Et tu, John Elway?

Growing up as a fan of the Denver Broncos, a big part of that was John Elway. He was more than just a quarterback, he was a legend. He had a knack for coming back. It got to be that, even when we were down, if John could just get the ball you felt like you had a chance.

Of course, part of that legend was born on January 11, 1987 during the AFC Title game with the Browns. In a span of football that's become known as "The Drive," Elway led the Broncos 98 yards to tie the game 20-20 before Denver won it in Overtime. Then legend was truly born then.

Of course, Elway authored many comebacks during his career. He never gave up, and the fans loved him for it. That's how he won his first Super Bowl, against the Green Bay Packers, by never giving up, driving down the field, and overcoming the odds.

On Saturday, Denver's season came to an end as John Elway watched from the box above. He's now the general manager — responsible for hiring coach John Fox, landing quarterback Peyton Manning, and assembling this year's team.

With 31 seconds left and two timeouts, the Broncos got the ball at their 20 yard line in a tie game, 35-35. Fox elected to have Manning — the greatest quarterback in NFL history by statistical metrics — kneel down to take the game to overtime. Later, Manning's interception led the Ravens to a field goal that won the game.

I couldn't help but wonder, at the time, what Elway thought of the gutless football. On Tuesday, Fox came out and defended his decision — which you'd expect. But Elway also defended the decision, saying he thought it was the right call — something I never expected.

Elway is probably trying to shield the coach he hired and the team he helped build from a long off-season of scrutiny. And, sure, Fox and Manning led the Broncos to a 13-3 season and a No. 1 seed. But they did that by pounding the opposition, something that didn't happen on Saturday.

Elway the front office guru can defend the decision all he wants, but Elway the player would never have accepted that. A few years back, when his offensive coordinator gave a play he didn't like, current Bears quarterback and former Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler screamed an expletive toward the sideline and did what he wanted to do on the field. My gut tells me John Elway would have done the same, as a player, had his coach told him to take a knee and not try to win a playoff game.