastic finishes are his forte, this one was like none of Elway's previous 33.
"The ball was in the air about 20 seconds, and I was just screaming at it go get on the ground," he said. "And all of a sudden this white jersey came out of nowhere, and it was Eddie McCaffrey and he got in the end zone."
Taking over at his 16 with 5:21 to play, Elway drove the Broncos to a third-and-2 at the Vikings 5. The drive included a 39-yard pass to Anthony Miller and a gutsy fourth-down pass to Aaron Craver that went for less than a yard, but still picked up a first down at the Minnesota 14.
On the deciding play, Elway was looking for Shannon Sharpe and forced a pass over the middle. Harlon Barnett batted it into the air. It looked like an easy interception -- and a huge victory for the Vikings -- until Barnett and Orlando Thomas tipped it into the air again.
McCaffrey never saw the second tip, but the ball fell into his arms at the 1 and he fell into the end zone to stun the Vikings (6-6) in a game they badly needed.
"I saw it go up and I just ran to the ball," McCaffrey said. "I was thinking I'd have to make a tackle. It seemed like it was up there for about 10 minutes."
The Vikings (6-6) got two touchdown passes from Brad Johnson, making consecutive starts for the first time in his career, and an outstanding defensive performance against the NFL's top-rated offense.
But it wasn't enough, leaving them on the brink of playoff elimination for the second straight season.
"We made the play, and then we didn't make the play," said Minnesota cornerback Dewayne Washington. "I saw Harlon tip it and then it was like everything was in slow motion. It's deflating."
Terrell Davis scored two TDs for the Broncos, but the NFL's leading rusher gained only 68 yards.
Fernando Smith had two sacks for the Vikings, who held the NFL's No. 1 rushing offense to 79 yards on the ground. Thomas made two big plays for the Vikings, stripping Sharpe and forcing a fumble after a 27-yard gain into Minnesota territory, and intercepting a pass while making a vicious hit on Sharpe, setting up a touchdown.
"Our guys feel terrible," said coach Dennis Green. "They wanted it bad. It was an opportunity for us to get seven wins, and it was an opportunity for us to win at home. We just didn't pull it out."
Trailing 14-10 at halftime, the Vikings didn't allow Denver to cross midfield in the third quarter and took a 17-14 lead with 23 seconds left in the period on Cris Carter's 53rd career TD catch with Minnesota, a team record.
Standing along the right sideline, Carter extended over the end line to make a finger-tip grab of Johnson's perfectly thrown 11-yard pass.
The Broncos missed a chance to tie with 7:51 left when Jason Elam was wide left on a 42-yard field goal attempt.
But Elway got one last chance, and he made it count.
"Elway's a master," Barnett said.
The Broncos remain in charge in the AFC, leading Kansas City by three games in the West and Buffalo (9-3) by two games in the race for home-field advantage in the playoffs. Pittsburgh also has a chance to go 9-3 with a win over Miami on Monday night.
Even though the Broncos now are one win away from matching the best record in franchise history, they're trying to avoid believing they are a team of destiny.
That's hard to do after wins like this one.
"Luck always helps," Elway said. "I would like to, in about seven more games, tell you this is a team of destiny."
Second Quarter
Min--FG Sisson 27, :39. Drive: 14 plays, 82 yards, 7:11. Key plays: Johnson 19 pass to Reed on 3rd-and-9; Johnson 15 pass to Reed on 3rd-and-10. Denver 7, Minnesota 3.
Min--Walsh 7 pass from Johnson (Sisson kick), 5:38. Drive: 6 plays, 20 yards, 3:25. Key plays: O.Thomas 34 interception return to Broncos 20; Johnson 9 pass to Carter on 3rd-and-8. Minnesota 10, Denver 7.
Den--T.Davis 1 pass from Elway (Elam kick), 14:07. Drive: 8 plays, 82 yards, 1:49. Key plays: Elway 21 pass to McCaffrey; 16-yard pass interference penalty on D.Washington; Elway 20 pass to Sharpe. Denver 14, Minnesota 10.
