1997 Denver Broncos season

American football team season August 2023 February 2026 Denver Broncos 1997 12–4 2nd AFC West Mike Shanahan Gary Kubiak Greg Robinson John Beake and Mike Shanahan Pat Bowlen Pat Bowlen Mile High Stadium Won Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Jaguars) 42–17Won Divisional Playoffs(at Chiefs) 14–10Won AFC Championship(at Steelers) 24–21Won Super Bowl XXXII(vs. Packers) 31–24 QB John ElwayRB Terrell DavisTE Shannon SharpeC Tom Nalen Broncos seasons The 1997 season was the Denver Broncos' 28th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 38th overall. 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 wild card team since the 1970 merger to win a Super Bowl, joining the 1980 Oakland Raiders. The 1997 season saw the addition of the Denver Broncos' newest wordmark and logo. Their new logo featured a newer, dynamic Bronco, which has been the team's logo since the 1997 season. The new default team colors unveiled prior to the 1997 season were navy blue jerseys with orange and white pants with orange.New uniforms for a new era https://history.denverbroncos.com/1997/02/new-uniforms-for-a-new-era/ History.DenverBroncos.com February 4, 1997 January 15, 2020Broncos Directory https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1997.pdf#page=3 NFL Enterprises 1997 Denver Broncos Media Guide January 15, 2020 This would continue until 2012, when they assigned the all navy blue uniforms as the "Main alternate" slot, making the primary uniforms have orange tops, white bottoms and orange/white shoes. Offseason NFL draft 1997 NFL draft 1997 Denver Broncos 1 28 Trevor Pryce Defensive tackle Clemson yes yes 3 67 Dan Neil Guard Texas yes 4 124 Cory Gilliard Cornerback Ball State no no 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.http://www.footballgeography.com/?p=3190 Last Undefeated NFL Teams in Each Season 2012-12-26 https://web.archive.org/web/20130117230829/http://www.footballgeography.com/?p=3190 2013-01-17 dead 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 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 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 coach – Mike Shanahan Assistant head coach/offensive line – Alex Gibbs Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Gary Kubiak Running backs – Bobby Turner Wide receivers – Mike Heimerdinger Tight ends – Brian Pariani Assistant offensive line/Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Barney Chavous Offensive assistant – Dwain Painter Offensive assistant – Ricky Porter Defensive coordinator – Greg Robinson Defensive line – George Dyer Linebackers – Frank Bush Defensive backs – Ed Donatell Defensive assistant – Rick Smith Pass Rush Specialist – John Teerlinck Special teams – Rick Dennison Strength and conditioning – Rich Tuten Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Greg Saporta Roster 1997 Denver Broncos  6 Bubby Brister  7 John Elway  8 Jeff Lewis American football 30 Terrell Davis 29 Howard Griffith FB 22 Vaughn Hebron KR 31 Derek Loville 37 Anthony Lynn 42 Detron Smith FB 83 Flipper Anderson 85 Willie Green American football 81 Patrick Jeffers 87 Ed McCaffrey 80 Rod Smith wide receiver 88 Sir Mawn Wilson y 89 Dwayne Carswell 86 Byron Chamberlain 84 Shannon Sharpe 70 Jamie Brown American football T 63 David Diaz-Infante G/C/LS 75 Brian Habib G 77 Tony Jones offensive tackle T 66 Tom Nalen C 62 Dan Neil American football y G 69 Mark Schlereth G 74 Harry Swayne T 65 Gary Zimmerman T 96 Harald Hasselbach DE 72 Ernest Jones defensive lineman DE/DT 97 Mike Lodish DT 93 Trevor Pryce y DT 99 David Richie y DT 90 Neil Smith American football DE 98 Maa Tanuvasa DT 94 Keith Traylor NT 91 Alfred Williams DE 57 Allen Aldridge MLB 56 Keith Burns American football player MLB 59 Glenn Cadrez OLB 50 Jon Hesse y OLB 51 John Mobley OLB 53 Bill Romanowski OLB 58 Steve Russ OLB 27 Steve Atwater FS 34 Tyrone Braxton SS 39 Ray Crockett CB 33 Dedrick Dodge FS 23 Darrien Gordon CB/PR 21 Randy Hilliard CB 25 Darrius Johnson CB 26 Tim McKyer CB 32 Tony Veland SS  1 Jason Elam K 16 Tom Rouen P 79 Jumpy Geathers DT IR 20 Tory James CB IR 60 K. C. Jones American football y C IR 24 Selwyn Jones CB IR 78 Matt Lepsis y T NF-Inj. 53 active, 5 inactive, 5 practice squad -- Chris Banks American football G 55 Hillary Butler LB 48 George Coghill American football y S 82 David Gamble American football WR -- Randy Bierman T https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/1997_roster.htm 1997 Denver Broncos starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com November 20, 2014 Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 July 26, 1997 Buffalo Bills W 31–10 1–0 Mile High Stadium 69,739 Recap 2 August 4, 1997 vs. Miami Dolphins L 19–38 1–1 Estadio Guillermo Cañedo (Mexico City) 104,629 Recap 3 August 9, 1997 at Carolina Panthers W 23–13 2–1 Ericsson Stadium 68,296 Recap 4 August 17 at New England Patriots L 21–31 2–2 Foxboro Stadium 55,354 Recap 5 August 23, 1997 San Francisco 49ers W 31–17 3–2 Mile High Stadium 69,847 Recap Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap white 1 August 31 Kansas City Chiefs W 19–3 1–0 Mile High Stadium Recap #002244 2 September 7 at Seattle Seahawks W 35–14 2–0 Kingdome Recap white 3 September 14 St. Louis Rams W 35–14 3–0 Mile High Stadium Recap white 4 September 21 Cincinnati Bengals W 38–20 4–0 Mile High Stadium Recap white 5 September 28 at Atlanta Falcons W 29–21 5–0 Georgia Dome Recap white 6 October 6, 1997 New England Patriots W 34–13 6–0 Mile High Stadium Recap 7Bye #002244 8 October 19 at Oakland Raiders L 25–28 6–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap #002244 9 October 26 at Buffalo Bills W 23–20 (OT) 7–1 Rich Stadium Recap white 10 November 2 Seattle Seahawks W 30–27 8–1 Mile High Stadium Recap white 11 November 9 Carolina Panthers W 34–0 9–1 Mile High Stadium Recap #002244 12 November 16 at Kansas City Chiefs L 22–24 9–2 Arrowhead Stadium Recap white 13 November 24, 1997 Oakland Raiders W 31–3 10–2 Mile High Stadium Recap #002244 14 November 30 at San Diego Chargers W 38–28 11–2 Qualcomm Stadium Recap #002244 15 December 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 24–35 11–3 Three Rivers Stadium Recap #002244 16 December 15, 1997 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–34 11–4 3Com Park Recap white 17 December 21 San Diego Chargers W 38–3 12–4 Mile High Stadium Recap Game summaries Week 1 Chiefs 0 0 3 0 Broncos 3 6 0 10 August 31 Mile High Stadium 2:00 pm MDT Ed Hochuli Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire, and Phil Simms NBC Week 2 Broncos 10 3 15 7 Seahawks 0 14 0 0 September 7 Kingdome 2:00 pm MDT Phil Luckett Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire, and Phil Simms NBC Week 3 Rams 7 0 0 7 Broncos 7 7 7 14 September 14 Mile High Stadium 2:00 pm MDT Sam Rosen and Bill Maas FOX Week 4 Bengals 7 0 10 3 Broncos 0 14 7 17 September 21 Mile High Stadium 2:00 pm MDT Mike Carey Charlie Jones and Randy Cross NBC Week 5 Broncos 15 8 6 0 Falcons 0 7 7 7 September 28 Georgia Dome 11:00 am MDT Dick Hantak Charlie Jones and Bob Trumpy NBC Week 6 Patriots 0 13 0 0 Broncos 14 0 17 3 October 6 Mile High Stadium 7:00 pm MDT Jerry Markbreit Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf ABC Week 8 Broncos 7 3 7 8 Raiders 7 7 7 7 October 19 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 2:00 pm MDT Bernie Kukar Tom Hammond and Randy Cross NBC Week 9 Broncos 0 10 10 0 3 Bills 0 0 20 0 0 October 26 Rich Stadium 11:00 am MDT Ron Blum Tom Hammond and Randy Cross NBC Week 10 Seahawks 3 7 10 7 Broncos 3 10 14 3 November 2 Mile High Stadium 2:00 pm MST Tom White Tom Hammond and Randy Cross NBC Week 11 Panthers 0 0 0 0 Broncos 14 3 10 7 November 9 Mile High Stadium 2:00 pm MST Johnny Grier Pat Summerall and John Madden Fox Week 12 Broncos 3 10 3 6 Chiefs 0 14 7 3 November 16 Arrowhead Stadium 11:00 am MST Bill Carollo Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire and Phil Simms NBC Week 13 Raiders 0 3 0 0 Broncos 0 14 17 0 November 24 Mile High Stadium 7:00 pm MST Mike Carey Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf ABC Week 14 Broncos 7 21 7 3 Chargers 0 7 7 14 November 30 Qualcomm Stadium 6:00 pm MST Gerald Austin Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann ESPN Week 15 Broncos 14 7 3 0 Steelers 7 14 7 7 December 7 Three Rivers Stadium 11:00 am MST Walt Coleman Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire and Phil Simms NBC Week 16 Broncos 10 0 7 0 49ers 0 14 10 10 December 15 Candlestick Park 7:00 pm MST Phil Luckett Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf ABC Week 17 Chargers 3 0 0 0 Broncos 0 24 7 7 December 21 Mile High Stadium 2:00 pm MST Jerry Markbreit Mike Breen and James Lofton NBC Standings Playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Result TV Time (MT) TV Announcers Game site Attendance Wild Card Playoffs December 27, 1997 Jacksonville Jaguars (5) W 42–17 ABC 2:00pm Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf Mile High Stadium 74,481 