1986 Denver Broncos season

American football team season December 2013 February 2026 Denver Broncos 1986 11–5 1st AFC West Dan Reeves Mike Shanahan Joe Collier John Beake Pat Bowlen Mile High Stadium Won Divisional Playoffs(vs. Patriots) 22–17 Won AFC Championship(at Browns) 23–20 (OT Overtime) Lost Super Bowl XXI(vs. Giants) 20–39 QB John ElwayRB Sammy WinderG Keith BishopDE Rulon JonesLB Karl MecklenburgS Dennis Smith Broncos seasons The 1986 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 27th year in professional football and its 17th with the National Football League (NFL). They finished the regular season with a record of 11–5, returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence. In the Divisional Playoffs the Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 22–17. Then won the AFC Championship over the Cleveland Browns 23–20. At Super Bowl XXI the New York Giants dominated the second half of the game and won 39–20. This would be the first of back to back Super Bowl losses for the team. This season would be the final season for the remaining members of the Orange Crush Defense that had carried the Broncos to their first Super Bowl nine seasons earlier, as nose tackle Rubin Carter, linebacker Tom Jackson, cornerback Louis Wright and safety Steve Foley would all retire after the season. Offseason NFL draft 1986 NFL draft 1986 Denver Broncos 4 104 Jim Juriga Guard Illinois no 5 134 Tony Colorito Nose tackle USC yes 6 151 Orson Mobley Tight end Salem yes 6 161 Mark Jackson Wide receiver Purdue yes 7 188 Raymond Phillips Linebacker North Carolina State no 8 217 Bruce Klosterman Linebacker South Dakota State no 9 244 Joe Thomas Wide receiver Mississippi Valley State no 10 271 Victor Hall Tight end Jackson State no 11 301 Thomas Dendy Running back South Carolina no Personnel Staff 1986 Denver Broncos President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen General manager – John Beake Director of player personnel – Reed Johnson Vice president/head Coach – Dan Reeves Assistant head coach/defense – Joe Collier Special Assistant – Marvin Bass Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks – Mike Shanahan Running Backs – Nick Nicolau Wide Receivers – Kay Dalton Offensive Line – Alex Gibbs Defensive Line – Stan Jones Linebackers – Myrel Moore Defensive Backs – Charlie West Special Teams/Tight Ends – Chan Gailey Strength/Conditioning – Al Miller Roster 1986 Denver Broncos 48 9 0  7 John Elway  8 Gary Kubiak 35 Ken Bell American football y 33 Gene Lang American football 30 Steve Sewell 47 Gerald Willhite 23 Sammy Winder 80 Mark Jackson wide receiver y 82 Vance Johnson 84 Clint Sampson 81 Steve Watson wide receiver 85 Joey Hackett 87 Bobby Micho 89 Orson Mobley y 54 Keith Bishop American football G 64 Billy Bryan C 63 Mark Cooper American football G 62 Mike Freeman guard G/C 60 Paul Howard American football G 76 Ken Lanier T 74 Dan Remsberg T 70 Dave Studdard T 69 Tony Colorito y NT 73 Simon Fletcher American football DE 90 Freddie Gilbert DE 75 Rulon Jones DE 71 Greg Kragen NT 61 Andre Townsend DE 59 Darren Comeaux ILB 55 Rick Dennison ILB 98 Ricky Hunley ILB 57 Tom Jackson American football, born 1951 OLB 77 Karl Mecklenburg ILB 50 Jim Ryan linebacker OLB 52 Ken Woodard OLB 43 Steve Foley defensive back FS 31 Mike Harden CB 36 Mark Haynes CB 22 Tony Lilly FS 48 Randy Robbins American football SS 49 Dennis Smith American football SS 45 Steve Wilson defensive back CB 20 Louis Wright American football CB  2 Mike Horan American football P  3 Rich Karlis K 72 Dallas Cameron no LB IR 68 Rubin Carter American football NT IR 32 Joe Dudek y RB IR 66 Jim Juriga y T IR 88 Clarence Kay TE NF-Ill. 97 Bruce Klosterman y ILB IR 83 Gary Rolle no WR IR -- Stanley Short no G/T IR 99 Ray Woodard y DE IR None - Vacant https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/1986_roster.htm 1986 Denver Broncos starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com November 12, 2014 Regular season The Broncos won their first six games of the season, before being defeated by the then-5-1 New York Jets on Monday Night Football. They won two more games to improve to 8–1, tied with the Jets for the best record in the league. Although they would go 3–4 down the stretch, alternating wins and losses, Denver still finished ahead of the Seahawks and Chiefs in first place in the AFC West. Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 7 Los Angeles Raiders W 38–36 1–0 Mile High Stadium 75,695 2 September 15 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 21–10 2–0 Three Rivers Stadium 57,305 3 September 21 at Philadelphia Eagles W 33–7 3–0 Veterans Stadium 63,839 4 September 28 New England Patriots W 27–20 4–0 Mile High Stadium 75,804 5 October 5 Dallas Cowboys W 29–14 5–0 Mile High Stadium 76,082 6 October 12 at San Diego Chargers W 31–14 6–0 Jack Murphy Stadium 55,662 7 October 20 at New York Jets L 10–22 6–1 Giants Stadium 73,759 8 October 26 Seattle Seahawks W 20–13 7–1 Mile High Stadium 76,089 9 November 2 at Los Angeles Raiders W 21–10 8–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 90,153 10 November 9 San Diego Chargers L 3–9 8–2 Mile High Stadium 75,012 11 November 16 Kansas City Chiefs W 38–17 9–2 Mile High Stadium 75,745 12 November 23 at New York Giants L 16–19 9–3 Giants Stadium 75,116 13 November 30 Cincinnati Bengals W 34–28 10–3 Mile High Stadium 58,705 14 December 7 at Kansas City Chiefs L 10–37 10–4 Arrowhead Stadium 47,019 15 December 13 Washington Redskins W 31–30 11–4 Mile High Stadium 75,905 16 December 20 at Seattle Seahawks L 16–41 11–5 Kingdome 63,697 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1 Raiders 16 6 14 0 Broncos 7 14 7 10 September 7 Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado 2:00 p.m. MDT 49 F • Wind 9 mph on Jim Tunney Don Criqui (play-by-play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator) NBC yes 1 DEN Steve Watson 35-yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick) Broncos 7–0 1 LA Marcus Allen 24-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Chris Bahr kick) Tie 7–7 1 LA Todd Christensen 16-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Chris Bahr kick) Raiders 14–7 1 DEN Safety, John Elway tackled by Greg Townsend in end zone Raiders 16–7 2 LA Chris Bahr 43-yard field goal Raiders 19–7 2 DEN John Elway 23-yard pass from Steve Sewell (Rich Karlis kick) Raiders 19–14 2 LA Chris Bahr 42-yard field goal Raiders 22–14 2 DEN Gene Lang 1-yard run (Rich Karlis kick) Raiders 22–21 3 LA Marcus Allen 2-yard run (Chris Bahr kick) Raiders 29–21 3 DEN Ken Woodard 16-yard fumble return (Rich Karlis kick) Raiders 29–28 3 LA Rod Barksdale 57-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Chris Bahr kick) Raiders 36–28 4 DEN Rich Karlis 51-yard field goal Raiders 36–31 4 DEN Gene Lang 7-yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick) Broncos 38–36 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 2 Broncos 0 7 7 7 Steelers 0 0 3 7 September 15 Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh 9:00 p.m. EST 57,305 64 F; wind 7 mph on Bob McElwee Frank Gifford and Al Michaels ABC yes Q2 DEN Watson 21 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick) DEN 7–0 Q3 PIT Anderson 42 yard field goal DEN 7–3 Q3 DEN Sewell 34 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick) DEN 14–3 Q4 PIT Erenberg 7 yard run (Anderson kick) DEN 14–10 Q4 DEN Winder 13 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick) DEN 21–10 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-06. Week 12 Denver Broncos 68thru96; Denver Broncos 68thru96;text-align:center; autocollapsed Week 12: Denver Broncos at New York Giants November 23, 1986 11:00 a.m. MST Broncos (9–3) 3 3 3 7 Giants (10–2) 0 10 3 6 Giants Stadium 75,116 43 F, relative humidity 70%, wind 10 mph on Tom Dooley NBC Dick Enberg (play-by-play), Merlin Olsen (color commentator) Box Score Broncos Giants collapsed 1 6:46 Broncos FG 40 Karlis 3 0 2 14:57 Giants FG 31 Allegre 3 3 2 2:38 Broncos FG 32 Karlis 6 3 2 0:43 Giants IntTD Martin 75 good Allegre 6 10 3 9:46 Giants FG 45 Allegre 6 13 3 1:53 Broncos FG 42 Karlis 9 13 4 10:07 Giants FG 46 Allegre 9 16 4 1:55 Broncos RushTD Winder 4 good Karlis 16 16 4 0:06 Giants FG 34 Allegre 16 19 16 19 Standings Playoffs 1986–87 