AFC Championship, 1989: Denver 37 Cleveland 21

Game information
Quarterback John Elway led the Broncos to a 37–21 victory with 385 passing yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, while also leading the Broncos in rushing with 39 yards on the ground. Denver outgained Cleveland in total yards 497 to 256 and forced three turnovers.

Denver scored first with David Treadwell's 29-yard field goal, five plays after Broncos safety Dennis Smith intercepted a pass from Bernie Kosar on the Cleveland 35 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter. Then on their next drive, Frank Minnifield stumbled while trying to bump receiver Mike Young at the line of scrimmage, enabling Young to soar past him, catch a pass from Elway, and take off for a 70-yard touchdown reception that put Denver up 10–0 at the end of the half.

Cleveland struck back on their opening drive of the third quarter with a 79-yard, 8-play touchdown drive. Kosar had a 16-yard scramble on the possession, and eventually wrapped it up with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Brian Brennan, cutting the score to 10–7. However, Denver responded with a touchdown of their own, as Sammy Winder (filling in for injured starter Bobby Humphrey) rushed for 22 yards on the drive, while Elway completed a 53-yard pass to Young and finished it off with a 5-yard scoring pass to tight end Orson Mobley, putting the team back up by 10 points at 17–7. Later in the quarter, Cleveland defensive back Kyle Kramer was called for a 15-yard spearing penalty on Elway's 25-yard run, setting up Winder's 7-yard touchdown run that gave the Broncos a 24–7 lead with 4:19 left in the third quarter.

Now down by 17 points, Kosar desperately rallied the Browns back, completing passes to Reggie Langhorne, Lawyer Tillman, and Webster Slaughter for gains of 27, 15, and 16 yards. Then he connected with Brennan for a 10-yard touchdown completion that made the score 24–14. A few plays after the ensuing kickoff, defensive end Al Baker forced a fumble from Broncos running back Mel Bratton. Felix Wright recovered the ball and returned it 27 yards to the Denver 1-yard line, setting up Tim Manoa's 2-yard touchdown run and downing their deficit to 24-21 going into the fourth quarter.

However, Denver quickly eliminated Cleveland's comeback hopes with their opening drive of the fourth quarter. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Elway completed a 23-yard pass to Vance Johnson. Then on third and 10 from the Denver 43, he completed a 20-yard pass to Johnson, two plays before hooking up with Winder for a 39-yard touchdown completion. Denver then scored field goals on each of their next two drives to put the game away.

Young finished the game with 123 yards and a touchdown on just two receptions. Johnson had seven catches for 93 yards. This was the third time in the last four years Denver defeated Cleveland in the AFC Championship Game. To date, this is Cleveland's most recent appearance in an AFC Championship game.

This was the third postseason meeting between the Browns and Broncos. Denver won both prior meetings.

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