Divisional Playoffs January 4, 1998 at Kansas City Chiefs (1) W 14–10 NBC 2:00pm Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms Arrowhead Stadium 76,695 AFC Championship January 11, 1998 at Pittsburgh Steelers (2) W 24–21 NBC 10:30am Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms Three Rivers Stadium 61,382 Super Bowl XXXII January 25, 1998 vs. Green Bay Packers (N2) W 31–24 NBC 4:30pm Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms Qualcomm Stadium 68,912 AFC Wild Card: vs. (5) Jacksonville Jaguars 1997–98_NFL_playoffs#AFC:_Denver_Broncos_42,_Jacksonville_Jaguars_17 Jaguars 0 7 10 0 Broncos 14 7 0 21 December 27 Mile High Stadium Bernie Kukar Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf ABC In the 1997 AFC Wildcard Playoff weekend, the Broncos were paired against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Broncos viewed this game as a chance to avenge the previous season's Divisional Playoff loss of 30–27 to the Jaguars, an early exit in a year the Broncos were favored to win the Super Bowl. Ultimately, 21 unanswered 4th quarter points saw the Broncos seize the win. AFC Divisional Playoff: at (1) Kansas City Chiefs Broncos 0 7 0 7 Chiefs 0 0 10 0 January 4 Arrowhead Stadium Jerry Markbreit Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire, and Phil Simms NBC In the Divisional Round, the Broncos faced their AFC West divisional rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, who had won the Division title on the back of a 6-game winning streak to end the regular season. However, while most of that winning streak came with backup QB Rich Gannon at the helm, starting QB Elvis Grbac had reclaimed the reins of the Chiefs' offense by the end of the regular season. The debate as to which QB was best suited to lead the Chiefs' offense entering the playoffs spilled over into this Divisional Round contest, as the Chiefs failed to score in the first half despite home-field advantage. Down by 3 points entering the 4th quarter, the Broncos took the lead back from the Chiefs with Terrell Davis's second touchdown of the game, which would be enough to see them advance to the AFC Championship Game the following week in Pittsburgh. AFC Championship Game: at (2) Pittsburgh Steelers Broncos 7 17 0 0 Steelers 7 7 0 7 January 11 Three Rivers Stadium Ron Blum Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire, and Phil Simms NBC In the Championship Game, the Broncos once again went on the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers, who eked out a 7-6 home win over the New England Patriots in their Divisional Round contest the week prior. While the Steelers were slight favorites entering the game, a 17-point 2nd quarter from the Broncos' offense fueled them to a double-digit lead that they never fully relinquished, as they advanced to the Super Bowl for the 5th time in franchise history. Super Bowl: vs. (N2) Green Bay Packers Super Bowl XXXII Packers 7 7 3 7 Broncos 7 10 7 7 January 25 Qualcomm Stadium 4:30 pm MST Ed Hochuli Dick Enberg, Phil Simms and Paul Maguire NBC The Broncos entered Super Bowl XXXII as massive betting underdogs against the Green Bay Packers; Vegas lines saw the Packers close as 11-point favorites just before kickoff. Despite this, the Broncos never trailed in an otherwise tight contest, as their offense managed to score a touchdown in every quarter of the game on the shoulders of RB Terrell Davis, who gave the Broncos the lead for good in the 4th quarter with his 3rd goal-line touchdown of the game. On the day, the Broncos as a team tied the Super Bowl XX winning Chicago Bears' record for most team rushing touchdowns in a single Super Bowl game, with 4. The win marked the Broncos' first-ever Super Bowl in franchise history, having lost in their previous 4 appearances (XII, XXI, XXII, XXIV). Awards and records Terrell Davis, Super Bowl MVPSuper Bowl MVPs – Super Bowl History – National Football League https://www.espn.com/nfl/superbowl/history/mvps 2025-01-20 ESPN.com John Elway, Franchise Record, Most Touchdowns in One Season, 27 Touchdown Passes NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 44Denver Broncos Single-Season Passing Leaders https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/single-season-passing.htm 2025-03-08 Pro-Football-Reference.com en References External links at Pro-Football-Reference.com Category:Denver Broncos seasons Category:American Football Conference championship seasons Category:Super Bowl champion seasons Denver Broncos Bronco