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Divisional January 4, 1987 New England Patriots (3) W 22–17 1–0 Mile High Stadium 76,105 AFC Championship January 11, 1987 at Cleveland Browns (1) W 23–20 (OT) 2–0 Cleveland Stadium 79,915 Super Bowl XXI January 25, 1987 New York Giants (N1) L 20–39 2–1 Rose Bowl 101,063 They won their divisional playoff game against the Patriots at home 22–17. They then played the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland for the AFC Championship. The game culminated in the famous "Drive", where John Elway led a 98-yard drive for a touchdown pass to Mark Jackson to tie the game and send it to overtime, where they won by a field goal, 23–20. AFC Divisional Playoff AFC: Denver Broncos 22, New England Patriots 17 text-align:center; background:#eee Game summary Patriots 0 10 7 0 Broncos 3 7 10 2 Mile High Stadium, Denver 4:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. MST NBC Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen Jerry Seeman 75,262 Scoring DEN – FG R. Karlis 27 DEN 3–0 NE – S. Morgan 19 pass from Eason (Franklin kick) NE 7–3 DEN – J. Elway 22 run (Karlis kick) DEN 10–7 NE – FG A. Franklin 38 10–10 DEN – field goal Karlis 22 DEN 13–10 NE – S. Morgan 45 pass from Eason (Franklin kick) NE 17–13 DEN – V. Johnson 48 pass from Elway (Karlis kick) DEN 20–17 DEN – Safety, Eason sacked by R. Jones in end zone DEN 22–17 Broncos go to the AFC Championship Game and win to the Cleveland Browns in The Drive 23-20. But lost in Super Bowl XXI to the Giants 39-20. AFC Championship game Broncos 0 10 3 7 3 Browns 7 3 0 10 0 Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland 12:30 p.m. EST NBC Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen Chuck Heberling 79,973 This game is best remembered for The Drive when the Broncos drove 98 yards to tie the game with 37 seconds left in regulation, and Denver kicker Rich Karlis made the game-winning 33-yard field goal 5:38 into overtime. The Browns scored first when quarterback Bernie Kosar threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Herman Fontenot at the end of an 86-yard drive. But the Broncos then scored 10 unanswered points: Karlis' 19-yard field goal and running back Gerald Willhite's 1-yard rushing touchdown. Cleveland kicker Mark Moseley's 29-yard field goal before halftime tied the score, 10–10. The teams exchanged punts before Kosar completed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Brian Brennan with 5:43 remaining in regulation. Elway then led his team from their own 2-yard line to tie the game on wide receiver Mark Jackson's 5-yard touchdown reception with 37 seconds left in regulation. Karlis' game-winning field goal in overtime capped a 60-yard drive after the Browns were forced to punt. The Drive play-by-play The Browns had jumped to a 20–13 lead and the Broncos had muffed the ensuing kickoff when Elway took over, first-and-10 on their own 2-yard line, with 5:32 to play in the game. 1. – First down and 10, Denver 2-yard line. Sammy Winder 5-yard pass from Elway. 2. – Second down and 5, Denver 7-yard line. Winder 3-yard run. 3. – Third down and 2, Denver 10-yard line. Winder 2-yard run. 4. – First down and 10, Denver 12-yard line. Winder 3-yard run. 5. – Second down and 7, Denver 15-yard line. Elway 11-yard run. 6. – First down and 10, Denver 26-yard line. Steve Sewell 22-yard pass from Elway. 7. – First down and 10, Denver 48-yard line. S. Watson 12-yard pass from Elway. Two-minute warning 8. – First down and 10, Cleveland 40-yard line (1:59 remaining). Incomplete pass by Elway, intended for Vance Johnson. 9. – Second down and 10, Cleveland 40-yard line (1:52 remaining). Dave Puzzilli sack of Elway, 8-yard loss. 10. – Third down and 18, Cleveland 48-yard line (1:47 remaining). Mark Jackson 20-yard pass from Elway. 11. – First down and 10, Cleveland 28-yard line (1:19 remaining). Incomplete pass by Elway, intended for Watson. 12. – Second down and 10, Cleveland 28-yard line (1:10 remaining). Steve Sewell 14-yard pass from Elway. 13. – First down and 10, Cleveland 14-yard line (:57 remaining). Incomplete pass by Elway, intended for Watson. 