On This Day in Broncos History: September 28

September 28, 1986 - Denver hosted the New England Patriots in the twenty-fourth meeting between two old AFL rivals. Denver held an 11-12 overall record going into the contest, but had won two of the last three meetings, five of the last seven and seven of the last ten match ups. After falling behind 13-3 at the half, John Elway rallied the Broncos, which along with a dominating ground game (156 rushing yards in the game) allowed the Broncos to score 24 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters. New England did manage one more touchdown but it was not enough to overtake Denver’s lead.

This game proved to be the first of two victories over New England during the 1986 campaign. The two teams met again on January 4, 1987 in the Divisional round of the AFC playoffs. Denver was again the host team and after falling behind 17-13 in the third quarter, the Broncos took a 20-13 lead on a 48-yard pass from John Elway to WR Vance Johnson. Denver closed out the scoring by tackling New England QB Tony Eason in the end zone for a safety in the fourth quarter. The Broncos went on to win the AFC Championship that year.

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