The Drive was an offensive series in the fourth quarter of the 1986

AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

played on January 11, 1987, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium between the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

. Broncos quarterback

John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Elway played college fo ...

, in a span of 5 minutes and 2 seconds, led his team 98 yards in 15 plays to tie the game with 37 seconds left in regulation. Denver won the game in overtime by making a 33-yard field goal, pulling off a 23–20 win over the Cleveland Browns. The 98-yard drive ranks as pro football's prototypical clutch performance. Elway and his team spanned almost all of the 100-yard football field. According to an article by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'' columnist and Colorado resident

Rick Reilly Richard Paul Reilly (born February 3, 1958) is an American sportswriter. Long known for being the "back page" columnist for ''Sports Illustrated'', Reilly moved to ESPN on June 1, 2008, where he was a featured columnist for ESPN.com and wrote t ...

, when Elway started the drive, Broncos

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that ...

Keith Bishop said of the Browns, "We got 'em right where we want 'em!" Cleveland could not force a fourth down against Denver.

Play-by-play

The Browns had jumped to a 20–13 lead and Denver had muffed the ensuing kickoff when Elway took over, first-and-10 on their own 2-yard line, with 5:32 to play in regulation. #First down and 10, Denver 2-yard line. Sammy Winder 5-yard pass from Elway. #Second down and 5, Denver 7-yard line. Winder 3-yard run. #Third down and 2, Denver 10-yard line. Winder 2-yard run. #First down and 10, Denver 12-yard line. Winder 3-yard run. #Second down and 7, Denver 15-yard line. Elway 11-yard run. #First down and 10, Denver 26-yard line. Steve Sewell 22-yard pass from Elway. #First down and 10, Denver 48-yard line.

Steve Watson Steven Craig Watson (born 1 April 1974) is an English football manager and former professional player. He was formerly the manager of club Chester. As a player, he was a right-back or midfielder. He played in the Premier League and Football ...

12-yard pass from Elway. Two-minute warning #

First down and 10, Cleveland 40-yard line (1:59 left). Incomplete pass by Elway, intended for

Vance Johnson Vance Edward Johnson (born March 13, 1963), is a former professional American football player who was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft. Playing career A 5'11", 174 lb. wide receiver, Johnson played ...

#Second down and 10, Cleveland 40-yard line (1:52 left).

Dave Puzzuoli Phillip David Puzzuoli (born January 12, 1961) is a former American football nose tackle in the National Football League. He played football at Stamford Catholic High School, graduating in 1979. He was selected in the sixth round (149th ov ...

sack of Elway, 8-yard loss. #Third down and 18, Cleveland 48-yard line (1:47 left).

Mark Jackson Mark A. Jackson (born April 1, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player. A point guard from St. John's University, he played for the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah ...

20-yard pass from Elway. #First down and 10, Cleveland 28-yard line (1:19 left). Incomplete pass by Elway, intended for Watson. #Second down and 10, Cleveland 28-yard line (1:10 left). Steve Sewell 14-yard pass from Elway. #First down and 10, Cleveland 14-yard line (:57 left). Incomplete pass by Elway, intended for Watson. #Second down and 10, Cleveland 14-yard line (:42 left). John Elway 9-yard run (scramble). #Third down and 1, Cleveland 5-yard line (:39 left). Mark Jackson 5-yard pass from Elway for the touchdown.

Rich Karlis Richard John Karlis (born May 23, 1959) is a former American football placekicker who played nine seasons for the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions in the National Football League from 1982 to 1990. He played college football a ...

then adds the extra point to tie the game.

Game summary

Officials

*Referee:

Chuck Heberling Charles Heberling (April 28, 1925 – December 9, 2019) was an American football official in the National Football League and Western Pennsylvania sports administrator. He was the referee for both the Hail Mary Game and The Drive. He was an a ...

(46) *Umpire: Gordon Wells (89) *Head Linesman:

Ed Marion Ed Marion (1927, Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 ce ...

(26) *Line Judge: Bill Reynolds (53) *Side Judge: Gary Lane (120) *Back Judge: Ben Tompkins (52) *Field Judge:

Johnny Grier Johnny Grier (April 16, 1947 – March 8, 2022) was an American football official for 23 years in the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 2004. He began in the NFL as a field judge before becoming the first African-American referee in th ...

(23)

In popular culture

The Drive was featured in the movie ''

Hot Tub Time Machine ''Hot Tub Time Machine'' is a 2010 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Steve Pink and starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Crispin Glover, Lizzy Caplan, and Chevy Chase. The film was released on Mar ...

'', but due to the butterfly effect, Jackson was distracted by a squirrel and failed to catch a pass and Cleveland went on to win. It was inaccurately portrayed as being in 1986 (the game was played on January 11, 1987, though it was at the end of the

1986 NFL season The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. Defending Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears shared the league’s best record with the Giants at 14–2, with the Giants claiming the spot in the NFC by tiebreaker ...

). The movie implied that it was played at night; however, when Karlis kicked the winning field goal in OT, it was still daytime in Cleveland (the AFC title game was the early conference championship game that year, as the NFC title game between the New York Giants and Washington Redskins took place later and saw nearly the entire game played after the sun had set).

References

External links