Videos: Five Broncos playoffs defeats more vomit-inducing than loss to Ravens

By Michael Roberts Mon., Jan. 14 2013 at 7:12 AM

Number 4: NFL playoffs, January 4, 1997 -- Jacksonville Jaguars 30, Broncos 27

This is the moment in the Broncos' past most like the one all of us suffered through this past weekend. Denver had been on a steady rise since the hiring of Mike Shanahan as head coach largely due to the emergence of Terrell Davis, a relatively unheralded running back from Georgia who gave the offense a thrilling new dimension. In 1996, the combination of T.D. and veteran John Elway resulted in a 13-3 record and the top seed in the playoffs (sound familiar?). Better yet, the Broncos' first playoff game was against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a young, untested franchise (season record: 9-7) that seemed certain to be nothing more than a speed bump over which they'd fly.

Didn't turn out that way. After jumping to a 12-0 lead, Denver allowed the Jags thirteen consecutive points and went into halftime trailing. Then, the Broncos stunk it up during the third quarter, putting up a goose egg in comparison with another ten Jacksonville points. A comeback attempt followed, but it fell short: The Jaguars won by three.

This excruciating and unforgivable failure fueled the Broncos' hunger for redemption -- and they won the next two Super Bowls. This memory is the slender reed to which many longtime fans are currently clinging.

Continue counting down the five Broncos playoffs defeats more vomit-inducing than the loss to the Ravens.

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Emily Rose Adams

I was at this game and it was by far the worst! Next would be AFC Championship when Plummet threw 4 interceptions in ONE game against the Stealers at HOME! Grrrr! This game was sabotaged entirely by terrible officiating! Hands down the worst!!!!

Juan_Leg topcommenter

Didn't a reader mention something about Manning's inability to play in the cold ? We should've listened to that sporting genius ! He KNEW what he was writing about & gave WW readers FREE, valuable, gambling information . Did ANYONE listen ?....

teknoscribe

Ah, those Bronco games in the late 80s ... some of us can remember the snow reports, and the powder days that happened to coincide with the Donkeys tanking' it. One year, I think it must been the '88 game, Breck had more than two feet that day, and everybody stayed in to watch a game that started at 5 PM. I hit the sickest tree lines on the north face of Peak 9 that day. Stuff you can only do if there's a ton of snow. A quick cross-reference of the snow reports from those three days tells a fun story ... and explains why we used to pray for the Broncos to win, then lose.

michael.roberts moderator editortopcommenter

@teknoscribe Your post brought back a lot of memories, teknoscribe. Thanks.

Grambling

Hahahaha, right, the Broncos "laid down" for the Redskins. Sanders and Clark burned your DBs in that record-setting quarter because they were better, faster, more talented, and smarter. And the counter trey was only the most well known and publicized running play since Lombardi's sweep. You knew it was coming, but just couldn't stop it, making rookie Timmy Smith a Super Bowl record-setter. Laid down, hahahaha, good one! Outplayed, plain and simple.

Cognitive_Dissident topcommenter

SCOREBOARD. I called it.

Richard Sebastian

Being a hard core Broncos fan of age 28, ravens loss!

John Tenorio

Has to be this one... even worse than the Jacksonville loss..

Bernadette Trujillo

Ot this last game

Juan_Leg topcommenter

That was the 2nd worst, ( non-Super Bowl ), postseason loss in franchise history PERIOD, behind ONLY Michael Dean Perry NOT getting his ASS off the field against the Jags !

I will NOT argue the NFL w/ ANYONE from a 'Cultural' publication ! It's absolutely pointless !