Super Bowl XXXII
Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game played between the National Football Conference champion and defending Super Bowl XXXI champion Green Bay Packers and the American Football Conference champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League champion for the 1997 season. The Broncos upset the heavily favored Packers by the score of 31–24. The game was played on January 25, 1998, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, the second time that the Super Bowl was held in that city. Super Bowl XXXII also made Qualcomm Stadium the only stadium in history to host both the Super Bowl and the World Series in the same year.
This was Denver's first league championship after suffering four previous Super Bowl losses, three of which were under Elway, and snapped a 13-game losing streak for AFC teams in the Super Bowl. The Broncos, who entered the game after posting a 12–4 regular-season record in 1997, became just the second wild card team to win a Super Bowl and the first since the Raiders in Super Bowl XV. The Packers, who entered the game as the defending Super Bowl XXXI champions after posting a 13–3 regular-season record, were the first team favored to win by double digits to lose a Super Bowl since the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.
The game was close throughout much of the contest. The Broncos converted two turnovers to take a 17–7 lead in the second quarter before the Packers cut the score to 17–14 at halftime. Green Bay kept pace with Denver in the second half, before tying the game with 13:31 remaining. Both defenses stiffened until Broncos running back Terrell Davis scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:45 left. Despite suffering a migraine headache that caused him to miss most of the second quarter, Davis was named Super Bowl MVP. He ran for 157 yards, caught two passes for 8 yards, and scored a Super Bowl record three rushing touchdowns. As of 2025, Davis remains the most recent running back to be named Super Bowl MVP.
Background
Host selection process
NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXXII to San Diego during their October 26, 1993, meeting in Chicago. The bidding process was scheduled to award two Super Bowl sites, the first time that multiple hosts were selected at the same meeting since XXIII and XXIV were voted on in 1985. This was the second time that San Diego hosted the game; the city previously hosted XXII ten years earlier. The Broncos played in both XXII and XXXII, the first franchise to play two different Super Bowls in the same stadium twice; they had already played twice at the Superdome.Four cities entered the bidding for the two games: New Orleans, San Diego, Los Angeles/Pasadena, and Tampa. The New Orleans representatives bid only on XXXI, Los Angeles only bid on XXXII, while San Diego and Tampa made themselves available for both games. Rules required a candidate to receive a vote in order to win the bidding. If no winner received the necessary votes after three rounds, the fourth round would revert to a simple majority.
New Orleans was selected for XXXI, at which time the voting for XXXII commenced. Tampa was eliminated during the first ballot, leaving San Diego and Los Angeles as the two finalists for XXXII. The prospects for Los Angeles suffered after Raiders owner Al Davis left the meeting before the presentation. San Diego representatives, meanwhile promised to add 12,000 temporary seats to Jack Murphy Stadium to counter the Rose Bowl's capacity advantage. In addition, since San Diego had not hosted the Super Bowl in a decade, and Pasadena had just hosted one nine months earlier, owners tipped towards San Diego. After two deadlocked rounds, San Diego won by simple majority on the fourth vote.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers entered the 1997 season coming off of their win in Super Bowl XXXI. They then repeated as NFC Central division champions, earning a 13–3 regular-season record. Green Bay's offense ranked 2nd in the league in points scored and 4th in yards gained, while their defense respectively ranked 5th and 7th in those two categories.Quarterback Brett Favre had another Pro Bowl season and became the first player ever to win the NFL MVP award three times, winning it for the third consecutive year. Favre led the league with 35 passing touchdowns and completed 304 out of 513 attempts for 3,867 yards, with 16 interceptions, while ranking second on the team in rushing with 187 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Antonio Freeman led the team in receptions with 81 catches for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns. Wide receiver Robert Brooks was also a major deep threat, catching 60 passes for 1,010 yards and 7 touchdowns. Pro Bowl tight end Mark Chmura recorded 38 receptions for 417 yards and 6 touchdowns. Pro Bowl halfback Dorsey Levens, who had the best season of his career, led the team in rushing with 1,435 yards and 7 touchdowns, while also catching 53 passes for 373 yards and 5 touchdowns. Fullback William Henderson rushed for 113 yards and caught 41 passes for 367 yards and a touchdown. On special teams, receiver Bill Schroeder led the team with 33 punt returns for 342 yards, while also gaining 562 yards on 24 kickoff returns.