14. – Second down and 10, Cleveland 14-yard line (:42 remaining). John Elway 9-yard run (scramble). 15. – Third down and 1, Cleveland 5-yard line (:39 remaining). Mark Jackson 5-yard pass from Elway for the touchdown. Rich Karlis then adds the extra point to tie the game. Broncos go to Super Bowl XXI but lost to the Giants 39-20. Super Bowl XXI They played the Giants in Super Bowl XXI, losing 20–39, the first of Elway's five Super Bowls and the first of his three losses. Despite leading 10–9 at halftime, the Broncos collapsed in the second half as the Giants scored 30 points to Denver's ten. Super Bowl XXI: New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 20 Super Bowl XXI Denver Broncos 68thru96; Denver Broncos 68thru96;text-align:center; autocolapse Super Bowl XXI: Denver Broncos vs. New York Giants January 25, 1987 3:13 p.m. PST Broncos (13–6) 10 0 0 10 Giants (17–2) 7 2 17 13 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California 101,063 76 F C, sunny, relative humidity 68%, wind 5 mph on Jerry Markbreit CBS Pat Summerall (play-by-play), John Madden (color commentator), Will McDonough (sideline reporter) Box Score Broncos Giants collapsed 1 10:51 Broncos 8 45 4:09 FG 48 Karlis 3 0 1 5:27 Giants 9 78 5:24 RecTD Mowatt Simms 6 good Allegre 3 7 1 2:06 Broncos 6 58 3:21 RushTD Elway 4 good Karlis 10 7 2 2:46 Giants 3 -15 0:45 SafetyTackle Elway Martin 10 9 3 10:08 Giants 8 63 4:52 RecTD Bavaro Simms 13 good Allegre 10 16 3 3:54 Giants 9 32 5:07 FG 21 Allegre 10 19 3 0:24 Giants 5 68 2:14 RushTD Morris 1 good Allegre 10 26 4 10:56 Giants 6 52 3:50 RecTD McConkey Simms 6 good Allegre 10 33 4 6:01 Broncos 13 73 4:55 FG 28 Karlis 13 33 4 3:18 Giants 5 46 1:43 RushTD Anderson 2 no good Allegre 13 39 4 2:06 Broncos 5 69 1:12 RecTD Johnson Elway 47 good Karlis 20 39 20 39 Broncos lost and in 1987 finished 10-4-1 but lost in Super Bowl XXII to the Redskins 42-10. Statistics Team stats Denver scored 378 points during the year, sixth in the NFL. They gave up 327 points, 15th in the league. The Broncos were 17th in the league in total offense, with 5,489 yards. They had 3,811 passing yards and 1,678 rushing yards. They had 22 passing touchdowns and 17 rushing touchdowns. They were 17th in the league with 3,755 passing yards given up and 15th with 1,891 rushing yards given up. They were 21st in overall defense with 5,646 yards given up. The team's 11–5 record is their sixth-best 16-game season in franchise history. Player stats John Elway had 280 completions for 3,485 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also had 52 rushes for 257 yards, third highest on the team, and one rushing touchdown. He was fifth in the league in completions, ninth in total yards, and tenth in touchdowns. Mark Jackson had 38 receptions for 738 yards and one touchdown. Steve Watson had 45 receptions for 699 yards and three touchdowns. Vance Johnson had 31 receptions for 363 yards and two touchdowns. Clint Sampson had 21 receptions for 259 yards. Orson Mobley had 22 reception for 332 yards and one touchdown. The primary running back Sammy Winder had 240 rushes for 789 yards and 9 touchdowns, seventh highest in the league. He also had five touchdown receptions, giving him 14 total touchdowns for the season, fourth in the league. Gerald Willhite had 85 rushes for 365 yards and five rushing touchdowns and 64 receptions for 529 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns. Rich Karlis kicked 20 field goals out of 28 attempted, including the game-winning field goal in the AFC Championship Game. He kicked 44 out of 45 extra points. Awards and honors Keith Bishop, AFC Pro Bowl selection John Elway, AFC Pro Bowl selection Rulon Jones, AFC Pro Bowl selection Karl Mecklenburg, AFC Pro Bowl selection Dennis Smith, AFC Pro Bowl selection Sammy Winder, AFC Pro Bowl selection References External links Denver Broncos – 1986 Denver Broncos media guide 1986 Denver Broncos season at JT-SW.com 1986 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com Category:Denver Broncos seasons Category:AFC West championship seasons Category:American Football Conference championship seasons Denver Broncos Denver Bronco