The 1993 season finale/1993 Wildcard game
The 1993 season might be the greatest triumph that either the Broncos or the Raiders ever had over one another. In Week 7, the Los Angeles Raiders won a thriller on Monday Night Football at Mile High Stadium by edging the Broncos 23-20. Later on, the Silver and Black hosted the orange and blue at the L.A. Coliseum for the season finale. At stake was a wild card berth for the Raiders and Denver, who had already secured a playoff bid, was more than happy to deny the Raiders a shot at the postseason. Prior to the matchup, Raiders’ owner Al Davis was quoted in the media that the Broncos were “scared to death of us.”
Al was likely eating his words as Denver opened up the game on fire. Shannon Sharpe scored twice by hauling in two of Elway’s three touchdown passes of the first half to lift Denver to a 27-13 halftime advantage. Early in the third quarter, the Broncos drove downfield again and Jason Elam booted his third successful field goal of the day to extend the lead to 30-13. Things looked bleak for the Raiders, but the offense would wake up after a slow start with quarterback Jeff Hostetler at the controls. Los Angeles would score 10 unanswered points to pull within seven points as their defense stopped Elway in his tracks. Following Jeager’s field goal, just 9:23 remained in the game as over 65,000 loyal Raiders fans refused to give up on their team.
Hostetler drove the Raiders that day…
Later, the Broncos regained possession on their own 20 with 5:14 left to play. Unable to capitalize, a 54-yard punt put the Raiders on their own 30 with 2:59 on the clock, the two-minute warning time out, and three time outs of their own. A mixture of clutch receptions by Tim Brown and Tyrone Montgomery put the Silver and Black on the Broncos’ 27. Thirteen more through the air from Hostetler to Brown and a Napoleon McCallum reception for three set up a second-and seven from the 11-yard line.
Brown and Hostetler then hooked up for seven more yards and the Raiders burned their final time out with the ball on the Denver four. Two incomplete passes followed. Now the Raiders faced third-and-four from the four, with just eight ticks of the clock remaining. As Hostetler dropped back he quickly surveyed the field for an open receiver and found none. Just as the scoreboard clock clicked to zero, Hostetler found Alexander Wright open just inside the goal-line for a critical completion. The touchdown sent the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum into a frenzy and Jaeger’s successful extra point try sent the game into overtime. The Broncos worked their way downfield to open the overtime period, but the reliable Jason Elam missed a game-clinching field goal from 40-yards away. Los Angeles took over on their own 22.
A 19-yard scramble by Hostetler and a 20-yard completion to tight end Ethan Horton put the Raiders back in business. The Bronco defense hung tough and forced a Jaeger field goal attempt from their 29. The kick was true from 47-yards away and the Raiders had won their wildcard opportunity. They would face Denver the following week and easily whip the Broncos 42-24. McCallum would score three rushing touchdowns that day and Hostetler would connect on three touchdown passes.
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