 Cleveland Municipal Stadium inCleveland, Ohio, the site of the game. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 11, 1987 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Cleveland Municipal Stadium Cleveland, Ohio | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Browns by 3[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Chuck Heberling | |||||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Dick Enberg,Merlin Olsen, andBob Griese | |||||||||||||||||||||
The Drive was an offensive series in the fourth quarter of the1986 AFC Championship Game played on January 11, 1987, atCleveland Municipal Stadium between theDenver Broncos andCleveland Browns.[2][3] Broncos quarterbackJohn Elway, in a span of 5 minutes and 2 seconds, led his team 98 yards in 15 plays to tie the game with 37 seconds left in regulation. Denver won the game in overtime by making a 33-yard field goal, pulling off a 23–20 comeback win over the Browns. The Broncos then advanced toSuper Bowl XXI, where they lost to theNew York Giants, 39–20.
The 98-yard drive ranks as pro football's prototypical clutch performance.[4] Elway and his team spanned almost all of the 100-yard football field. According to an article bySports Illustrated columnist and Colorado residentRick Reilly, when Elway started the drive, Broncosoffensive guardKeith Bishop said of the Browns, "We got 'em right where we want 'em!" Cleveland could not force a fourth down against Denver.
The Drive is commonly seen as emblematic of theCleveland Sports Curse, and of the Browns' inability to reach theSuper Bowl since its inauguration in the 1966 season (as of 2025, the Browns' last NFL Championship came in the1964 season, prior to the Super Bowl era.) It is often mentioned in tandem withThe Fumble, which occurred in thefollowing year's AFC Championship Game, also against the Denver Broncos, and again featured the Browns falling just short of appearing in their first Super Bowl.
The Browns had jumped to a 20–13 lead and Denver had muffed the ensuing kickoff when Elway took over, first-and-10 on their own 2-yard line, with 5:32 to play in regulation.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
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| Broncos | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 23 |
| Browns | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
atCleveland Stadium,Cleveland, Ohio
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The Drive was featured in the movieHot Tub Time Machine, but due to thebutterfly effect, Jackson was distracted by a squirrel and failed to catch a pass and Cleveland went on to win. It was inaccurately portrayed as being in 1986 (the game was played on January 11, 1987, though it was at the end of the1986 NFL season). The movie implied that it was played at night; however, when Karlis kicked the winning field goal in overtime, it was still daytime in Cleveland (the AFC title game was the early conference championship game that year, as the NFC title game between the New York Giants and Washington Redskins took place later and saw nearly the entire game played after the sun had set).[6]