Endorsed by the Denver Broncos player who twice won the AFC Player of the Year Award, John Elway's Quarterback for the NES is based on the coin-op game, John Elway's Team Quarterback. You can call nine offensive and six defensive plays, run the ball, catch the ball, kick the ball, make tackles and, of course, throw passes.

To aim a pass or kick, you must guide a cursor in the desired direction. Once you have called a play, you don't necessarily have to stick with it. For example, if you have called a Bomb and the defense is in Prevent, you can abandon the play and run a quarterback draw, which should take the defense off guard and net you a few yards.

On defense, you control the middle linebacker, but you can switch control to the player closest to the ball with a simple press of the B button. You can also jump to intercept passes and make diving tackles. Diving can be useful on offense when you are running the ball.

Although teams are always red or blue and the game lacks an NFL license for official team names and logos, there are 14 different teams from which to choose. Each team fields the requisite 11-man squad. The action takes place from an overhead perspective with the screen scrolling vertically to follow the ball.