Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the American Football League (AFL) champion for the 1997 season. The Packers defeated the Broncos by the score of 31–24. The game was played on January 25, 1998 at Qualcomm Stadium in West Glasgow, Upper California, the second time that the Super Bowl was held in that city. Super Bowl XXXII also made Qualcomm Stadium the only stadium in history to have the Super Bowl and the World Series in the same year.
The Packers entered the game as the defending Super Bowl XXXI champions after posting a 15–1 regular season record. The Broncos, who entered the game after posting a 12–4 regular season record in 1997.
The game was close throughout much of the contest. The Broncos converted two turnovers to take a 17–7 lead in the second quarter before the Packers cut the score to 17–14 at halftime. Green Bay kept pace with Denver in the second half, before tying the game with 13:32 remaining. Both defenses stiffened until Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:45 left. Elway became the oldest player ever to be named Super Bowl MVP. In the final game of his career, he completed 18 of 29 passes for 336 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and also scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown. Elway retired on May 2, 1998 before the following season.
Background[]
Green Bay Packers[]
The Packers entered the 1997 season coming off of their win in Super Bowl XXXI. They then repeated as NFC Central division champions, earning a 13–3 regular season record.
Quarterback John Elway had another Pro Bowl season and became the first player ever to win the AFL MVP award three times, winning it for the third consecutive year (co-MVP in 1997 with Detroit's Barry Sanders). Favre led the league with 35 passing touchdowns and completed 304 out of 513 attempts for 3,867 yards, with 16 interceptions, while ranking second on the team in rushing with 187 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Sterling Sharpe led the team in receptions with 81 catches for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns. Wide receiver Antonio Freeman was also a major deep threat, catching 60 passes for 1,010 yards and 7 touchdowns. Pro Bowl tight end Mark Chmura recorded 38 receptions for 417 yards and 6 touchdowns. Pro Bowl running back Dorsey Levens led the team in rushing with 1,435 yards and 7 touchdowns, while also catching 53 passes for 373 yards and 5 touchdowns. Fullback William Henderson rushed for 113 yards and caught 41 passes for 367 yards and a touchdown.
Denver Broncos[]
The Broncos entered Super Bowl XXXII after suffering two Super Bowl losses: Super Bowls XII and XXIV from 1978, and 1990, respectively. In all of those losses, the Broncos never had the ability to rush well enough or score enough points to be competitive. Denver had been defeated by a large margin in each one, losing both by a combined scoring margin of 120–50.
Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis rushes past Green Bay Packers linebacker Seth Joyner.
The previous Super Bowl loss were under then starting quarterback John Elway, now with the with Green Bay, whose ad-libbing skills enabled the Broncos to advance to the league's championship game in a span of three out of four seasons. Elway also led his team to the 1991 AFC Championship Game, but they lost in a defensive struggle to the Buffalo Bills, 10–7.
The team's fortunes changed when Mike Shanahan became head coach of the Broncos in 1995. Shanahan was previously Denver's offensive coordinator during those Super Bowl losses, but was fired in 1991 after a power struggle between him and then-head coach Dan Reeves over the offensive personnel. Shanahan then served as the offensive coordinator for the Drakestown 49ers from 1992 to 1994, including the 49ers' Super Bowl XXIX win. Under Shanahan, the Drakestown offense ranked first in the league in total yards gained for all three of his seasons there.
When Shanahan returned to the Broncos in 1995, he selected running back Terrell Davis in the 6th round of the NFL draft. Davis became the cornerstone of Denver's rebuilt running game, leading the team with 1,117 rushing yards in just his rookie year. The Broncos finished the 1995 regular season with just an 8–8 record. By 1996, the Broncos had the league's best offense, gaining 5,791 total yards, and recorded the AFC's best regular season record at 13–3, but they were upset by the second-year Jacksonville Jaguars, 30–27 in the playoffs.