On second down, Elway threw a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Steelers' safety Eric Williams, who then ran the ball down to the 2-yard-line. Having sustained a groin pull and a twisted knee, however, Elway was not as mobile and was experiencing difficulty with his throws. However, Anderson missed his second field goal of the afternoon, and Denver took over with about three minutes left. A key pass to Weegie Thompson put the Steelers at the 15-yard-line, where they stalled. After both defenses held and forced a couple of more punts, Pittsburgh used Pollard and Walter Abercrombie to knife through a tiring Broncos defense. The Steelers then came back with a drive of their own, resulting in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Malone to receiver Louis Lipps.

But Denver managed two drives to take the lead in the quarter the first ended with a Karlis chip-shot to tie the game at 10, then Elway hit receiver Steve Watson for a 20-yard strike to take a 17–10 lead. Leading somewhat surprisingly 10–7, Pittsburgh looked to grind out yards on the ground and keep Elway on the sidelines. The Broncos tried to tie the game with time running out in the half, but a long field goal attempt by Karlis fell short. Now with the momentum, the Steelers were able to put a drive together at the end of the first half, resulting in a one-yard Frank Pollard touchdown run. But on third-and-goal, Elway floated a weak pass into the arms of nose tackle Gary Dunn.

Midway through the second quarter, Steelers' punter Craig Colquitt had his punt blocked-the first of his career-and Denver set up at Pittsburgh's four-yard-line. With the teams trading punts, a miscue by the Steelers threatened to blow the game open. The Steelers then answered with a scoring drive, as Gary Anderson kicked a 28-yard field goal. After the Broncos' first drive ended in a punt, Steelers' quarterback Mark Malone fumbled on two consecutive drives the first ended in a missed Rich Karlis field goal, but the second was converted into a touchdown pass from Elway to receiver Jim Wright. The game turned into a defensive struggle. Indeed, much talk before the game centered on a possible meeting of two up-and-coming quarterbacks-Denver's John Elway and Miami's Dan Marino-in the AFC Championship Game.

Given Denver's record and their opportunistic defense, Pittsburgh was the decided underdog. The Broncos lost to the Steelers 24–17 at Denver's Mile High Stadium on Sunday, December 30, 1984.

Assistant Head Coach/Defense – Joe Collier.

Coordinator of College Scouting – Reed Johnson.

President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen.

Personnel Staff 1984 Denver Broncos final staff

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