Super Bowl XXXIII

The Denver Broncos defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-19 in Super Bowl XXXIII. The victory allowed the Broncos to become the sixth different franchise in NFL history to win consecutive Super Bowl championships. The Broncos had begun the 1998 season by winning their first 13 games, before losing to the New York Giants. The team finished 14-2 in the regular season, and easily defeated the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets in the playoffs before winning this game against Atlanta. Denver defensive tackle Mike Lodish established an individual Super Bowl record with his sixth career appearance. Broncos quarterback John Elway threw for 336 passing yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for a touchdown. He earned game Most Valuable Player honors, and shortly after the game announced his retirement from professional football.

Dirty Birds

One of the subplots for the game was the fact that Atlanta's head coach was Dan Reeves, who had been the long time coach of Denver during the early days of Elway's career. Reeves in fact became the first person ever to coach a Super Bowl team against another team that he had previously led to a Super Bowl. All this in a season when Reeves suffered a heart attack and missed several weeks of action. The Falcons, led by running back Jamal Anderson, rallied in a show of support for their stricken coach getting all the way to their first Super Bowl appearance. Falcons defensive back Eugene Robinson received the Bart Starr award for 'high moral character', but on the eve of the game was arrested for solicitation of prostitution.