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Show -- Ill~ NAT'L SPORTS . TRI tJNIVEllSlTY JOURNAL• S0t11'HE1lN UTAH ONJVDS1TY • MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 1998 ,.., ·., . f. ~-'. . ... •. . I Broncos upset Packers to bring AFC the title By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Brett Favre said if he had to lose a Super Bowl, what better guy to fall to than John Elway? Favre, the league's three-time MVP, outplayed his counterpart with the Denver Broncos yesterday, but the heavily favored Green Bay Packers lost 31-24, giving Elway the first Super Bowl ring of his distinguished career. Favre completed 25 of 42 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns, while Elway was an ordinary 12-of22 for 123 yards and no TDs. Both threw an interception. The Packers got the ball with 1:39 left after Denver broke a 24-24 tie on Terrell Davis' third TD run, and Favre drove Grel:!n Bay from its 30 to the Denver 31. But on fourth-and-6 with 32 seconds remaining, Favre's pass for tight end Mark Chmura wa·s broken up by linebacker John Mobley and the Packers' reign as champs was over - as was El way's drought. The Packers, 3-0 in previous Super Bowls, including last year's, were two-touchdown favorites. But they put themselves into a 17-7 hole early in the first half when they failed to pick up blitzes, and Favre turned the ball over, leading to 10 Denver points. After their efficient opening touchdown drive that included five plays of at least 11 yards, the Packers netted just 17 yards on their next three possessions, two of which ended in turnovers. An interception by Tyrone Braxton and fumble recovery by Neil Smith led to 10 Denver points and put the Packers behind 17-7 before they drove 95 yards in 17 plays to cut it to 17-14 at halftime on Chmura's touchdown catch. The 95-yard drive was a yard short of the longest in Super Bowl history. The Packers tied it at 17 and again at 24 in the second half, but they failed to do anything when they got the ball with 5:25 left at their own 11. They had to punt without getting a first down with 3 1/2 minutes left. Green Bay's tired defense couldn't stop the Broncos from going 49 yards for the winning score, with l :45 remai ning. Sure, he had help. He got it from MVP Terrell Davis, who gained 157 yards in 30 carries and scored on three I-yard runs, including the winner with 1:45 left in the game. And he got it from the defending champion Packers, who committed three critical penalties late in the game. They included a holding call and a false start on rookie left tackle Ross Verba that bottled Green Bay deep, and a face mask on Darius Holland that gave the Broncos 15 key yards on their game-winning 49-yard drive. Elway, the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, ahead by more than a touchdown late in the third quarter. But otherwise, it was two heavyweights going punch for punch - Favre threw for three TDs, two to Antonio Freeman, and Davis ran for three. Each team scored a touchdown on its first possession, the first time that's ever happened in a Super Bowl. For Elway, who was carried off the field by his teammates as the game ended, this was vindication in perhaps his last shot at a title. It also kept Denver from becoming the first team ever to lose five - it lost one in 1978 - before Elway arrived. The win meant vindication for the AFC, which hadn't won since the Raiders, then in Los Angeles, beat Washington 38-9 in 1984, Elway's first season. And finally, it was the first win for the quarterback class of 1983 that included Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. " For all the Broncos fans who never had this feeling, we finally got it done," Elway said. "You wonder if you're going to win or if you're going to run out of years." The Broncos, who became the second wild-card team to win the Super Bowl, must have wondered if they could hold on after an ominous start to the third quarter. Davis, who missed most of the second quarter with a migraine headache, fumbled on his first carry of the l1 second half, and Brian Williams recovered at the ~Denver 26. o That led to Ryan Longwell's 27-yard field goal that ~ tied it at 17. An offside penalty on a successful 39-yard 8 kick had given the Packers a second chance at a TD, ~ but they couldn't take advantage. ~ Then tame a bizarre sequence. Freeman fumbled the ... kickoff and Denver's Tim McKyer recovered at the Denver Broncos' Terrell Davis, Superbowl MVP, gains Green Bay 22. But on the next play, El way's pass into yardage after eluding Green Bay Packers linebacker the end zone was intercepted by Eugene Robinson and Brian Williams to set up the Broncos first touchdown returned to his own 15. during th e first quarter of Super Bowl XXXIJ yesterday. The Packers then tied it two minutes later on Favre's 13-yard pass to Freeman at the end of another long drive - 85 yards on four plays, helped by a 25-yard did a few things right, too. He scrambled 8 yards to set pass interference call on Gordon. up a touchdown, and scored on a 1-yard run - a lot " They disrespected us all week," Denver tight end like the young Elway. If this wasn't the best Super Bowl ever, it was close to Shannon Sharpe said. "Everybody direspected us. They never faced a running game like ours. They never faced it, despite a lot of sloppiness - 15 penalties and five a quarterback like ours. They never faced a coach who turnovers by the two teams. Elway's mistake came at puts in a game plan like Mike Shanahan." the Green Bay 22 when the Broncos had a chance to go Jazz hand Bulls a loss on the road By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Last June, the Utah Jazz walked off the United Center court with their heads bowed and shoulders slumped as the Chicago Bulls celebrated another NBA ' title. Yeasterday, the Jazz had reason to do some celebrating of their own, avenging that loss and handing Chicago only its second home defeat this season. Utah players, however, saw no reason to get excited. "We're grateful for the victory but does that mean that when you come in here for the playoffs you're going to win? No," John Stockton said after the Jazz defeated the Bulls 101-94. "This game doesn't mean anything in the big picture." It meant something to Michael Jordan. "I hate to lose," said Jordan, whose 32 points weren't enough to ~ extend the Bulls' 17 -game home winning streak. .,,. "Right now, it sticks with me because we don't want ~ teams to come in here and gain confidence. ~ "They feel confident now that they've got one up on g us. If we have to face this team, at least they've had an < experience where they've won here and that can hurt ~ us in the long run." Karl Malone scored 35 points for the Jazz. Howard Utah fazz 's Karl Malone and teammate Greg Ostertag Eisley and Bryon Russell provided a big lift off the block the shot of Michael fordan (23) yesterday. bench for the Jazz, who reached the midpoint of the season at 28-13 - the same record they had last season when they won 64 games and earned their first berth in the finals. "We played well, but it had nothing to do with last year," said Malone, who missed several important free throws in the finals but was l l-for-12 Sunday. "They won the championship. It was a nice win for us because they're a great team." The Bulls 130-13) didn't sustain their 13th loss last season until the final game. Chicago now is 21-2 at the United Center, matching its home loss total for each of the past two seasons. The loss cost Phil Jackson the opportunity to coach the Eastern Conference in next month's All-Star game. Although the Bulls are a half game ahead of Indiana, the Pacers have a . 700 winning percentage to Chicago's .698, so Larry Bird will have the honor. "I'm happy about not going to the All-Star game. I don't like to go to those things," Jackson said. With Malone and Stockton resting on the bench, the Jazz opened the fourth quarter with a 15-6 run to take a 92-79 lead with 5:55 to play. Russell had all seven of his points and Eisley six of his 14 during the surge. The Bulls rallied to 98-94 on Toni Kukoc's 3-pointer with 55.3 seconds left but the Jazz got a break when the 24-second clock was reset even though Stockton failed to hit the rim on a shot with 36 seconds left. Utah kept the ball and clinched the game with a free throw by Stockton and two by Malone. |