BlinkVlog

The Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos have met only 16 times. One stands above the rest.

Thursday marks 10 years since the two AFC teams created an instant classic in the divisional round of the playoffs. Jan. 12, 2013, remains an important day for both franchises. An iconic victory for the Ravens. A gut-wrenching defeat for the Broncos.

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The Mile High Miracle had everything. Future Hall of Famers. Special teams touchdowns. A pick six. Frigid temperatures. An at-capacity crowd of 76,732 raucous fans at what was then Sports Authority Field at Mile High. And a miracle touchdown that sent the game to overtime, ultimately leading to a game-winning field goal by a rookie who was just launching a star career.

GO DEEPER

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Ten years later, it remains one of the most memorable playoff games in the 21st century and still conjures memories — marvelous and mystifying — from both sides.

Peyton Manning entered his first season with the Broncos after missing 2011 due to neck surgery. The Broncos started the 2012 season 2-3. In Week 6 against the then-San Diego Chargers, the Broncos trailed 24-0 at halftime. They scored 35 consecutive points to win and wouldn’t lose again in the regular season, equaling Atlanta for the NFL’s best record (13-3). Denver ranked in the top four in scoring offense (second), total offense (fourth), scoring defense (fourth) and total defense (second). Manning won Comeback Player of the Year and was the MVP runner-up, bested by Adrian Peterson’s 2,000-yard season.

Mitch Unrein (Broncos defensive tackle): Our expectations were nothing less than a Super Bowl.

Knowshon Moreno (Broncos running back): We had some really good players on that team. We had some good momentum.

Kevin Vickerson (Broncos defensive tackle): We knew what we had on defense. And we knew we just got one of the baddest quarterbacks in the world. That’s all we need.

Jacob Tamme (Broncos tight end): I think every guy on that team knew we had a team that could win the Super Bowl.

Joel Dreessen (Broncos tight end): There were games where the defense was the reason we won. There were games where the special teams stepped up and Trindon Holliday had a couple of returns. There were games where the offense could not be stopped. We’re just kicking teams’ asses.

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One of the Broncos’ wins during the streak came against the Ravens, a 34-17 road victory on Dec. 16, 2012, in which Denver led 31-3 midway through the third quarter.

Dreessen: It was one of the most decisive road victories I’ve ever had in my life.

Jimmy Smith (Ravens cornerback): We got our butts kicked that day.

Ray Lewis (Ravens middle linebacker): We went into (defensive coordinator Dean Pees’) office (before the rematch) and I took Ed (Reed) with me and I said, “Dean, you know we can’t play Peyton in a Cover 1, right?” He was like, “Why? What are you thinking?” I said, “Dean, it’s a chess match. We have to make him beat us.” … The whole thing was don’t let the ball get over our head. If Peyton doesn’t get a cheap one over your head, you’re good. Make him work for it the entire game, and he will make a mistake. We played the game of chess, because we said, “He has to make a mistake.”

The Ravens finished the 2012 regular season 10-6, but they entered the postseason having lost four of five and fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron on Dec. 10, promoting quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell. Ray Lewis, who missed the last 10 games of the regular season with a torn triceps before returning, announced before the playoffs it would be his final NFL season.

Jacoby Jones (Ravens receiver): We didn’t care about nothing from the regular season. We had our eyes on one goal. That year was my first year as a Pro Bowl starter. Ray Lewis looked at me and said, “Boy, just collect the check and the jersey, bro. We got bigger things to do.”

Joe Flacco (Ravens quarterback): I don’t remember thinking about (the first meeting with Denver) and it having a negative effect on me. … I was just like, “All right, let’s give it a shot here. We’re going against Peyton Manning and the Broncos, and let’s see what we can do.”

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Corey Graham (Ravens defensive back): When we got Ray back, we knew it was going to be a different team. He’s just such a big, emotional leader for us, and he picks us up so much.

Lewis: When I spoke in the team meeting, I told them, “I’ve seen the end. The end is (at the Super Bowl) in New Orleans. I’m not coming back to play football. I’m coming back to win a championship.” I said, “Guys, I’m not 100 percent and neither is anybody in this whole damn room, so I need every one of us to write down three or four things that you can get rid of outside football that you know is distracting, so you can give every bit of focus you have.”

I went through all of this, and at the very end, that’s when I said, “This will be my last ride.”