On the Packers' defense, the line was led by veteran Pro Bowl selection Reggie White, who led the team with 11 sacks. Behind him, Santana Dotson recorded 37 tackles and 5.5 sacks. In the secondary, Pro Bowl defensive back LeRoy Butler led the team with 5 interceptions, while also adding 70 tackles. Safety Eugene Robinson led the team with 74 tackles while also recording 2.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 interception. Cornerback Mike Prior recorded 4 interceptions, while rookie Darren Sharper recorded 2 of them, both of which he returned for touchdowns.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos entered Super Bowl XXXII after suffering four Super Bowl losses: Super Bowls XII, XXI, XXII, and XXIV from 1978, 1987, 1988, and 1990, respectively. In all of those losses, the Broncos never had the ability to rush well enough or score enough points to be competitive. Denver had been defeated by a large margin in each one, losing all four by a combined scoring margin of 163–50.The previous three Super Bowl losses were under starting quarterback John Elway, whose ad-libbing skills enabled the Broncos to advance to the league's championship game in a span of three out of four seasons. Elway also led his team to the 1991 AFC Championship Game, but they lost in a defensive struggle to the Buffalo Bills, 10–7.
The team's fortunes changed when Mike Shanahan became head coach of the Broncos in 1995. Shanahan was previously Denver's offensive coordinator during Super Bowl XXI and XXII losses but was fired in 1991 after a power struggle between him and then-head coach Dan Reeves over the offensive personnel. Shanahan then served as the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers from 1992 to 1994, including the 49ers' Super Bowl XXIX win. Under Shanahan, the San Francisco offense ranked first in the league in total yards gained for all three of his seasons there.
When Shanahan returned to the Broncos in 1995, he selected running back Terrell Davis in the 6th round of the NFL draft. Davis became the cornerstone of Denver's rebuilt running game, leading the team with 1,117 rushing yards in just his rookie year. The Broncos finished the 1995 regular season with just an 8–8 record. By 1996, the Broncos had the league's best offense, gaining 5,791 total yards, and recorded the AFC's best regular-season record at 13–3, but they were upset by the second year Jacksonville Jaguars, 30–27 in the playoffs.
During the 1997 regular season, the Broncos once again had the league's best offense with 5,872 total yards and led the league in total points scored with 472. Although they recorded a 12–4 regular-season record, they finished in second place behind the 13–3 Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.
Davis, a Pro Bowl selection, remained the team's leading rusher, recording 1,750 yards and 15 touchdowns, while also catching 42 passes for 287 yards. At 37 years old, Elway still posted a Pro Bowl season with 280 out of 502 completions for 3,635 yards, 27 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions. He also rushed for 215 yards and another touchdown. Pro Bowl tight end Shannon Sharpe led the team with 72 receptions for 1,107 yards. Wide receiver Rod Smith, who was not drafted by any NFL team and recorded only 22 receptions for 389 yards and 3 touchdowns in his two previous seasons, had a breakout year with 70 receptions for 1,180 yards and 12 touchdowns. Wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, who played in Shanahan's 1994 49ers offense, recorded 45 receptions for 590 yards and 8 touchdowns. Denver's offensive line was led by seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle Gary Zimmerman and Pro Bowl center Tom Nalen.
On defense, the major acquisition to the team prior to the season was former Chiefs defensive lineman Neil Smith. Smith had a Pro Bowl season for the 6th time in his career with 28 tackles and 8.5 sacks. Defensive end Alfred Williams recorded 36 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery. The linebacking corps was led by veteran Bill Romanowski, who had 55 tackles and 2 sacks, and John Mobley, who led the team with 97 tackles while also recording 4 sacks, a fumble recovery, and an interception.
The secondary was led by veteran defensive backs Tyrone Braxton, who led the team with 4 interceptions for 113 yards and 1 touchdown, and Steve Atwater, who had 53 tackles, 1 sack, 2 fumble recoveries, and 2 interceptions for 42 yards and 1 touchdown. Defensive back Darrien Gordon recorded 50 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries, 4 interceptions, 64 return yards, and 1 touchdown. He also returned 40 punts for 543 yards and 3 touchdowns.