The Broncos defeated the Falcons by the score of 34β19, winning their second consecutive Super Bowl. The game was played on January 31, , at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida now part of the suburb of Miami Gardens , which became a separate city in The Falcons, under former Denver head coach Dan Reeves , were making their first Super Bowl appearance after also posting a 14β2 regular season record. Aided by quarterback John Elway 's yard touchdown pass to receiver Rod Smith , Denver scored 17 consecutive points to build a 17β3 lead in the second quarter from which Atlanta could not recover.
In the final game of his career before his announced retirement on May 2, , Elway completed 18 of 29 passes for yards with one touchdown and one interception, and also scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown. At 38 years old, Elway became the oldest player to be named Super Bowl MVP , a record that stood until Tom Brady surpassed it in at the age of 39, coincidentally also against Atlanta. The game was formally withdrawn from San Francisco in March In the fall of , the NFL reopened the bidding from scratch.
Miami, a previous finalist for the game, was an early favorite. Tampa also became a favorite after voters passed a ballot measure in September to fund the construction of a new stadium.
But Elway decided to stay with Denver and see if he could lead them to a second consecutive championship. Under the leadership of head coach Mike Shanahan , the Broncos stormed to the top of the AFC with a 14β2 regular record in , winning their first 13 games before suffering their first loss to the New York Giants and would lose again the very next week against the Dolphins on Monday night, only to win a meaningless season finale against the Seahawks. The Broncos' offense, under the leadership of Elway and running back Terrell Davis , had another outstanding regular season, ranking second in the NFL with points and third in total offense with 6, yards.
Nevertheless, Davis' rushing numbers did not reduce Elway's passing production. The year-old quarterback made the Pro Bowl for the 3rd year in a row and the 9th time in his career, throwing for 2, yards and 22 touchdowns, with only 10 interceptions. A big reason for Elway's passing success was that he had two Pro Bowl wide receivers and a Pro Bowl tight end to throw to. Wide receivers Ed McCaffrey 64 receptions, 1, yards and 10 touchdowns and Rod Smith 86 receptions, 1, yards, 6 touchdowns, and 66 rushing yards provided the team with outstanding deep threats, while tight end Shannon Sharpe 64 receptions, yards and 10 touchdowns provided a sure-handed target over the middle.
