John Elway came back to win another Super Bowl on the field not to stand on the sidelines and watch Bubby Brister quarterback the Denver Broncos.
That's not his idea of having a good time."I've been very lucky in my 16 years in the fact that I haven't had very many injuries," Elway said. "I came back to play. It's no fun being hurt. It's frustrating being hurt."
Elway, sidelined in Weeks 4-5 with hamstring and back injuries, is expected in the lineup for the Broncos (5-0) when they face the Seattle Seahawks (3-2) on Sunday in the Kingdome.
The Broncos, who beat the Green Bay Packers in last season's Super Bowl, are favored to hand Seattle its third consecutive defeat.
With Brister in place of Elway, Denver won 38-16 at Washington and 41-16 over Philadelphia at Mile High Stadium.
First, Elway left against Oakland in Week 3 with a hamstring injury, Denver won 34-17 win. Then, he hurt his lower back lifting weights. He's missed 12 games in his NFL career because of injuries.
This week, he was feeling better and back at practice as the first team quarterback. The Broncos listed Elway as probable.
"I want to get back and play," said Elway, 38, who thought long and hard about retiring during the offseason. "That's why I came back."
Before his injuries, Elway was 44-for-66 (66.7 percent) for 596 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, a 115.5 quarterback rating.
"I was playing as good as I've ever played," he said. "I was really excited about the way I was playing. To get set back is disappointing."
Of course, the Seahawks would rather face Brister.
"Him playing without pain gives me a pain," Seattle coach Dennis Erickson said of Elway.
"I remember thinking when John announced he wasn't going to retire, `Darn, he's coming back for a year,' " said cornerback Shawn Springs, who surrendered two touchdowns to Elway and Ed McCaffrey in a 35-14 home loss to Denver last season.
Elway might be matched against an old rival in Seahawks quarterback Warren Moon, 41. Moon suffered a cracked rib in Kansas City last Sunday night, but he was feeling better this week, albeit listed as questionable against the Broncos.
Elway and Moon rank 2-3 in the NFL in career yards passing behind Dan Marino.
The Seahawks started off 3-0, but stumbled in Pittsburgh 13-10, when they had four turnovers, and then watched their offense drown in Kansas City, where they lost 17-6. Seattle has scored one touchdown in two weeks and needs a big effort vs. Denver to establish some credibility: the three wins were over teams with a combined 2-13 mark.
"You can take the Kansas City game in that monsoon and throw that game out," Shanahan said. "We know the type of offensive explosiveness they have and I think they have better personnel this year."
If the Seahawks are going to beat Denver for the first time since 1995, they need some touchdowns from the offense, and they have to stop Terrell Davis.
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Additional Information
DENVER (5-0)
AT SEATTLE (3-2)
2 p.m.
SERIES RECORD: Broncos lead 26-15.
LAST TIME MET: Broncos beat Seahawks 30-27 on Nov. 2, 1997, at Denver.
LAST WEEK: Broncos beat Eagles 41-16. Seahawks lost to Chiefs 17-6.
LAST WEEK'S STARS: Broncos RB Terrell Davis, AFC offensive player of week, had 168 yards and 2 TDs on 20 carries. Seahawks LB Chad Brown had 11 tackles with 1 sack.
OFFENSE: BRONCOS - RUSH (No. 1), PASS (No. 11), OVERALL (No. 2); SEAHAWKS - RUSH (No. 12), PASS (No. 27), OVERALL (No. 24)
DEFENSE: BRONCOS - RUSH (No. 16), PASS (No. 12), OVERALL (No. 10); SEAHAWKS - RUSH (No. 25), PASS (No. 3), OVERALL (No. 7)
THE LOWDOWN: Seahawks are in a bit of a rut after winning first three games, while the Broncos are rolling, scoring 113 points in last three games. Although John Elway and Warren Moon both could miss this one with injuries, Elway has the better surrounding cast.
PREDICTION: Broncos 24, Sea-hawks 14