Denver rolls to second straight Super Bowl win

John Elway was named the game's MVP after passing for 336 yards in what may be his final game. The Associated Press MIAMI -- What a perfect way for John Elway to say goodbye. The man who spent his first 14 NFL seasons without a Super Bowl ring got his second straight yesterday, weaving his magic for what could be the final time and gaining revenge on former coach and adversary Dan Reeves and his upstart Atlanta Falcons. The final score was 34-19 over an Atlanta team that was its own worst enemy as the 38-year-old Elway, who was the unanimous choice for MVP, completed 18-of-29 passes for 336 yards and one touchdown and ran three yards for another score. The total yardage was third best in Super Bowl history. Elway refused to say whether he would retire or come back for a chance to win a third straight Super Bowl. ''I'm going to take some time, relish this year,'' he said. ''You got to love those challenges. We got the team; we got the nucleus here to do it. It definitely throws a kink into my thinking.'' In addition to the Falcons, who did everything they could to self-destruct on offense, Elway had some accomplices on the Broncos. Darrien Gordon intercepted two passes that both set up scores and set a Super Bowl record with 108 yards in interception returns. On offense, fullback Howard Griffith had two one-yard touchdown runs. Terrell Davis, the league MVP, carried 25 times for 102 yards for his seventh consecutive postseason 100-yard game, breaking an NFL record set by John Riggins. Wide receiver Rod Smith also caught five passes for 152 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown. Despite the absence of tight end Shannon Sharpe, who injured a knee in the first quarter, Smith and the other Denver receivers consistently burned Eugene Robinson, the Atlanta safety who was arrested Saturday night on charges of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer. All that helped Denver become the first team to win two straight Super Bowls since Dallas did in 1993 and 1994 and the first AFC team to win two straight since Pittsburgh won in 1979 and 1980. But for all the Broncos did, the game turned on what the Falcons didn't do -- getting only six points on their first six forays into Denver territory. Their first touchdown came on rookie Tim Dwight's 94-yard kickoff return with 11 minutes left in the game. On the others, Jamal Anderson was dumped for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-one from the Broncos 26, Morten Andersen missed a 28-yard field goal, and Chris Chandler threw an interception to Gordon. In all, Chandler threw three interceptions, two picked off by Gordon, who also had two in the AFC championship game. The game turned on one of those failures with five minutes left in the second quarter. Atlanta moved to the Denver eight-yard line, but couldn't convert on third and goal. Then Andersen, one of only two kickers with more than 400 career field goals, missed a 26-yard attempt. On the next play, Smith raced by Ronnie Bradford and Robinson and caught the ball in stride for an 80-yard score that made it 17-3. The Atlanta loss was the fourth defeat for Reeves as a Super Bowl coach, the first three with Denver in 1987, 1988 and 1990. In each of those games, he said, his teams played nowhere near their potential. That certainly was true Sunday with the Falcons, who won the AFC West with a 14-2 record after going 3-13 two years ago, the year before Reeves took over. But even if Denver's offense hadn't self-destructed, the Falcons would have had problems because the defense just couldn't stop Elway. Denver scored on six of its first 10 possessions and was stopped twice because Jason Elam missed field goals. Elway was intercepted on the other possession and the Broncos punted just once during that quarter. Dwight returned the opening kickoff to his own 37 and the Falcons went 48 yards in 10 plays to set up Andersen's 32-yard field goal that gave them a 3-0 lead. They got as far as the eight, but Bill Romanowski sacked Chandler on third down. The Broncos responded with an 80-yard, 10-play drive capped by Griffith's one-yard dive for a touchdown. The key play was a 41-yard Elway pass to Smith on third-and-seven from the Denver 35. On the Broncos' next possession, a pass deflected off Sharpe's hands to Bradford, giving the Falcons a first down at the Denver 35. But the Falcons came up short on third-and-one, and then lost two yards going for it on fourth down when Keith Traylor stopped Anderson trying to run wide right. From there, the Broncos drove 63 yards in 11 plays to set up a 26-yard field goal by Elam that gave them a 10-3 lead 5:43 into the second quarter. Once again the Falcons threatened and didn't score when Andersen missed a 26-yard field goal wide right. That was a killer. On the next play, Smith caught Elway's pass for the 80-yard touchdown. Once again, Atlanta moved well -- down to the Denver 11 -- but it couldn't get the ball in the end zone and had to settle for Andersen's 28-yard field goal that made it 17-6 at the half. On its first possession of the second half, Denver threatened yet again. But a holding penalty by Duane Carswell, who replaced Sharpe, pushed the Broncos back and Elam missed a 38-yard field goal attempt. Four minutes later, Elam missed again from 48 yards after Darrius Johnson's interception gave the Broncos the ball at the Atlanta 42. On the next series, Atlanta moved spiritedly to the Denver 21 on runs of 13 and 15 yards by Anderson and a 13-yard pass from Chandler to Terance Mathis. But on the next play, Traylor tipped Chandler's pass and Gordon picked it off and raced 58 yards to the Falcons 24. Five plays later, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Griffith went in for the TD that made it 24-6. The Falcons moved again to the 26. But on first down, Gordon picked off his second pass, returning it 50 yards to the Atlanta 48. Three plays later, Elway went in from the three to make it 31-6 and effectively end the game. Following Dwight's TD return, Elam added a 37-yard field goal with 7:08 left. Chandler's three-yard pass to Mathis with 2:04 left capped the scoring. A two-point conversion attempt failed.