1997 Denver Broncos season

1997 Denver Broncos season

Head coach	Mike Shanahan
General manager	John Beake
Owner	Pat Bowlen
Home field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	2nd AFC West
Playoff finish	Won AFC Wild Card Playoff (Jaguars) 42–17 Won AFC Divisional Playoff (at Chiefs) 14–10 Won AFC Championship (at Steelers) 24–21 Won Super Bowl XXXII (vs. Packers) 31–24
← 1996 Broncos seasons 1998 →

The 1997 Denver Broncos season was the team's 38th, and 28th in the National Football League (NFL). The Broncos finished the season with a record of 12–4, finishing second in the AFC West, and winning Super Bowl XXXII. The Broncos were the second team since the 1970 merger to win a Super Bowl (Oakland Raiders won in 1980) as a Wild Card team; the Kansas City Chiefs were an AFL wild card entrant who won the pre-merger Super Bowl IV in 1969.^[1]

The 1997 season saw the new addition of the Denver Broncos' newest wordmark and logo. Their default colors were blue tops, blue pants and orange shoes. This would continue until 2012 when they assigned the all blue to the "Main Alternate" slot, replacing the primary uniforms with orange tops, white bottoms and orange/white shoes.

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Offseason

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1997 Denver Broncos draft
1	28	Trevor Pryce *	Defensive tackle	Clemson
3	67	Dan Neil	Guard	Texas
4	124	Cory Gilliard	Cornerback	Ball State
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Season summary

Having lost a disappointing playoff game to Jacksonville the year before, many thought this might be John Elway's last chance to win a Super Bowl. They started off the season by winning their first six games, beating the Chiefs, Seahawks, Rams, Bengals, Falcons and Patriots in the first game between the last two unbeaten NFL teams since 1973.^[2] They then lost to the Raiders, then defeated the Bills, Seahawks, and Panthers. They then lost to the Chiefs, beat the Raiders and the Chargers, lost to the Steelers and the 49ers, but finished the season with a win against the Chargers.

They made the playoffs as a wildcard and advanced against the Jaguars and Chiefs and defeated the Steelers in the 1997 AFC Championship Game. They then won Super Bowl XXXII against the Packers 31–24, only the second team since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970 to ever win a Super Bowl as a wildcard, and the first AFC team to win the title since the Los Angeles Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII following the 1983 season. The win was a big morale boost to Denver and the Broncos, who had suffered through four previous Super Bowl losses, and especially Elway, who had led three of those defeats.

The 1997 Broncos were tenth in the league in total passing yards with 3704 and fourth in the league in total rushing yards with 2378. They finished with 6082 total yards, first in the NFL. They were fourth in total yards given up with 4969. They were also first in total points scored with 472. They were seventh in total points allowed with 287.

The team's 12–4 record is currently their fifth-best 16-game season in franchise history.

During the season John Elway threw for 3635 yards and Terrell Davis rushed for 1750 yards. Rod Smith had 70 receptions for 1180 yards and Ed McCaffrey had 45 receptions for 590 yards. Tight end Shannon Sharpe has 72 receptions for 1107 yards. Kicker Jason Elam kicked 26 field goals out of 36 attempted. Davis, Elway, Tom Nalen, Sharpe, and Neil Smith made the Pro Bowl.

Personnel

Staff

1997 Denver Broncos staff

Front office

President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen
General Manager – John Beake
Director of Player Personnel – Neal Dahlen
Director of Pro Scouting – Jack Elway
Director of College Scouting – Ted Sundquist
College Scouting Consultant – Jerry Frei
College Scout – Dave Gettleman

Head coaches

Head Coach – Mike Shanahan
Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line – Alex Gibbs

Offensive coaches

Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Gary Kubiak
Running Backs – Bobby Turner
Wide Receivers – Mike Heimerdinger
Tight Ends – Brian Pariani
Assistant Offensive Line – Barney Chavous
Offensive Assistant – Dwain Painter
Offensive Assistant – Ricky Porter

Defensive coaches

Defensive Coordinator – Greg Robinson
Defensive Line – George Dyer
Linebackers – Frank Bush
Defensive Backs/Secondary – Ed Donatell
Defensive Assistant – Rick Smith
Pass Rush Specialist – John Teerlinck

Special teams coaches

Special Teams – Rick Dennison

Strength and conditioning

Strength and Conditioning – Rich Tuten
Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Greg Saporta
Strength Assistant – Barney Chavous

