1986 Denver Broncos season In 1986 the Denver Broncos finished the regular season with a record of 11 – 5 , won the AFC Championship over the Cleveland Browns , and lost Super Bowl XXI to the New York Giants . Regular season . The Broncos won their first six games of the season , before being felled by the then - 5 - 1 New York Jets on Monday Night Football . They won two more games to improve to 8 – 1 , tied with the Jets for the best record in the league . Although they would go 3 – 4 down the stretch , alternating wins and losses , Denver still finished ahead of the Seahawks and Chiefs in first place in the AFC West . Playoffs . They won their divisional playoff game against the Patriots at home 22 – 17 . They then played the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland for the AFC Championship . The game culminated in the famous " Drive " , where John Elway led a 98 - yard drive for a touchdown pass to Mark Jackson to tie the game and send it to overtime , where they won by a field goal , 23 – 20 . AFC Championship Game . This game is best remembered for The Drive when the Broncos drove 98 yards to tie the game with 37 seconds left in regulation , and Denver kicker Rich Karlis made the game - winning 33 - yard field goal 5 : 38 into overtime . The Browns scored first when quarterback Bernie Kosar threw a 6 - yard touchdown pass to running back Herman Fontenot at the end of an 86 yard drive . But the Broncos then scored 10 unanswered points : Karlis ' 19 - yard field goal and running back Gerald Willhite ' s 1 - yard rushing touchdown . Cleveland kicker Mark Moseley ' s 29 - yard field goal before halftime tied the score , 10 – 10 . The teams exchanged punts before Kosar completed a 48 - yard touchdown pass to Brian Brennan with 5 : 43 remaining in regulation . Elway then led his team from their own 2 - yard line to tie the game on wide receiver Mark Jackson ' s 5 - yard touchdown reception with 37 seconds left in regulation . Karlis ' game - winning field goal in overtime capped a 60 - yard drive after the Browns were forced to punt . The Drive Play by Play . The Browns had jumped to a 20 – 13 lead and the Broncos had muffed the ensuing kickoff when Elway took over , first - and - 10 on their own 2 - yard line , with 5 : 32 to play in the game . 1 . – First down and 10 , Denver 2 - yard line . Sammy Winder 5 - yard pass from Elway . 2 . – Second down and 5 , Denver 7 - yard line . Winder 3 - yard run . 3 . – Third down and 2 , Denver 10 - yard line . Winder 2 - yard run . 4 . – First down and 10 , Denver 12 - yard line . Winder 3 - yard run . 5 . – Second down and 7 , Denver 15 - yard line . Elway 11 - yard run . 6 . – First down and 10 , Denver 26 - yard line . Steve Sewell 22 - yard pass from Elway . 7 . – First down and 10 , Denver 48 - yard line . S . Watson 12 - yard pass from Elway . Two - minute warning 8 . – First down and 10 , Cleveland 40 - yard line ( 1 : 59 remaining ) . Incomplete pass by Elway , intended for Vance Johnson . 9 . – Second down and 10 , Cleveland 40 - yard line ( 1 : 52 remaining ) . Dave Puzzilli sack of Elway , 8 - yard loss . 10 . – Third down and 18 , Cleveland 48 - yard line ( 1 : 47 remaining ) . Mark Jackson 20 - yard pass from Elway . 11 . – First down and 10 , Cleveland 28 - yard line ( 1 : 19 remaining ) . Incomplete pass by Elway , intended for Watson . 12 . – Second down and 10 , Cleveland 28 - yard line ( 1 : 10 remaining ) . Steve Sewell 14 - yard pass from Elway . 13 . – First down and 10 , Cleveland 14 - yard line ( : 57 remaining ) . Incomplete pass by Elway , intended for Watson . 14 . – Second down and 10 , Cleveland 14 - yard line ( : 42 remaining ) . John Elway 9 - yard run ( scramble ) . 15 . – Third down and 1 , Cleveland 5 - yard line ( : 39 remaining ) . Mark Jackson 5 yard pass from Elway for the touchdown . Rich Karlis then adds the extra point to tie the game . Super Bowl XXI . They played the Giants in Super Bowl XXI , losing 20 – 39 , the first of Elway ' s five Super Bowls and the first of his three losses . Despite leading 10 – 9 at halftime , the Broncos collapsed in the second half as the Giants scored 30 points to Denver ' s ten . Statistics . Team stats . Denver scored 378 points during the year , sixth in the NFL . They gave up 327 points , 15th in the league . The Broncos were 17th in the league in total offense , with 5 , 489 yard s . They had 3 , 811 passing yards and 1 , 678 rushing yards . They had 22 passing touchdowns and 17 rushing touchdowns . They were 17th in the league with 3 , 755 passing yards given up and 15th with 1 , 891 rushing yards given up . They were 21st in overall defense with 5 , 646 yards given up . The team ' s 11 – 5 record is their sixth - best 16 - game season in franchise history .