 Denver’s Sports Authority Field at Mile High, the site of the game, as seen in 2009. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 12, 2013, 2:30 PM MST | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Broncos by 9[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Bill Vinovich | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 76,732 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf and Solomon Wilcots | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Mile High Miracle refers both to the NFL 2012 AFC Divisional playoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos on January 12, 2013, and its defining play,[2] a game-tying 70-yard touchdown pass from Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco to receiver Jacoby Jones with under a minute left in regulation. Playing on the road against the heavily favored Broncos, who had decisively defeated the struggling Ravens late in the regular season while on an 11-game winning streak, Flacco and the Ravens forced the Peyton Manning-led Broncos into double overtime, when rookie kicker Justin Tucker kicked a 47-yard field goal to secure a 38–35 win. With 28 points scored in the first eleven minutes of the game, three return touchdowns, five lead changes, and single-digit temperatures, the game was described by Sports Illustrated as "one of the most exciting and entertaining postseason games in NFL history."[3] The Ravens would go on to beat the New England Patriots, and two weeks later, defeat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII for the franchise's second championship.
The Mile High Miracle was ranked #1 on NFL.com's Top 20 NFL Games of 2012. The game was described as "a contest that had everything: two special teams touchdowns, two bombs for scores and a pick-six – all without disintegrating into one of those nobody-can-stop-anybody affairs. The defenses did not play poorly; this was not a track meet. It had some balance."[4]
As of 2023, it is the 4th-longest game in NFL history, and the most recent NFL game to go into double overtime. It is often considered the greatest NFL game of the 2010s, and one of the greatest games of all time.[5][6]
- ^ "Divisional Round - Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos - January 12th, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- ^ Longley, Rob. "Top five observations from the Ravens' Mile High Miracle". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ Dillon, Dennis. "Mile High Miracle: Written off as petulant underdogs, the Ravens rallied to stun the Broncos and notch one of the greatest wins in franchise history". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on July 10, 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ Harrison, Elliot. "Game 1: AFC divisional round". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived from the original on June 1, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ^ "The greatest NFL playoff games ever". 21 December 2018.
- ^ "Ranking the 30 Best NFL Playoff Games over the Past 30 Seasons".