The Drive (American football)

1986 AFC Championship Game

Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, the site of the game.
Denver Broncos (2) (AFC) (11–5) Cleveland Browns (1) (AFC) (12–4) 23 20 Head coach: Dan Reeves Head coach: Marty Schottenheimer
1 2 3 4 OT Total DEN 0 10 3 7 3 23 CLE 7 3 0 10 0 20
Date	January 11, 1987
Stadium	Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
Favorite	Browns by 3
Referee	Chuck Heberling
TV in the United States
Network	NBC
Announcers	Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen, and Bob Griese

The Drive was an offensive series in the fourth quarter of the 1986 AFC Championship Game played on January 11, 1987, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium between the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns. Broncos quarterback John Elway, in a span of 5 minutes and 2 seconds, led his team 98 yards in 15 plays to tie the game with 37 seconds left in regulation. Denver won the game in overtime by making a 33-yard field goal, pulling off a 23–20 comeback win over the Cleveland Browns.

The 98-yard drive ranks as pro football's prototypical clutch performance.^[1] Elway and his team spanned almost all of the 100-yard football field. According to an article by Sports Illustrated columnist and Colorado resident Rick Reilly, when Elway started the drive, Broncos offensive guard Keith Bishop said of the Browns, "We got 'em right where we want 'em!" Cleveland could not force a fourth down against Denver.

The Drive is commonly seen as emblematic of the Cleveland Sports Curse, and of the Browns' inability to reach the Super Bowl since its inauguration in the 1966 season (as of 2023, the Browns' last NFL Championship came in the 1964 season, prior to the Super Bowl era.) It is often mentioned in tandem with The Fumble, which occurred in the following year's AFC Championship Game, also against the Denver Broncos, and again featured the Browns falling just short of appearing in their first Super Bowl.