Following four straight seasons of not rising above .500,
the Los Angeles Raiders had gotten off to a 6-1 start in 1990. However, Head
Coach Art Shell’s team had then lost three of four prior to facing the Denver
Broncos on December 2. Sixth-year QB Jay Schroeder was showing great
improvement under the guidance of assistant coach Mike White and the offense
featured an outstanding running attack. Due to the contractual arrangement that
allowed him to join the Raiders after the major league baseball season was
completed, RB Bo Jackson (pictured above) had been increasing his workload as he split time with
veteran RB Marcus Allen in the five previous games.
The Denver Broncos, under Head Coach Dan Reeves, were at
just 3-8 a year after winning the AFC title and being decimated by the 49ers in
the Super Bowl. 30-year-old QB John Elway was the key to the offense and had a
talented group of receivers for his passes. Second-year RB Bobby Humphrey was
highly productive. But the defense was prone to giving up too many points,
particularly in the second half of games.
It was a sunny and bitterly cold day at Mile High Stadium
with wind chills in the teens. The Broncos had first possession and drove 45
yards in eight plays with Humphey running for 38 yards and David Treadwell
kicking a 45-yard field goal. Los Angeles responded with a long 13-play drive
that covered 73 yards and used up over nine minutes. Marcus Allen handled the
running and Jay Schroeder completed four passes to WR Willie Gault, the longest
two of which covered 22 and 19 yards. Schroeder finished off the series with a
four-yard TD pass to RB Steve Smith and, with Jeff Jaeger’s successful extra
point, the Raiders were ahead by 7-3.
Heading into the second quarter, the teams traded punts.
Taking over at their own four yard line, the Broncos put together a long drive
of their own. Along the way Elway threw to WR Mike Young for 14 yards on a
third-and-five play and ran 19 yards for a first down in a third-and-15
situation. Denver took 12 plays to go 96 yards and regained the lead when Elway
completed a 21-yard scoring pass to WR Vance Johnson. It was 10-7 at the half.
The Raiders had the ball first in the third quarter and
punted, but they regained possession two plays later when CB Terry McDaniel
intercepted a poorly-thrown Elway pass and returned it to the Denver 28.
Schroeder threw to Gault for 17 yards and Bo Jackson, who had carried just
twice at the end of the first half, ran for an 11-yard TD. LA was back in front
by 14-10.
Once again the Broncos put together a long series that
extended into the fourth quarter. And again Elway made big plays on third down,
most notably hitting WR Ricky Nattiel for a 19-yard gain on third-and-12. But
after getting a first down at the LA 9, Denver had to settle for a 21-yard
field goal by Treadwell to complete the 17-play, 73-yard drive and make it a
one-point contest.
The clubs traded punts with the Raiders taking over at
their 38 yard line and striking quickly as Jackson took off down the left side
for a 62-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt was blocked afterward – an
occurrence that would factor into the game’s outcome. But it seemed inconsequential when a
three-and-out series by the Broncos led to a methodical scoring possession by
Los Angeles and Jaeger booted a 46-yard field goal to extend the margin to ten
points with 4:18 left on the clock.
Operating exclusively out of the shotgun, Elway and the
Broncos came out throwing. Young caught four passes, including the last one of
the series for an eight-yard TD. The successful PAT made it a three-point
contest and Denver had one more shot after a short LA series and punt. Taking
over at their 40, the Broncos got a break when a catch originally ruled out of
bounds was overturned on review and became a 27-yard Elway completion to
Johnson. Advancing to the Los Angeles 24, it seemed as though the contest was
about to go into overtime. But with ten seconds on the clock, the snap was high
for Treadwell’s 41-yard field goal try
and the kick was deflected. The Raiders won by a score of 23-20.
The Broncos had more total yards (357 to 293) and first
downs (20 to 17). They also surrendered the only turnover of the game – which
led to Denver points – and were more heavily penalized (8 for 54 yards to LA
being flagged four times at a cost of 30 yards).
Bo Jackson, despite not appearing until late in the
second quarter and splitting time with Marcus Allen, rushed for 117 yards and
two touchdowns in just 13 carries. Allen was held to 22 yards in 11 attempts.
Jay Schroeder completed 16 of 23 passes for 164 yards with no TDs or
interceptions. Willie Gault led the LA receivers with 9 catches for 99 yards.
For Denver, John Elway was successful on 20 of 31 throws
for 231 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 52
yards on 7 carries. Bobby Humphrey was the top ground-gainer with 88 yards on
20 rushes. Mike Young caught 6 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.
“Bo Jackson is a great runner,” summed up Dan Reeves for
the Broncos. “I’m not taking anything away from him when I say we did not
tackle well. He certainly had three or four outstanding runs. We had people
trying to hit him with shoulder pads and helmets. We have to develop better
fundamentals in tackling, especially when you face a 240-pound running back
with that kind of talent.”
The win allowed the Raiders to retain a share of first place
in the AFC West and they went on to win the remainder of their regular season
games and finish atop the division with a 12-4 record. After beating Cincinnati
in the Divisional round of the playoffs, they were humiliated by Buffalo in the
AFC Championship game by a lopsided score of 51-3. Denver split its remaining contests
to place last in the division at 5-11.
Despite playing in just 10 games, Bo Jackson led the Raiders
in rushing with 698 yards on 125 carries to average 5.6 yards per attempt. He
was selected to the Pro Bowl, but a hip injury suffered in the postseason
proved to be career-ending.
John Elway, immensely talented but prone to inconsistency,
was among the league leaders in pass attempts (502), completions (294), and
yards (3526) but tossed just 15 touchdown passes – the fewest since his rookie
year in 1983 – and was intercepted 14 times. Bobby Humphrey rushed for 1202
yards and was selected to the Pro Bowl, but a contract holdout virtually wiped
out his ’91 season and he was dealt to Miami.
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