Roster

1997 Denver Broncos roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

57 Allen Aldridge MLB
56 Keith Burns MLB
59 Glenn Cadrez OLB
51 John Mobley OLB
53 Bill Romanowski OLB
58 Steve Russ OLB

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

{{{reserve_lists}}}

Rookies in italics

^[3]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	Attendance
1	August 31, 1997	Kansas City Chiefs	W 19–3	Mile High Stadium	1–0	75,600
2	September 7, 1997	at Seattle Seahawks	W 35–14	Kingdome	2–0	55,859
3	September 14, 1997	St. Louis Rams	W 35–14	Mile High Stadium	3–0	74,338
4	September 21, 1997	Cincinnati Bengals	W 38–20	Mile High Stadium	4–0	73,871
5	September 28, 1997	at Atlanta Falcons	W 29–21	Georgia Dome	5–0	48,211
6	October 6, 1997	New England Patriots	W 34–13	Mile High Stadium	6–0	75,821
7	Bye week
8	October 19, 1997	at Oakland Raiders	L 25–28	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	6–1	57,006
9	October 26, 1997	at Buffalo Bills	W 23–20 (OT)	Rich Stadium	7–1	78,458
10	November 2, 1997	Seattle Seahawks	W 30–27	Mile High Stadium	8–1	74,212
11	November 9, 1997	Carolina Panthers	W 34–0	Mile High Stadium	9–1	71,408
12	November 16, 1997	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 22–24	Arrowhead Stadium	9–2	77,963
13	November 24, 1997	Oakland Raiders	W 31–3	Mile High Stadium	10–2	75,307
14	November 30, 1997	at San Diego Chargers	W 38–28	Qualcomm Stadium	11–2	54,245
15	December 7, 1997	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–35	Three Rivers Stadium	11–3	59,739
16	December 15, 1997	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17–34	3Com Park	11–4	68,461
17	December 21, 1997	San Diego Chargers	W 38–3	Mile High Stadium	12–4	69,632

Game summaries

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	0	0	3	0	3
• Broncos	3	6	0	10	19

Date: August 31
Location: Mile High Stadium

Week 2

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Broncos	10	3	15	7	35
Seahawks	0	14	0	0	14

Date: September 7
Location: Kingdome

Week 3

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	7	0	0	7	14
• Broncos	7	7	7	14	35

Date: September 14
Location: Mile High Stadium

Week 4

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	7	0	10	3	20
• Broncos	0	14	7	17	38

Date: September 21
Location: Mile High Stadium

Week 5

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Broncos	15	8	6	0	29
Falcons	0	7	7	7	21

Date: September 28
Location: Georgia Dome

Week 6

	1	2	3	4	Total
Patriots	0	13	0	0	13
• Broncos	14	0	17	3	34

Date: October 6
Location: Mile High Stadium
Television network: ABC

Week 8

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	7	3	7	8	25
• Raiders	7	7	7	7	28

Date: October 19
Location: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Week 9

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
• Broncos	0	10	10	0	3	23
Bills	0	0	20	0	0	20

Date: October 26
Location: Rich Stadium

Week 10

	1	2	3	4	Total
Seahawks	3	7	10	7	27
• Broncos	3	10	14	3	30

Date: November 2
Location: Mile High Stadium

Week 11

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0
• Broncos	14	3	10	7	34

Date: Mile High Stadium

Week 12

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	3	10	3	6	22
• Chiefs	0	14	7	3	24

Date: November 16
Location: Arrowhead Stadium

Week 13

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	3	0	0	3
• Broncos	0	14	17	0	31

Date: November 24
Location: Mile High Stadium
Television network: ABC

Week 14

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Broncos	7	21	7	3	38
Chargers	0	7	7	14	28

Date: November 30
Location: Qualcomm Stadium

Week 15

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	14	7	3	0	24
• Steelers	7	14	7	7	35

Date: December 7
Location: Three Rivers Stadium

Week 16

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	10	0	7	0	17
• 49ers	0	14	10	10	34

Date: December 15
Location: Candlestick Park
Television network: ABC

Week 17

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	3	0	0	0	3
• Broncos	0	24	7	7	38

Date: December 21
Location: Mile High Stadium

Standings

AFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽¹⁾ Kansas City Chiefs	13	3	0	.813	375	232	W6
⁽⁴⁾ Denver Broncos	12	4	0	.750	472	287	W1
Seattle Seahawks	8	8	0	.500	365	362	W2
Oakland Raiders	4	12	0	.250	324	419	L5
San Diego Chargers	4	12	0	.250	266	425	L8

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
Wild Card Playoffs	December 27, 1997	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 42–17	Mile High Stadium	74,481
Divisional Playoffs	January 4, 1998	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 14–10	Arrowhead Stadium	76,695
AFC Championship	January 11, 1998	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 24–21	Three Rivers Stadium	61,382
Super Bowl XXXII	January 25, 1998	N Green Bay Packers	W 31–24	Qualcomm Stadium	68,912

