KEY PLAY

HOW IT STARTED

After Atlanta drove from its own 27 to the Denver eight, Morten Andersen missed a 26-yard field goal that could have made the score 10-6.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

On the next play, it was time for the play dubbed “Keeper X-Post.” With the ball at the Denver 20, John Elway sent a perfect spiral that Smith caught in stride just past midfield. Smith blew past safety Eugene Robinson to catch Elway’s long pass, then sped to the end zone for the second-longest touchdown from scrimmage in Super Bowl history. Smith finished the game with five receptions for 152 yards, a far cry from last year’s performance, when he didn’t catch a ball.

THE SIGNIFICANCE

The Atlanta Falcons had just missed a 26-yard field goal that would have cut the Bronco lead to 10-6. Instead, after Morten Andersen hooked it right, John Elway’s connection on the next play gave the Broncos a 14-point lead and momentum. Ouch!

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Rod Smith: “That play wasn’t even in the game plan. We put it in on the sideline just before we did it. It was going to be the first play out of the chute. It didn’t matter when we got the ball, even if they scored. The coaches upstairs saw some tendencies and called the play. “They said, ‘You can get open to the post.’ The cornerback let me go and once I was on top of [Robinson], I knew I would beat him and the football would be there.”

Eugene Robinson, commenting on his lack of sleep after his arrest Saturday night: “I was extremely focused on the game today. [The lack of sleep] didn’t affect my play because it was pretty much therapeutic.”