Reigning champions Denver Broncos and upstarts Atlanta Falcons advanced to the Super Bowl with play-off triumphs on Sunday, setting up a grudge match between John Elway and his former coach, Dan Reeves.
Elway threw for 173 yards and a touchdown in Denver to spark 23 unanswered points as the Broncos beat the New York Jets 23-10, sending the Broncos into their sixth National Football League championship game.
"Unbelievable. To have the year we have had, it's great to be going back," said Elway, who finally won a title last year in his fourth Super Bowl. "Instead of me, we're going to win it for everyone here."
Danish kicker Morten Andersen's 38-yard field goal almost 12 minutes into over-time gave Atlanta a 30-27 victory over favoured Minnesota Vikings and the first Super Bowl appearance in the Falcons' 33-year history.
"If I can handle this with my heart, I can handle anything," said Reeves, who underwent heart bypass surgery five weeks ago.
In 1992, Elway helped push out Reeves after 12 years as Denver's coach, wanting more passing freedom than Reeves allowed. The personality clash came after three Super Bowl defeats in four years.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)