Torrey Smith (Ravens wide receiver): It’s weird to say based on how that whooping was, but there were opportunities that game that we didn’t take advantage of. Champ Bailey followed me around at home. I kind of knew that I wouldn’t get the ball too much. Champ was locking everything down that year, and I’m coming to the sideline like, “I’m winning. Give me a shot.”

But next thing you know, when we knew we were going to have them in the playoffs, we were watching the film, and I just remember, our receivers coach (Jim Hostler) and I remember (John Harbaugh) saying something to me. And it was like, “Hey, we’re going to go after him.”

Mike Adams (Broncos safety): I knew they could compete, but they had momentum because they were playing for Ray Lewis, who was retiring. I didn’t think they could beat us. Our defense was playing at a high level. But the momentum they had, it was something else.

Unrein: When they were coming into our place, we were pretty confident. I wouldn’t say overconfident. We knew it was going to be a fight. They were a good team.

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Von Miller (Broncos outside linebacker): It was my second year in the league. We had Peyton Manning, and we got all these guys. Ain’t no way we’re going to lose to the Ravens.

The Ravens had dominated the Colts 24-9 in the wild-card round. The Broncos had a bye as the AFC’s top seed. The weather at kickoff was 13 degrees with a wind chill of 2. As the game went on, the temperature decreased, with the wind chill reaching as low as minus-3.

Lewis: After the first quarter, the whole right side of my body was numb.

Torrey Smith: It was the coldest game I’ve ever been a part of. My face still hurts.

Miller: Crazy cold. Definitely one of the coldest games I’ve ever played in my life. But I was young. I didn’t know any better.

John Harbaugh (Ravens head coach): I remember toward the end of the third quarter, maybe early fourth quarter, going to get a Gatorade and they were frozen, because our heaters had gone out. Our heaters ran out of fuel, and I was looking over there and saw their heaters were fine.

Dreessen: It was the coldest I’ve ever been in my life. I’m still warming up from that game.

Graham: We didn’t really care how cold it was. We knew that it was probably going to affect Peyton more than it was going to affect us. We didn’t really care about that stuff. The colder the better, for us.

Justin Tucker (Ravens kicker, then a rookie): I remember dropping the coat, leaving the heater and then immediately feeling colder than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

Harbaugh: I remember (guard) Marshal Yanda spraying water on himself. Frozen solid. I remember their players were complaining about it. They couldn’t grab him. They were like, “He’s got a substance.” And the ref was like, “It’s ice. It’s ice.”

Flacco: He had icicles in his beard and the front of his jersey was just a sheet of ice. You couldn’t grab it.

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Ed Dickson (Ravens tight end): I was barely wanting to take sips of water to hydrate, and Yanda’s pouring water on his beard and face. I’m like, “This guy …”

Vickerson: Peyton Manning prepared to the ultimate level. That week of preparation, he was dipping his hand in a bucket of cold water with ice and throwing balls.

Despite the temperature, both teams scored twice in the first quarter. Holliday, the Broncos’ return specialist, opened the scoring with a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Ravens responded when Flacco threw a 59-yard touchdown to Torrey Smith, who beat Bailey.

Smith: We sat on that for weeks. … “We’re going to call this play, and you’re going to be one-on-one, and we’re trusting you to win.” I’m telling Joe, “Hey, I’m going to win. Just put it in front.” For it to come out exactly how you imagine it, that’s like the beautiful part of the game and everything that goes into it.

Miller: Torrey Smith gave Champ Bailey fits that whole game.

Just 42 seconds later, Manning’s pass was tipped, and Graham picked it off and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown.

Graham: We got a tip, and it came right to me for an easy pick six. I think I was on the inside guy and Chykie (Brown) was on the outside guy. It came on an inside-breaking route, and Chykie got a pass breakup and the ball just bounced right to me. One of those dream plays.

The Broncos tied the game when Manning threw a touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Stokley. At the end of the first quarter, it was 14-14. In the second, Moreno struck first for the Broncos. Then Smith beat Bailey again for 32 yards with 36 seconds left in the half.

Moreno: I remember they wanted me to come out for a play. They’re like, “We need you on your one go route.” I’m banged up. I got out there, ran the stop-and-go and scored a touchdown. Which is awesome.

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Champ Bailey (Broncos cornerback, to reporters after the game): The first (touchdown by Smith), I lost it. The second one, he just made a great play. I was in position, he made a good play. That’s why he’s in the league.

