Mile high magic

November 11, 1998
Originally published by The State Hornet (Sacramento State)

The 1998 NFL season is halfway over and clearly the best team so far is the Denver Broncos.

Denver ran their streak to 9-0 this week with another win over San Diego. The Broncos have become the latest threat to match the Miami Dolphins' 1972 unbeaten season. Back then, they went 14-0. No team has gone unbeaten since the league went to a 16-game season in 1978, but the Broncos do have a chance.

They have a powerful running game in Terrell Davis. He is the one reason John Elway finally won a title after going 0-for-3 in Super Bowls.

The Broncos also have a physical defense, good receivers in Shannon Sharpe and Rod Smith, and Jason Elam, a kicker with a strong leg. It might add up to another Super Bowl trip.

Denver made the punchless Chargers look horrendous last week. The Broncos basically made life miserable for rookie Ryan Leaf. Leaf's notorious hotheaded demeanor wasn't helped on this day. He got benched yet again for not producing.

In other news around the league, the 49ers just keep getting lucky. Their win over Carolina marked the third time they played an inferior opponent, looked lousy, yet still pulled off a win.
They barely escaped the New York Jets and Indianapolis.

The surprise team of the season? The Atlanta Falcons. Off to their best start in team history, 7-2, they are turning heads around the league.

A case could be made for the Minnesota Vikings and their awesome passing game, but I don't think they run the ball well enough to beat Denver if they advance to the Super Bowl.

Randall Cunningham has had two very different careers. The inconsistent, selfish, me-first Philadelphia Eagle has given way to a solid, mature leader in Minnesota.

The Raiders had their winning streak snapped last week with their controversial loss to Baltimore. But they still have surprised plenty of people after their sorry 4-12 season a year ago.

The Silver and Black were robbed of a possible win. They were denied a touchdown, which they clearly scored, then suffered through a no-call on the last play where there was pass interference.

Oakland can only hope they don't repeat their swan dive season in 1995 when they lost their last six games and failed to even reach the playoffs after starting out 8-2.

The Jets have never won their division, but don't tell that to coach Bill Parcells. They ripped the Bills, 34-12 to put themselves atop the AFC East for the first time in years.

"I don't think about the past," Parcells said.

Perhaps he'd better start because the last time the Jets were in this position, they looked horrible down the stretch. In 1986, they started out 10-1 and then lost their last six games, including their wildcard loss.

Back to the Broncos. They have the league's most rabid fans and the longest sellout streak in the league. It is close to impossible beating Denver in Mile High Stadium.

Whether they can repeat and win another title before Elway retires is another question. But they sure look good...