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 Wild Card Playoffs (Jaguars) 42–17 Won Divisional Playoffs (Chiefs) 14–10 Won AFC Championship (Steelers) 24–21 Won Super Bowl XXXII (Packers) 31–24

The 1997 Denver Broncos season was the team's 39th, and 29th 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 season saw the Broncos change their logo and uniforms which remain in use until it change from blue tops to orange in 2012 .

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 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 Pass Rush Specialist – John Teerlinck Linebackers – Frank Bush Defensive Backs – Ed Donatell Defensive Assistant – Rick Smith Special teams coaches Special Teams – Rick Dennison Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Rich Tuten Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Barney Chavous Administrative Assistant/Strength and Conditioning – Greg Saporta

Roster

1997 Denver Broncos roster
	Quarterbacks  7 John Elway  6 Bubby Brister  8 Jeff Lewis Running backs 30 Terrell Davis 29 Howard Griffith FB 22 Vaughn Hebron 31 Derek Loville 37 Anthony Lynn FB 42 Detron Smith FB Wide receivers 83 Flipper Anderson 82 David Gamble 85 Willie Green 81 Patrick Jeffers 87 Ed McCaffrey 80 Rod Smith		Tight ends 89 Dwayne Carswell 86 Byron Chamberlain 84 Shannon Sharpe Offensive linemen 70 Jamie Brown T 63 David Diaz-Infante G/C 75 Brian Habib G 77 Tony Jones T 66 Tom Nalen C 62 Dan Neil G 69 Mark Schlereth G 74 Harry Swayne T 65 Gary Zimmerman T		Defensive linemen 96 Harald Hasselbach DE 72 Ernest Jones DE 97 Mike Lodish DT 95 Michael Dean Perry DT 93 Trevor Pryce DT 99 David Richie DT 90 Neil Smith DE 98 Maa Tanuvasa DT 94 Keith Traylor DT 91 Alfred Williams DE 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 27 Steve Atwater FS 34 Tyrone Braxton SS 39 Ray Crockett CB 33 Dedrick Dodge SS 23 Darrien Gordon CB 21 Randy Hilliard CB 25 Darrius Johnson CB 26 Tim McKyer CB 32 Tony Veland FS Special teams  3 Scott Bentley K  1 Jason Elam K 16 Tom Rouen P 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	Jack Murphy 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: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Standings

AFC West
	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

Awards and records

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

References

1. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 256
2. Last Undefeated NFL Teams in Each Season
3. "1997 Denver Broncos starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
4. 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