Nine years ago today in the 2012 Divisional Round…

Three epic @JoeFlacco TD passes, including The Mile High Miracle! (Jan. 12, 2013) pic.twitter.com/pyiI5ApUF4

— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) January 12, 2022

Moreno: We knew it was going to be a tough one. At halftime tied up (at 21), we were like, “Hey, let’s keep on doing what we do. And see how we can go from here.”

Vickerson: Dealing with a team like that, the pendulum swings back and forth with momentum. You just have to keep answering the bell.

The second half began with Holliday’s 104-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. But the Ravens kept responding.

Harbaugh: I remember Ray (Lewis) in the locker room giving the speech about, “No weapon formed against us will prosper.” It was uplifting. It was at halftime. He had given it before (the game), but he reinforced it at halftime in a big way.

We came out and we kicked off to them, and they take it back to the house. I remember (Terrell) Suggs like right behind me saying something with some vulgarity and profanity, like, “That was one hell of a weapon right there,” with a few more vulgarities. “That’s a weapon if I ever saw one.”

Unrein: (Holliday) really helped us in that game because they would have probably been pulling away from us.

Graham: This is how we beat teams in the past, with special teams and good defense. Now, we’re out there and it happens twice in one game? You’re typically going to lose that game.

Dickson: With our head coach being a special teams guru, with (special teams coordinator) Jerry Rosburg being there, we got ripped.

Sam Koch (Ravens punter): Sometimes you have to overcome adversity. Certain things happen. Not everybody is perfect, and we’re not a machine out there. Things are going to come up, and it’s all about how we responded.

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Tamme: We just couldn’t get them to go away.

After the Broncos took a 35-28 lead with 7:11 to play in the fourth quarter, the Ravens turned the ball over on downs with 3:12 remaining, when Flacco’s pass to tight end Dennis Pitta was broken up by Adams. After Baltimore burned its second timeout, the Broncos failed to get a first down on three straight Ronnie Hillman runs. The Ravens, with no timeouts and 1:09 left, got the ball back on their 23.

Jones: On that first play, he wanted to hit Pitta on the out-and-up, and Pitta fell down. After second down, Joe slid and he got up and he looked at everybody. He looked at me and Torrey and it was like, “Man, just run.”

Unrein: I thought we were exactly where we wanted to be … closer to the 50-yard line. Like, OK, as long as we tackle them in front of us, like even if anyone makes a tackle inbounds, they’re going to run out of time.

The Ravens faced third-and-3 on their own 30 with 41 seconds remaining. Flacco heaved a pass deep to the right. It found Jones, who somehow beat Broncos safety Rahim Moore. Jones walked into the end zone for a 70-yard touchdown, tying it at 35.

MILE HIGH MIRACLE 🙌

Remember when @JoeFlacco & Jacoby Jones did this nine years ago today in the Divisional Round? (via @nflthrowback) pic.twitter.com/jv0hj3avDI

— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2022

Harbaugh: I remember kind of being a little bit pissed at Joe on the play before that. He was running around, the clock’s still running. We burned like 20, 25 seconds. I’m just like, “Throw it away.”

Jones: The crazy thing is you practice how you play. … That certain situation came up in practice (in the middle of the season), and Joe hit me on a bomb just like that.

Torrey Smith: I was outside on the other side. … I saw the safety and I was looking at his angle, his angle didn’t look the best. I was like, “We might have a shot.”

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Flacco: I reared back, hoping Jacoby was going full speed and running past the safety. He was kind of almost throttling down in that hole (between the safety and the cornerback).

I actually kind of had to put a little bit of air on it and take off a little bit of distance. I thought I was going to throw the ball 70 yards. I think I only threw it 55. The way it turned out, the safety probably had a chance to make it, whereas when I was stepping up, I was like, “Oh, my God, he’s got no chance here.” It kind of added to the drama a little bit that it looked as close as it was.

Miller: I was inches away from Joe Flacco’s hands. We rushed three. I felt I could’ve had that and I could’ve saved us. I just wasn’t close enough.

Dennis Pitta (Ravens tight end): I run my seam, and I see Joe start to step up, so I break out. I head toward the right sideline, and I was actually wide open. I’m thinking that he was going to step up and throw the ball toward the sideline to me, and I can catch it, get out of bounds and get a big chunk. But he heaves it downfield to Jacoby.

Dreessen: When he launched that ball up in the air, I was like “Oh, perfect. Game over.” At that point in the game, I thought we’d won.

