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The Drive (American football)

Iconic event in NFL history

Summary

Iconic event in NFL history

FieldValue
title1986 AFC Championship Game
image[[File:Cleveland Municipal Stadium last game played in the stadium December 17, 1995.jpg290px]]
captionCleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, the site of the game.
visitorDenver Broncos
visitor_abbrDEN
visitor_record11–5
visitor_coachDan Reeves
visitor_place2
homeCleveland Browns
home_record12–4
home_abbrCLE
home_coachMarty Schottenheimer
home_place1
visitor_qtr10
visitor_qtr210
visitor_qtr33
visitor_qtr47
visitor_qtr53
home_qtr17
home_qtr23
home_qtr30
home_qtr410
home_qtr50
dateJanuary 11, 1987
stadiumCleveland Municipal Stadium
cityCleveland, Ohio
oddsBrowns by 3
refereeChuck Heberling
HOFersBroncos: Pat Bowlen (owner), John Elway
Browns: Ozzie Newsome
networkNBC
announcersDick Enberg, Merlin Olsen, and Bob Griese
last

Browns: Ozzie Newsome The Drive was an offensive series in the fourth quarter of the 1986 AFC Championship Game played on January 11, 1987, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium between the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns. Broncos quarterback John Elway, 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 comeback win over the Browns. The Broncos then advanced to Super Bowl XXI, where they lost to the New York Giants, 39–20.

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 columnist and Colorado resident Rick Reilly, when Elway started the drive, Broncos offensive guard Keith Bishop said of the Browns, "We got 'em right where we want 'em!" Cleveland could not force a fourth down against Denver.

The Drive is commonly seen as emblematic of the Cleveland Sports Curse, and of the Browns' inability to reach the Super Bowl since its inauguration in the 1966 season (as of 2025, the Browns' last NFL Championship came in the 1964 season, prior to the Super Bowl era.) It is often mentioned in tandem with The Fumble, which occurred in the following year's AFC Championship Game, also against the Denver Broncos, and again featured the Browns falling just short of appearing in their first Super Bowl.

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.

  1. First down and 10, Denver 2-yard line. Sammy Winder 5-yard pass from Elway.
  2. Second down and 5, Denver 7-yard line. Winder 3-yard run.
  3. Third down and 2, Denver 10-yard line. Winder 2-yard run.
  4. First down and 10, Denver 12-yard line. Winder 3-yard run.
  5. Second down and 7, Denver 15-yard line. Elway 11-yard run.
  6. First down and 10, Denver 26-yard line. Steve Sewell 22-yard pass from Elway.
  7. First down and 10, Denver 48-yard line. Steve Watson 12-yard pass from Elway.
  8. Two-minute warning
  9. First down and 10, Cleveland 40-yard line (1:59 left). Incomplete pass by Elway, intended for Vance Johnson.
  10. Second down and 10, Cleveland 40-yard line (1:52 left). Dave Puzzuoli sack of Elway, 8-yard loss.
  11. Third down and 18, Cleveland 48-yard line (1:47 left). Mark Jackson 20-yard pass from Elway.
  12. First down and 10, Cleveland 28-yard line (1:19 left). Incomplete pass by Elway, intended for Watson.
  13. Second down and 10, Cleveland 28-yard line (1:10 left). Steve Sewell 14-yard pass from Elway.
  14. First down and 10, Cleveland 14-yard line (:57 left). Incomplete pass by Elway, intended for Watson.
  15. Second down and 10, Cleveland 14-yard line (:42 left). John Elway 9-yard run (scramble).
  16. Third down and 1, Cleveland 5-yard line (:39 left). Mark Jackson 5-yard pass from Elway for the touchdown. Rich Karlis then adds the extra point to tie the game.

Game summary

  • Scoring
    • CLE – Fontenot 6 pass from Kosar (Moseley kick) CLE 7–0
    • DEN – field goal Karlis 19 CLE 7–3
    • DEN – Willhite 1 run (Karlis kick) DEN 10–7
    • CLE – FG Moseley 29 tie, 10–10
    • DEN – FG Karlis 26 DEN 13–10
    • CLE – FG Moseley 24 tie, 13–13
    • CLE – Brennan 48 pass from Kosar (Moseley kick) CLE 20–13
    • DEN – M. Jackson 5 pass from Elway (Karlis kick) tie, 20–20
    • DEN – FG Karlis 33 DEN 23–20

Officials

  • Referee: Chuck Heberling (46)
  • Umpire: Gordon Wells (89)
  • Head linesman: Ed Marion (26)
  • Line judge: Bill Reynolds (53)
  • Back judge: Ben Tompkins (52)
  • Side judge: Gary Lane (120)
  • Field judge: Johnny Grier (23)

References

References

  1. "AFC Championship - Denver Broncos at Cleveland Browns - January 11th, 1987".
  2. https://www.espn.com/classic/s/add_elway_john.html
  3. https://www.profootballhof.com/news/2005/01/news-the-drive/
  4. "The Drive".
  5. (June 2017). "The Greatest 98-Yard Drive in NFL History - YouTube".
  6. "John Elway's "Drive" Never Happened?".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1986-nfl-season afc-championship-games cleveland-browns-postseason denver-broncos-postseason january-1987-sports-events-in-the-united-states 1987-in-sports-in-ohio 1980s-in-cleveland nicknamed-sporting-events
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