Third Quarter
Min--C.Carter 11 pass from Johnson (Sisson kick), 14:37. Drive: 7 plays, 61 yards, 3:29. Key plays: Johnson 18 pass to Graham; Johnson 21 pass to Frisch; Johnson 2 run on 3rd-and-1. Minnesota 17, Denver 14.
Fourth Quarter
Den--McCaffery 5 pass from Elway (Elam kick), 14:41. Drive: 11 plays, 84 yards, 5:02. Key plays: Elway 1 pass to Craver on 4th-and-1; Elway 39 pass to Miller; Davis 13 run on 3rd-and-1. Denver 21, Minnesota 17.
A--59,142. No-s
hows--4,851.
Denver 7 7 0 7--21
Minnesota 0 10 7 0--17
Den Min
FIRST DOWNS 22 20
Rushing 6 2
Passing 14 16
Penalty 2 2
THIRD DOWN EFF 5-12 9-16
FOURTH DOWN EFF 1-2 0-0
TOTAL NET YARDS 388 296
Total Plays 62 65
Avg Gain 6.3 4.6
NET YARDS RUSHING 79 50
Rushes 23 28
Avg per rush 3.4 1.8
NET YARDS PASSING 309 246
Sacked-Yds lost 3-25 2-20
Gross-Yds passing 334 266
Completed-Att. 27-36 24-35
Had Intercepted 1 2
Yards-Pass Play 7.9 6.6
KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB 4-0-0 4-2-0
PUNTS-Avg. 4-39.8 5-32.6
Punts blocked 0 0
FGs-PATs blocked 0-0 0-0
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE 120 105
Punts Returns 0-0 0-0
Kickoffs Returns 4-91 4-71
Interceptions 2-29 1-34
PENALTIES-Yds 5-50 2-18
FUMBLES-Lost 3-2 0-0
TIME OF POSSESSION 27:49 32:11
RUSHING--Denver, T. Davis 19-68, Elway 2-8, Craver 2-3. Minnesota, Graham 6-19, Evans 4-11, Hoard 13-10, Johnson 3-5, Lee 2-5.
PASSING--Denver, Elway 27-36-1-334. Minnesota, Johnson 24-35-2-266.
RECEIVING--Denver, McCaffrey 6-83, T. Davis 6-37, Miller 5-81, Craver 5-32, Sharpe 4-90, Carswell 1-11. Minnesota, Carter 8-74, Lee 4-55, Reed 3-62, Graham 2-23, DeLong 2-3, Frisch 1-21, Ismail 1-9, Evans 1-8, Walsh 1-7, Hoard 1-4.
PUNT RETURNS--Denver, None. Minnesota, None.
KICKOFF RETURNS--Denver, Hebron 4-91. Minnesota, Ismail 3-54, Morrow 1-17.
TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS--Denver, Atwater 10-2-0, Romanowski 6-4-0, Williams 6-3-2, Mobley 6-1-0, Braxton 4-3-0, Aldridge 2-5-0, James 5-0-0, Crockett 5-0-0, Perry 2-1-0, L.Washington 2-1-0, Cadrez 1-0-0, Lodish 1-0-0, Tanuvasa 1-0-0, Geathers 0-1-0, Diaz-Infante 1-0-0, Haucka 1-0-0, D.Johnson 1-0-0, Jones 1-0-0, D.Smith 0-1-0. Minnesota, Brady 8-2-0, O.Thomas 7-1-0, F.Smith 6-1-2, Talley 5-1-0, Garnett 4-2-0, Barnett 4-0-0, Hanks 3-1-0, D.Washington 3-0-0, Fisk 2-1-0, Jackson 2-1-0, Fuller 2-0-0, Harrison 2-0-1, Morrow 2-0-0, Bercich 1-0-0, Edwards 1-0-0, C.Johnson 1-1-0, DeLong 1-0-0, Lee 1-0-0, Walsh 1-0-0.
INTERCEPTIONS--Denver, Braxton 1-21, Mobley 1-8. Minnesota, O.Thomas 1-34.
MISSED FIELD GOALS--Denver, Elam 42 (WL).
OFFICIALS--Referee Dale Hamer, Ump Ed Fiffick, HL John Schleyer, LJ Ben Montgomery, BJ Tim Millis, SJ Rick Patterson, FJ Ken Baker.
Time: 2:57.
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