John Elway

Missing the playoffs in 1989, Elway led his team back to the AFC championship for the third time in four years in 1990, once again sending the Browns home in the AFC championship game. Facing Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, Elway and the Broncos were embarrassed by the 49ers, losing 55-10. Elway passed for just 108 yards and threw two interceptions; his Super Bowl record fell to 0-3. The following season Elway experienced his first losing season as the Broncos posted a record of 5-11, but in 1991 the team bounced back to win eleven games, winning the AFC Western Division title before being beaten by the Buffalo Bills in the conference championship.

By the early 1990s Elway's relationship with head coach Dan Reeves was becoming increasingly tense. Depending on the viewpoint, Elway came off looking a bit like a spoiled brat, or Reeves appeared to be a stiff-necked, control freak. The conflict boiled over into the press after Reeves fired offensive coach Mike Shanahan, Elway's close personal friend. After finishing the 1992 season with a record of 8-8, Elway was intimating that it was going to be either him or Reeves. The Broncos organization chose Elway, and Reeves' contract was not renewed after the end of the season.

Elway entered the 1993 season with renewed focus. He threw 551 passes, completing 348 (63.2 percent), for 4,030 yards, twenty-five touchdowns and only ten interceptions, but the Broncos struggled in 1994, and Shanahan was invited to return to Denver as the head coach in 1995. After two years of rebuilding, the Broncos, who had added sensational running back Terrell Davis to its roster, posted a record of 13-3 in 1996, and Elway became just the fourth player in NFL history to throw for more than 45,000 career yards. The Broncos made their first appearance in postseason play since 1993, but were upset at home in the first round by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In 1997 Elway threw twenty-seven touchdown passes, a career high, and led the Broncos to a 12-4 regular season record. Reaching his fourth Super Bowl, Elway, already considered one of the game's greatest quarterbacks, was under serious scrutiny regarding his ability to perform in the big game. Although Elway only threw for 123 yards in the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Broncos' win, 31-24, quieted his detractors and Elway, now with a Super Bowl title, finally got the monkey off his back.

The Broncos came back strong in 1998, and Elway joined Marino as the only quarterbacks to pass for more than 50,000 yards. On January 16, 1999, Elway played his last game at Mile High Stadium, earning his fifth trip to the Super Bowl. In a made-for-television match-up, Elway and the Broncos squared off in the Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons, coached by Dan Reeves. The Broncos prevailed, and Elway won his second consecutive Super Bowl.

Having reached the mountaintop twice, 38-year-old Elway, who was suffering from some nagging injuries, announced his retirement in May 2000. After sixteen years of play, he walked away with a career record of 142-82-1 (.643), making him the NFL's all-time winningest starting quarterback. With two Super Bowl titles, the Comeback Kid had made the biggest comeback of them all.