For the second consecutive year, the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals will face off in the final Monday Night Football game of the regular season; Denver is hoping to reverse its fortunes on several fronts, not the least of which is its current two-game losing skid.
The Broncos are looking to reverse course on a two-game losing streak that has them still on the outside looking in for the playoffs, even at 10-4. Denver needs only a win Monday night to secure a playoff spot. It would also catapult them into the No. 2 seed in the AFC ahead of the Bengals with only one game remaining. But as Denver experienced last year, MNF wins in December have been hard to come by for Denver.
The Broncos are also looking to reverse their fortunes on Monday night against Cincinnati, as the Bengals knocked them off last year. Still in the running (although needing help) for a No. 1 seed and home field advantage for the playoffs at this point in 2014, Denver couldn’t get the job done. And it wasn’t the first time a stumble had occurred on MNF in December.
Since 1990, Denver is 18-25 overall on Monday Night Football, with an 0-5 record in December. Some of those losses have had large implications, while others were simple bumps in the road. Where will this year’s tilt fall on the list? If history is any indicator, we may not know until February.
Here’s a look at the Broncos’ five MNF games in December since 1990, ranked based on their impact on the season as a whole.
No. 5 – December 13, 1999 @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Broncos 24, Jaguars 27
For the third straight year, the Denver Broncos played a Monday Night Football game in December, and for the third straight year they suffered defeat. But there was no silver lining for this loss, as there had been in the two years prior.
Entering the game at 4-9, Denver’s back-to-back Super Bowl victory hangover was in full effect. Terrell Davis had been out since Week 4 with a torn ACL, and while Olandis Gary still rushed for 1,159 yards in his absence, the loss of both Davis and Elway was catastrophic.
Quarterback Brian Griese struggled out of the gate and missed three starts in November due to injury. He was not much better in his December return following the bye, losing his first game back against Kansas City, followed by this heartbreaker to the Jags.
After staking a 14-point lead early in the second quarter, Denver needed a late fourth-quarter drive by Griese to tie the game at 24 with under 2:00 to play. But Mark Brunell did just enough to get Jacksonville into field goal range and Mike Hollis kicked a 23-yarder as time expired to send Denver home with a 4-9 record and many, many questions.
No. 4 – December 15, 1997 @ San Francisco 49ers
Broncos 17, 49ers 34
After steamrolling to an 11-3 record on the back Terrell Davis, the Broncos dropped consecutive games in December to raise some red flags in Denver.
In a Week 15 loss to the Steelers, the Broncos were held to under 100 yards rushing for the first time on the season. That same result occurred the following week in front of a national audience as Denver was held to 96 yards on the ground in San Francisco.
Denver trailed at the half, but responded in the third quarter to take a 17-14 lead. The 49ers, though, would go on to score 20 unanswered points. Fourteen of those points came off defensive touchdowns, as John Elway was intercepted for a 55-yard pick-six and later fumbled to give up a 40-yard scoop-and-score.
The loss, however, would be the last one Denver would suffer on the season. John Elway and Co. won the regular season finale at home against San Diego before embarking on the “revenge tour” that would deliver the team’s first world title.
No. 3 – December 21, 1998 @ Miami Dolphins
Broncos 21, Dolphins 31
Denver’s quest for perfection had ended the week prior with a loss to the New York Giants, so this Monday night affair was mostly a matter of keeping John Elway (and the rest of the team) healthy enough to make a run at back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
Elway struggled on the day, going just 13-for-36 for 151 yards and no touchdowns. He was intercepted twice. His fourth-quarter interception to Jerry Wilson on what could have been a game-tying drive signaled the end of his day, as Bubby Brister returned in relief for Denver’s final drive. The interception was Elway’s third without throwing a touchdown pass in two games.
Elway had been stellar against Kansas City two weeks prior, but had struggled the previous week against the Giants. Back-to-back losses and a 36 percent completion rate against the Dolphins had some fans wondering if the biceps injury that had caused him to miss four games earlier in the year was rearing it’s ugly head again.
Elway responded by throwing four TDs against the Seahawks the next week before leading Denver to its second consecutive world title via three decisive playoff wins.
No. 2 – December 22, 2014 @ Cincinnati Bengals
Broncos 28, Bengals 37
Entering this Week 16 matchup, the 11-3 Broncos still trailed the New England Patriots in the AFC because of a 43-21 loss in Foxborough earlier in the year. Denver was going to need some help if it was going to potentially avoid another trip to the Northeast for the AFC Championship Game. Sadly, all of that became quite moot.
New England held serve on Sunday against the Jets to run their record to 12-3. Denver needed to answer with a win at Cincinnati to keep just a half-step behind.
Aqib Talib gave the Broncos an early lead with a pick-six, but Peyton Manning’s four interceptions on the day were too much for Denver to overcome on that rainy night. The Bengals converted two of those picks to points, including a 30-yard interception for touchdown by Dre Kirkpatrick inside of 2:00 that proved to be the nail in the Broncos’ coffin.
Any hope of home field advantage against the Pats was now dashed and the playoff-bound Bengals looked like a force to be reckoned with if another meeting was in store down the road.
Denver responded to the loss with a win against Oakland the following week, but the fear of traveling to New England (not to mention a coaching staff that had already effectively booked their next gigs) led to a lackadaisical effort in the divisional round against the Colts and another disappointing playoff end for the Manning-led Broncos.
No. 1 – December 24, 2007 @ San Diego Chargers
Broncos 3, Chargers 23
This was not the most catastrophic December loss to the San Diego Chargers in Denver Broncos history (that would come the following year), but it did set the stage for Denver’s second losing season since 1999 (when they also suffered a December Monday Night Football loss).
A loss to the Texans in Week 15, coupled with this beatdown by the Chargers meant that for the second year in a row Denver would not make the playoffs. Philip Rivers wasn’t great, but Jay Cutler struggled in his second trip to San Diego. He made his second career start there one year prior, also a loss.
On this Christmas Eve, Cutler fumbled on the very first drive of the game and was intercepted twice. LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown, which was more than San Diego would need. Denver produced just three points on the day, a 23-yard field goal from Jason Elam late in the fourth quarter.
The loss was not the ultimate death knell for Mike Shanahan – that came one year later with a Week 17 loss against the Chargers that again cost the Broncos a playoff spot – but it was a sign of bad things to come for the Mastermind.