Wild Card

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	0	7	10	0	17
• Broncos	14	7	0	21	42

Date: December 27
Location: Mile High Stadium

Divisional

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Broncos	0	7	0	7	14
Chiefs	0	0	10	0	10

Date: January 4
Location: Arrowhead Stadium

Conference Championship

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Broncos	7	17	0	0	24
Steelers	7	7	0	7	21

Date: January 11
Location: Three Rivers Stadium

Super Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	7	7	3	7	24
• Broncos	7	10	7	7	31

Date: January 25
Location: Qualcomm Stadium
TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg Phil Simms Paul Maguire

Awards and records

Terrell Davis, Super Bowl MVP
John Elway, Franchise Record, Most Touchdowns in One Season, 27 Touchdown Passes ^[4]

References

^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 256
^ Last Undefeated NFL Teams in Each Season
^ "1997 Denver Broncos starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 44

External links

1997 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com

Super Bowl champions

v t e Denver Broncos
Founded in 1960 Based in Denver, Colorado Headquartered in Dove Valley, Colorado
Franchise	History Players Starting quarterbacks Coaches Seasons First-round draft picks Broadcasters
Stadiums	Mile High Stadium Broncos Stadium at Mile High
Key personnel	Owner Pat Bowlen President/CEO Joe Ellis Executive Vice President/General Manager John Elway Head Coach Vance Joseph
Culture	Barrel Man Cheerleaders "Joy to the World" Miles Mork & Mindy No Fly Zone Orange Crush Defense "Rocky Mountain Way" South Park Thunder "You Only Move Twice" (The Simpsons episode)
Lore	Mile High Miracle Snowball Game The Drive The Fumble The Helicopter
Rivalries	Kansas City Chiefs Los Angeles Chargers Oakland Raiders New England Patriots Brady–Manning rivalry
Retired numbers	7 18 44
Division championships	1977 1978 1984 1986 1987 1989 1991 1996 1998 2005 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Conference championships	1977 1986 1987 1989 1997 1998 2013 2015
League championships	1997 (XXXII) 1998 (XXXIII) 2015 (50)
Media	Broadcasters Dave Logan Brian Griese Scott Hastings Ed McCaffrey Alan Roach TV: KUSA 9News Radio: 850 KOA (AM)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: West Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)
Seasons (58)	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Championship seasons in bold

v t e Denver Broncos seasons
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Bold indicates Super Bowl victory Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance

v t e Denver Broncos Super Bowl XXXII champions
1 Jason Elam 6 Bubby Brister 7 John Elway 8 Jeff Lewis 16 Tom Rouen 21 Randy Hilliard 22 Vaughn Hebron 23 Darrien Gordon 25 Darrius Johnson 26 Tim McKyer 27 Steve Atwater 29 Howard Griffith 30 Terrell Davis (MVP) 31 Derek Loville 32 Tony Veland 33 Dedrick Dodge 34 Tyrone Braxton 37 Anthony Lynn 39 Ray Crockett 42 Detron Smith 50 Jon Hesse 51 John Mobley 53 Bill Romanowski 56 Keith Burns 57 Allen Aldridge 58 Steve Russ 59 Glenn Cadrez 62 Dan Neil 63 David Diaz-Infante 65 Gary Zimmerman 66 Tom Nalen 69 Mark Schlereth 70 Jamie Brown 72 Ernest Jones 74 Harry Swayne 75 Brian Habib 77 Tony Jones 80 Rod Smith 81 Patrick Jeffers 82 David Gamble 83 Flipper Anderson 84 Shannon Sharpe 85 Willie Green 86 Byron Chamberlain 87 Ed McCaffrey 88 Sir Mawn Wilson 89 Dwayne Carswell 90 Neil Smith 91 Alfred Williams 93 Trevor Pryce 94 Keith Traylor 96 Harald Hasselbach 97 Mike Lodish 98 Maa Tanuvasa 99 David Richie
Head coach: Mike Shanahan
Coaches: Frank Bush Barney Chavous Rick Dennison Ed Donatell George Dyer Alex Gibbs Mike Heimerdinger Gary Kubiak Dwain Painter Brian Pariani Ricky Porter Greg Robinson Rick Smith John Teerlinck Bobby Turner

1997 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Baltimore	Denver	Arizona	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cincinnati	Kansas City	Dallas	Detroit	Carolina
Miami	Jacksonville	Oakland	NY Giants	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	Philadelphia	Minnesota	St. Louis
NY Jets	Tennessee	Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay	San Francisco

This page was last edited on 18 November 2018, at 16:25

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