Super Bowl XXXIII
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Super Bowl XXXIII took place on January 31, 1999 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida.
The final result was Denver Broncos 34, Atlanta Falcons 19.
Denver was the last NFL team to repeat as world champions until the New England Patriots in 2005's Super Bowl XXXIX.
The game was televised on the FOX network, with announcers Pat Summerall and John Madden. After the game, Family Guy aired its pilot episode.
The game
The defending champion Broncos, who won 13 straight games in the regular season, were the heavy favorites. The Falcons were riding a wave of emotion from their comeback win in Minnesota and the mid-season heart bypass surgery of head coach Dan Reeves. Atlanta safety Eugene Robinson was arrested on prostitution charges the night before the game.
The game was a rematch between the Broncos, led by longtime quarterback John Elway and coached by Mike Shanahan, and Reeves, the Denver coach between 1981 and 1992. Under Reeves, Shanahan was offensive co-ordinator in Denver until he was fired in 1991 over their relationship with Elway. Reeves and Shanahan had been at odds with each other ever since.
Atlanta opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal on its first drive of the game, but Denver immediately countered with a touchdown drive, where fullback Howard Griffith scored from a yard out. Star tight end Shannon Sharpe was injured on that first series and wouldn't return.
The Falcons designed their defense to control running back Terrell Davis, the MVP of both the season and of the previous Super Bowl. Although not his dominant self, Davis still racked up 109 yards in the game.
In the second quarter, the Broncos blew the game away after Morten Andersen missed another field goal. Elway, starting from his own 20-yard line, faked a handoff to Davis and fired a deep pass to Rod Smith, who took it all the way for a touchdown. The score at halftime was 17-6 for Denver.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Broncos continued their stellar play in the fourth. Chris Chandler was intercepted twice on Atlanta's first two drives in the quarter (the Falcons had four turnovers all told in the game), setting up Bronco touchdowns (by Griffith and Elway) in each case. After the Elway touchdown, the Falcons finally found the end zone when Tim Dwight returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards.
Atlanta scored again when Terrance Mathis caught another touchdown with 2:04 to play, and they recovered the onside kick after that. But Denver's Tyrone Braxton recovered a fumble with 1:30 left to seal the victory.
Elway, who was named MVP of the game, retired following the season.
Scoring Summary
- ATL- FG Andersen 32
- DEN- Griffith 1 run (Elam kick)
- DEN- FG Elam 26
- DEN- R.Smith 80 pass from Elway (Elam kick)
- ATL- FG Andersen 28
- DEN- Griffith 1 run (Elam kick)
- DEN- Elway 3 run (Elam kick)
- ATL- Dwight 94 kickoff return (Andersen kick)
- DEN- FG Elam 37
- ATL- Mathis 3 pass from Chandler (pass failed)
See also
| NFL Super Bowls I 1967 | II 1968 | III 1969 | IV 1970 | V 1971 | VI 1972 | VII 1973 | VIII 1974 | IX 1975 | X 1976 XI 1977 | XII 1978 | XIII 1979 | XIV 1980 | XV 1981 | XVI 1982 | XVII 1983 | XVIII 1984 | XIX 1985 | XX 1986 XXI 1987 | XXII 1988 | XXIII 1989 | XXIV 1990 | XXV 1991 | XXVI 1992 | XXVII 1993 | XXVIII 1994 | XXIX 1995 | XXX 1996 XXXI 1997 | XXXII 1998 | XXXIII 1999 | XXXIV 2000 | XXXV 2001 | XXXVI 2002 | XXXVII 2003 | XXXVIII 2004 | XXXIX 2005 | XL 2006 |