Jones: I thought I had (Moore) beat, but I eased up. I guess he was looking at me and he eased up, too. I don’t know. … But when I saw the ball in the air, I just put my head down and took off. I wasn’t even paying attention to him.

Harbaugh: I remember going, “Oh, my God, he’s behind him.” I clearly remember thinking to myself, “Oh, dear God, just let him catch the ball.” … Then he caught it. And it was like, “Oh, my God, this is unbelievable.” He caught it like a punt.

Unrein: He threw up a prayer. That prayer was answered. … I don’t know how Flacco got that ball off with such velocity and hang time to get that far.

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Moreno: You’re like, “All right, slap that thing down.” They come up with it and you’re like, “Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe it.”

Jones: You know when you see the ball thrown up? You just go get it. That’s how I was. I just started digging and then I looked up again, and it was like, buckets.

Jones: I was running into the end zone and I’m thanking God. But it was so quiet, so I’m like, “Damn, there’s a flag on the play.” I see Anquan (Boldin) come running and I’m like, “Oh, this s— counts.” I kept thanking God. It was quiet as s— in there.

Dickson: I was one of the first people to go down there and celebrate with Jacoby. His mom even told me, “Man, you’re one of the only people who picked my grown son up on your shoulders and burped him like a baby.” I was so excited.

Tamme: It was a shell shock. A shell-shocking moment.

Graham: Truthfully, I felt bad for the safety. As a defensive back, I’m like, “How do you do that?” In that situation, the game is over. … There’s thing one that can’t happen: You can’t let nobody get behind you. To have that happen in that moment, I was so thankful we were on the right side of it.

Flacco: There were probably other throws and catches and plays in general that were probably better in reality. They just didn’t have the same weight as that one did.

The Broncos got the ball back with two timeouts and 31 seconds left in regulation. Manning knelt, running out the clock and forcing overtime.

Flacco: It is interesting that they did that, for sure.

Dreessen: I don’t know how the decision was made to kneel down and go to overtime. But that was the decision that was made. OK, let’s go win this ballgame in overtime.

Tamme: It happened. Whatever. The battle goes on. And I think that’s how our whole team reacted to it.

Miller: We go to overtime, and we get them in overtime. We have a good team. I never lost confidence in our team.

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The Ravens won the coin toss, but neither team scored on its first two possessions. On the fourth possession of overtime, with the ball on Denver’s 38-yard line, Manning rolled right and tried to find Stokley but was intercepted by Graham for the second time.

Graham: When Peyton got on the move, (Stokley) adjusted. He actually had me beat by a half step, but … he wasn’t going deep. … Peyton threw across his body, and I was able to undercut it and make the interception. It was one of those 50-50 balls.

Peyton Manning (Broncos quarterback, to reporters after the game): Bad throw. Probably the decision wasn’t great, either. I thought I had an opening, and I didn’t get enough on it, and I was trying to make a play.

The Ravens got the ball on Denver’s 45. After Ray Rice’s 11-yard run, the clock ticked to double overtime. At 13:24 in the second overtime period, Tucker converted a 47-yard field goal, sending the Ravens to the AFC Championship.

Harbaugh: It gets to be fourth down. We get it in there, and it’s time to kick. And (kicking consultant) Randy (Brown) comes running over to me like, “Are we kicking the field goal?” … And I looked at him like I’m thinking in my mind, “Yeah, what the hell you think we’re gonna do right now? Field goal.” I was frozen.

Koch: We had a great snap, and it was a great kick. It was just how we had practiced all week.

Tucker: The mentality going into the kick was less about making the kick so we can win the game and more about making the kick so we can get inside as quickly as possible.

Harbaugh: In the midst of the celebrating, the one thing I was looking forward to was a hot shower. I couldn’t wait for the hot shower.

Unrein: It was total silence in that locker room. That was the most somber and quiet locker room I’ve ever been in after a loss in my career.

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Miller: I remember being so sad. I didn’t take the loss well at all. I didn’t leave the house for a week straight. It took me about three hours to leave the stadium. It was not a fun time at all.

Tamme: I was in the locker room after three Super Bowl losses (2009 Colts, 2013 Broncos, 2016 Falcons), and I would put that locker room on par with some of those because we had a great group of guys.

Vickerson: Some of the guys were depleted. We fell short of the goal. It made guys want to come back next year, work and finish the job.

