AFC Divisional: Houston Oilers at Denver Broncos (Mile High Stadium), with a Conference Championship spot at stake. Kickoff time: 4:00pm. Winner advances to the Conference Championship. The losing team's season is over.
The divisional round is where the bracket is supposed to take its real shape. Houston Oilers traveling to Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium, with the league watching to see whether the better team or the better matchup wins. Bye-week home favorites carry the weight of expectation; the visiting wild-card winner walks in with no one expecting them and nothing to lose.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Houston Oilers and Denver Broncos are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Mile High Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Houston Oilers versus Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Houston Oilers-Denver Broncos cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Oilers | 11-5 | L1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-9 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 6-10 | L3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3-13 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 13-3 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8-8 | L2 |
| New York Jets | 8-8 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 6-10 | L1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 1-15 | L6 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 12-4 | W4 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 10-6 | W1 |
| Los Angeles Raiders | 9-7 | L3 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 7-9 | W1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 4-12 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | 11-5 | W2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 10-6 | L1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 10-6 | W6 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 3-13 | L10 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit Lions | 12-4 | W6 |
| Chicago Bears | 11-5 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8-8 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4-12 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3-13 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Washington Redskins | 14-2 | L1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 11-5 | W5 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10-6 | W1 |
| New York Giants | 8-8 | W1 |
| Phoenix Cardinals | 4-12 | L8 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Oilers | 14 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1421212424 |
| Denver Broncos | 6 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 613162626 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Oilers | Haywood Jeffires 15 yard pass from Warren Moon ( Al Del Greco kick) | 7-0 |
| Oilers | Drew Hill 9 yard pass from Warren Moon ( Al Del Greco kick) | 14-0 |
| Broncos | Vance Johnson 10 yard pass from John Elway | 14-6 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Oilers | Curtis Duncan 6 yard pass from Warren Moon ( Al Del Greco kick) | 21-6 |
| Broncos | Greg Lewis 1 yard rush ( David Treadwell kick) | 21-13 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Broncos | David Treadwell 49 yard field goal | 21-16 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Oilers | Al Del Greco 25 yard field goal | 24-16 |
| Broncos | Greg Lewis 1 yard rush ( David Treadwell kick) | 24-23 |
| Broncos | David Treadwell 28 yard field goal | 24-26 |
| Oilers | Broncos | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 23 | 26 |
| Total Yards | 422 | 418 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 27/36 | 20/34 |
| Pass yards | 325 | 267 |
| Pass TD | 3 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 0 | 0 |
| Sack yards lost | 0 | 0 |
| Net pass yards | 325 | 267 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 19 | 31 |
| Rush yards | 97 | 151 |
| Rush TD | 0 | 2 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 0 | 3 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties | 13 | 6 |
| Penalty yards | 85 | 70 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | |||||
| Warren Moon | 27/36 | 325 | 3 | 1 | |
| DEN | |||||
| John Elway | 19/33 | 257 | 1 | 1 | |
| Steve Sewell | 1/1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | ||||
| Lorenzo White | 17 | 79 | 0 | 10 |
| Warren Moon | 2 | 18 | 0 | 15 |
| DEN | ||||
| Gaston Green | 17 | 59 | 0 | 14 |
| Steve Sewell | 4 | 48 | 0 | 19 |
| John Elway | 6 | 39 | 0 | 15 |
| Reggie Rivers | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Greg Lewis | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | ||||
| Ernest Givins | 6 | 111 | 0 | 29 |
| Haywood Jeffires | 7 | 99 | 1 | 49 |
| Curtis Duncan | 6 | 40 | 1 | 11 |
| Lorenzo White | 5 | 35 | 0 | 10 |
| Drew Hill | 2 | 21 | 1 | 12 |
| Tony Jones | 1 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| DEN | ||||
| Mike Young | 4 | 85 | 0 | 32 |
| Vance Johnson | 5 | 78 | 1 | 44 |
| Steve Sewell | 3 | 28 | 0 | 16 |
| Ricky Nattiel | 2 | 27 | 0 | 23 |
| Derek Russell | 1 | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| Shannon Sharpe | 3 | 20 | 0 | 7 |
| Clarence Kay | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Gaston Green | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Denver Broncos defeated Houston Oilers 26-24 at Mile High Stadium in the AFC Divisional. The final scoring play was Broncos: David Treadwell 28 yard field goal. The result came down to the final possession; Denver Broncos won by 2. Top line of the day: Warren Moon: 325 pass yards on 27-of-36, 3 TD, 1 INT. Denver Broncos move on to the conference final.
Denver Broncos walked out of Mile High Stadium as the team that survived an AFC Divisional Houston Oilers will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 26-24. The game stayed within 2 points throughout, the kind of contest where every drive felt like a referendum and every defensive stop carried twice its usual weight. The final scoring play came from Broncos: David Treadwell 28 yard field goal. Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Denver Broncos move on to a conference championship.
Denver Broncos 26, Houston Oilers 24. Round: AFC Divisional. Q1: 3 scoring plays. Q2: 2 scoring plays. Q3: 1 scoring play. Q4: 3 scoring plays. Top performers: - Warren Moon: 325 pass yards on 27-of-36, 3 TD, 1 INT - Lorenzo White: 79 rush yards on 17 carries - Ernest Givins: 6 catches for 111 yards
AFC Divisional, played at Mile High Stadium. Final: Houston Oilers 24, Denver Broncos 26, with Denver Broncos taking the result by 2. **First quarter**
- Oilers: Haywood Jeffires 15 yard pass from Warren Moon ( Al Del Greco kick) - Oilers: Drew Hill 9 yard pass from Warren Moon ( Al Del Greco kick) - Broncos: Vance Johnson 10 yard pass from John Elway
**Second quarter**
- Oilers: Curtis Duncan 6 yard pass from Warren Moon ( Al Del Greco kick) - Broncos: Greg Lewis 1 yard rush ( David Treadwell kick)
**Third quarter**
- Broncos: David Treadwell 49 yard field goal
**Fourth quarter**
- Oilers: Al Del Greco 25 yard field goal - Broncos: Greg Lewis 1 yard rush ( David Treadwell kick) - Broncos: David Treadwell 28 yard field goal
**Top performers**
- Warren Moon: 325 pass yards on 27-of-36, 3 TD, 1 INT - Lorenzo White: 79 rush yards on 17 carries - Ernest Givins: 6 catches for 111 yards
A 2-point margin in AFC Divisional is the kind of result that defines reputations on both sidelines.