Gary Kubiak, the Denver Broncos' veteran backup quarterback, accomplished something Monday night starter John Elway wished he had done 22 months ago.
With Elway stricken with a bad case of the stomach flu, Kubiak threw two touchdown passes and guided an effective ball-control attack that brought the Broncos a 14-10 victory over the Washington Redskins. The last time the two teams met, Elway was sacked five times and threw three interceptions in a 42-10 Denver loss to the Redskins in Super Bowl XXII on Jan. 31, 1988."(At) about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, John gets sick," Denver Coach Dan Reeves said. "But I knew Gary would do a great job."
Kubiak battled swirling winds and rain in just his second start in five seasons. He connected on a 1-yard scoring strike to Melvin Bratton at 6:12 of the first quarter and a 5-yard scoring strike to Ricky Nattiel at 5:35 of the second quarter.
Nursing a 14-10 lead, the Broncos got the ball with 6:45 left in the game and never gave the ball back. Denver executed a 14-play, 51-yard drive that ate up the rest of the game clock. Kubiak's kept the drive alive with a key 15-yard pass to Michael Young on third-and-15.
"I guess it was my turn," Kubiak said. "I made a couple of mistakes early, but I got more confident as the game went on. And the defense and special teams kept giving me good field position."
Denver, 9-2, drew even with the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers for the best record in the NFL and opened a four-game lead in the AFC West over the Los Angeles Raiders. Washington, 5-6, has lost three of its last four games to fall four games behind the Giants in the NFC East.
Denver won its third straight game and beat the Redskins in Washington for the first time since 1974, while the Redskins dropped their fifth straight game against AFC opponents.
Elway, who has started every game this season, suffered nausea and vomiting in the locker room before the game and rested in the locker room during the game.
Kubiak, a seven-year veteran backup, had thrown just two passes this season entering the game and had started just four previous games. He completed 13-of-27 passes for 123 yards.
"We lost Elway, but we didn't miss a beat," said safety Dennis Smith, who caused two fumbles by Washington's Jamie Morris. "We showed people we're a good team."
Broncos rookie Bobby Humphrey ran the ball 31 times for 110 yards.
Denver put the clamps on the NFL's No. 3 offense, holding Washington to just 77 yards rushing and 2-of-10 third-down efficiency. Denver's offense held the ball for 36:59 compared to Washington's 23:01.
Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien completed 15-of-29 passes for 246 yards.
Rypien was elevated to starter Wednesday after Doug Williams, MVP of Super Bowl XXII, was unable to practice with a sore back just two weeks after returning from August surgery to correct a herniated disk.