Miller: I remember Peyton Manning going over and talking to Ray Lewis. It showed me that friendships and respect mean more than winning and losing games. I didn’t know you could do that. This was my second year in the league. I didn’t know you could go to another team’s locker room and talk to the players. Peyton took his son Marshall in there, and they are kicking it with Ray Lewis. That was one of Ray Lewis’ last playoff games. If I’m ever in that position, I’ll do it again. I got that from Peyton Manning.

Lewis: Me and that dude, just the respect that we have. When Peyton came over, that’s why you play the game, for that moment. That moment will be forever etched, not because we won, but because two of the greatest warriors that ever played the game sat there eye to eye as the young lions were playing under us having no clue as to the relevance of that moment. It was the ultimate thing and his words summed it all up. He said, “I would never miss an opportunity to tell a brother congratulations.”

Great moment @ 1.5 hours after the game, Peyton Manning and his family waited to congratulate @raylewis52.com #ravens pic.twitter.com/5makjqp9

— Chad Steele (@CSteele32) January 13, 2013

Rahim Moore (Broncos safety, speaking emotionally to reporters after the game): The loss, it was my fault. I got a little too happy. It was pathetic. My fault. Next time, I’ll make that play.

Dreessen: I’m so proud of (Moore), that moment everyone was pissed at him. There’s things we all could’ve done differently to win that game, but it’s so magnified with that one. A high school safety is expected to make that play. You’re not supposed to let anyone get deeper than you. Everyone was mad at him.

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And he stood up there through tear-filled eyes and told the media, “This is on me. I’m so sad, and I’m so sorry.” That accountability I’ll never forget.

The Ravens defeated the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game before winning Super Bowl XLVII against the 49ers. The Broncos advanced to the Super Bowl the next season before losing to the Seahawks. Manning got his second and final Super Bowl ring two years later when the Broncos defeated the Panthers at the end of the 2015 season.

The Mile High Miracle provided a springboard for the Ravens’ fairytale playoff run during Lewis’ last season. For the Broncos, it remains a source of major disappointment, missed opportunity for the most complete team during Manning’s Denver tenure.

Lewis: We got there in 2011, but we didn’t finish at the end of the (AFC Championship versus the Patriots). I said, “We win here today, we’re winning the Super Bowl. We’re winning the freaking Super Bowl.” That game was right in the middle of a journey that had to happen. We gave up two freaking returns for 100-plus yards. Never did we give up returns. This was one of the roller coasters, and we just had to ride it.

But I’m telling you, this was one of the greatest experiences with a team that I’ve ever been a part of, just watching the way that game played out.

Torrey Smith: Corey Graham had two of the biggest plays in the game. Man, we don’t win the Super Bowl without Corey Graham.

Pitta: In any great Super Bowl run, you have to have a couple of things go your way, and that one certainly went our way.

Graham: For some reason, even above the Super Bowls — obviously the Super Bowl is more important, and it’s great because you get to experience it with your family and your teammates and that’s the ultimate goal of everyone — but for some reason, to be honest with you, that game still holds more (weight). When I think about it, that’s one of the best games that I’ve ever had.

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Tamme: I would say that loss right there was almost as hard as the three Super Bowl losses.

Unrein: It still stings thinking about that because it’s always what could have been if we would have pulled that off.

Vickerson: We should’ve won three championships when Peyton got to Denver.

Dreessen: It was for sure one that got away. If Champ somehow deflects one of those passes to Torrey Smith and they don’t score on those long balls. Or Rahim doesn’t let that ball go over his head. There were just so many points during the game where we should have been in control of the whole game.

They just kept fighting, kept clawing and making enough plays to keep themselves in it. When all statistics and all odds are against them, they still make a play. That’s when you know a team is destined to go win it.

Miller: It takes more than just doing the right thing, eating the right food. You can do everything in your power to win the game and still lose. It showed me you have to be at peace with your work, go out there and do what you do. And hopefully, the football gods are on your side.

Tucker: The fact that we (allowed two return TDs) in the same game and we still were able to come away with a win against a No. 1 seed, Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos, that just speaks to our resilience and our attitude, that we just straight up didn’t care who our opponent was or where we were playing or any of that stuff.

Jones: There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t (get reminded of it). If I see a Ravens fan, they’ll look at me and point and just say, “Mile High.” They don’t care about the Super Bowl. They’ll be like, “Mile High.”

(Top photo of Jacoby Jones and Rahim Moore: Jeff Gross / Getty Images)

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