BRONCOS GO FOR TWO

His faithful fans gave him a rousing, heartfelt Mile High sendoff. Terrell Davis did them one better: He sent John Elway back to the Super Bowl.

"He's the best running back in football," Elway said after Davis rushed for 167 yards and a touchdown in a 23-10 victory Sunday over the mistake-prone New York Jets. "He's what every quarterback wishes for."

A lot of quarterbacks must wish they could have what Elway does: five AFC championships. Elway also had a touchdown pass in what probably was his final home game - he is expected to retire after the Super Bowl on Jan. 31 in Miami. "Awwww, we knew it wasn't going to be his last game," teammate Derek Loville said. "His last game just had to be in Miami. "And after that one," he added, "we're going to try and talk him out of it." Maybe they can, but Elway isn't saying. "I can't tell you that yet," Elway said. "We're just going to go back and win the next one. I'm just thrilled to death to be going back." When they get there, the Broncos, who ended a 13-year AFC slide in last year's title game, will find the Atlanta Falcons. Former coach Dan Reeves - who once feuded with Elway and Denver coach Mike Shanahan - will be awaiting them. Atlanta upset Minnesota 30-27 for the NFC crown. The Broncos opened as 8-1/2-point favorites in the Super Bowl. The way Elway celebrated his victory sure looked as if he were bidding farewell to the Mile High Stadium fans, who have loved him throughout a 16-year career. They began chanting "El-way, El-way," stomping their feet and making the old stadium shake. The 38-year-old quarterback, who returned because he felt the Broncos were good enough to repeat, then ran a victory lap, holding up the AFC championship trophy to the fans, who were also chanting "One More Year." "I can't say enough about what John's done for the team and the league," said Davis, whose presence in the backfield might be enough to persuade Elway to return. Davis, the NFL Most Valuable Player, was the main weapon for Denver, which overcame 40 minutes of ineptitude with the kind of efficiency and spark that identifies the defending NFL champions. "The team came together and made up our minds to do the things we've been doing all year," said Davis, the fourth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season when he gained 2,008 in 1998. The Broncos' winning method hardly was in keeping with their dominant, high-scoring image. They botched their way to a 10-0 deficit and seemed to forget about Davis, their only effective offensive performer early on. But they didn't forget they are champions. "We had the strength and the ability to come back," Shannon Sharpe said. "We knew that." On the first play following Curtis Martin's 1-yard TD run after Blake Spence blocked a punt, Elway found Ed McCaffrey wide open for 47 yards. That got the usually loud crowd back into the game, and two plays later fullback Howard Griffith bulled his way into the end zone on an 11-yard reception. "It was my fault; I bit on the crossing route," safety Victor Green said. "If we had made a stop there, we would have been in control of the game." Jason Elam, who would make field goals of 44 and 48 yards in the third quarter to give Denver the lead, then blooped a kickoff into a 25 mph wind that carried just past the second wave of Jets. The ball ricocheted back toward Denver territory and was grabbed by Keith Burns. By then, New York was wavering. "It was the combination of turning the ball over three times across midfield, which limited our scoring opportunities," said Bill Parcells, who added he will be back as coach next season. "Then we had special teams mistakes as well." The Jets won their last seven games with a big-play attack and stingy defense, but they had neither in the second half. They turned the ball over six times in the game. Davis broke it open with a 31-yard TD run just 18 seconds from the end of the Broncos' 20-point third quarter. After Darrien Gordon's 36-yard punt runback, Davis sped through a gaping hole into the end zone, ending New York's remarkable run from 1-15 two years ago to a step from its first Super Bowl since 1969. In winning their 19th straight at home, the Broncos set up a juicy Super Bowl matchup. Shanahan was fired by Reeves as offensive coordinator in 1992 because Reeves thought Shanahan had taken some power and had too much influence on Elway. "At times, we were best friends," said Shanahan, who has a 33-3 record at home. "He's done a great job with that football team." Broncos 23, Jets 10 N.Y. Jets 0 3 7 0 - 10 Denver 0 0 20 3 - 23 Second quarter NY-FG Hall 32, :00. Third quarter NY-Martin 1 run (Hall kick), 11:56. Den-Griffith 11 pass from Elway (Elam kick), 10:18. Den-FG Elam 44, 8:23. Den-FG Elam 48, 2:58. Den-Davis 31 run (Elam kick), :18. Fourth quarter Den-FG Elam 35, 3:40. A-75,482. NY Den First downs 18 14 Rushes-yards 13-14 38-178 Passing 356 153 Punt Returns 3-43 5-79 Kickoff Returns 5-46 1-28 Interceptions Ret. 0-0 2-48 Comp-Att-Int 31-52-2 13-34-0 Sacked-Yards Lost 0-0 3-20 Punts 7-47.9 8-39.6 Fumbles-Lost 4-4 2-0 Penalties-Yards 6-49 6-47 Time of Possession 27:00 33:00 Individual statistics RUSHING-New York, Martin 13-14. Denver, Davis 32-167, Elway 3-13, Loville 2-7, Rouen 1-(minus 9). PASSING-New York, Testaverde 31-52-2-356. Denver, Elway 13-34-0- 173. RECEIVING-New York, Chrebet 8-121, K.Johnson 7-73, Ward 5-61, Martin 4-39, Byars 3-33, Brady 2-11, Van Dyke 1-16, Meggett 1-2. Denver, McCaffrey 3-66, R.Smith 3-37, Chamberlain 2-26, Sharpe 2-14, Davis 1-12, Griffith 1-11, Carswell 1-7. MISSED FIELD GOALS-New York, Hall 42 (WR).

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