1998 Denver Broncos season

American football team season December 2013 February 2026 Denver Broncos 1998 14–2 1st AFC West Mike Shanahan John Beake and Mike Shanahan Pat Bowlen Pat Bowlen Mile High Stadium Won Divisional Playoffs(vs. Dolphins) 38–3Won AFC Championship(vs. Jets) 23–10Won Super Bowl XXXIII(vs. Falcons) 34–19 Broncos seasons QB John ElwayRB Terrell DavisWR Ed McCaffreyTE Shannon SharpeT Tony JonesG Mark SchlerethC Tom NalenOLB Bill RomanowskiFS Steve AtwaterK Jason Elam RB Terrell Davis (1st team) TE Shannon Sharpe (1st team)WR Ed McCaffrey (2nd team)K Jason Elam (2nd team) The 1998 season was the Denver Broncos' 29th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 39th overall. The Broncos entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champions and looked to become only the fifth team in league history to win consecutive Super Bowls. Finishing with a record of 12–4 the previous year, the Broncos improved on that mark by two wins and tied the Atlanta Falcons for second best record at 14–2. They won their first thirteen games, the best start since the unbeaten 1972 Dolphins. After 16 seasons, John Elway retired following the Super Bowl. He finished his Broncos career with 51,475 yards passing and 300 touchdowns. Until Peyton Manning won in Super Bowl 50, Elway stood as the only Broncos quarterback to win a Super Bowl. However, Elway even played a large role in that victory as the general manager and president of football operations for the Broncos. Running back Terrell Davis set a team single season rushing mark. His final total was 2,008 yards, making him only the fourth player to rush for over 2,000 yards in single season. A multi-year investigation from 2001 to 2005 revealed that between 1996 and 1998, the team had circumvented the salary cap by deferring other money to Elway and Davis outside of the team’s salary. Denver claimed it gave them no competitive advantage. The NFL did not issue any official statements but the team was subsequently fined nearly $2 million and were forced to give up two third-round picks in the 2002 and 2005 drafts.2016-02-14 Revisiting Denver's cap penalties from the 1990s https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/02/14/revisiting-denvers-cap-penalties-from-the-1990s/ 2023-01-30 ProFootballTalk en-USMaske Mark Broncos Penalized Again for Salary Cap Violations Washington Post 2004-09-17 https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28969-2004Sep17.html 2025-01-20 In 2007, the 1998 Broncos were ranked as the 12th greatest Super Bowl champions on the NFL Network's documentary series America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions. They ranked #14 on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary.NFL Top 100 Teams https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nfl-top-100-teams.htm Pro Football Reference100 Greatest Teams: Numbers 100–1 SUPERCUT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qzU600OwVc NFL.com Offseason Additions Subtractions LB Seth Joyner (Packers) T Gary Zimmerman (Retired) G Brian Habib (Seahawks) NFL draft 1998 NFL draft 1998 Denver Broncos 1 30 Marcus Nash Wide receiver Tennessee yes 2 61 Eric Brown Safety Mississippi State yes 3 91 Brian Griese Quarterback Michigan yes yes 4 122 Curtis Alexander Running back Alabama no 5 153 Chris Howard Running back Michigan no 7 200 Trey Teague Center Tennessee yes 7 219 Nate Wayne Linebacker Ole Miss yes no Staff 1998 Denver Broncos President and chief executive officer – Pat Bowlen Vice-president of business operations – Joe Ellis (hired Sep 1, 1998) 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 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 – Ricky Porter Defensive coordinator – Greg Robinson Defensive line – George Dyer Linebackers – Frank Bush Defensive backs – Ed Donatell Defensive assistant – Pat McPherson 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 1998 Denver Broncos  6 Bubby Brister  7 John Elway* 14 Brian Griese 30 Terrell Davis* 29 Howard Griffith FB* 22 Vaughn Hebron KR 31 Derek Loville 37 Anthony Lynn 42 Detron Smith FB 83 Justin Armour 85 Willie Green 87 Ed McCaffrey* 82 Marcus Nash 80 Rod Smith* 89 Dwayne Carswell 86 Byron Chamberlain 84 Shannon Sharpe* 79 Chris Banks G 63 David Diaz-Infante C/G/LS 60 KC Jones C 77 Tony Jones T* 78 Matt Lepsis T 66 Tom Nalen C* 62 Dan Neil G* 69 Mark Schlereth G* 74 Harry Swayne T* 70 Trey Teague C/T 73 Cyron Brown DE 96 Harald Hasselbach DE/DT 97 Mike Lodish DT 93 Trevor Pryce DT* 90 Neil Smith DE* 98 Maa Tanuvasa DE* 94 Keith Traylor NT* 95 Marvin Washington DE/DT 91 Alfred Williams DE 56 Keith Burns MLB 59 Glenn Cadrez* MLB 99 Seth Joyner OLB 51 John Mobley* OLB 53 Bill Romanowski* OLB 54 Nate Wayne OLB 27 Steve Atwater FS* 34 Tyrone Braxton SS 26 Eric Brown SS* 48 George Coghill FS 39 Ray Crockett CB* 21 Darrien Gordon CB/PR* 20 Tory James CB 25 Darrius Johnson CB 28 Tito Paul CB  1 Jason Elam K 16 Tom Rouen P 49 Chris Gizzi LB (Military Reserve.) 7px  8 Jeff Lewis QB (PUP) 7px 58 Steve Russ LB (IR) 7px 53 active, 3 inactive, 5 practice squad 40 Curtis Alexander RB 15 Andre Cooper WR 93 Joseph Daniels DT -- Vili Maumau DT 38 Tori Noel S 92 Marvin Thomas DE https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/1998_roster.htm 1998 Denver Broncos starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com November 20, 2014 Season summary thumb|280px|The Denver superfan Barrel Man seen at the regular season opener at Mile High Stadium against New England The Broncos won their first 13 games of the season. There was much speculation that they might finish 19–0"Denver eyes 19–0, but there's no rush" in Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 16, 1998Freeman, Mike; "Chasing Perfection and Taking Questions; Voluble Broncos Are 13–0 and Ready to Talk" in The New York Times, December 9, 1998 and the Broncos were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. However, they were upset by the New York Giants (who would end another attempt at a 19–0 season nine seasons later) in week 15 by a score of 20–16. They finished the regular season 14–2 after losing to the Dolphins in their first encounter with that team since 1985.Denver Broncos v Miami DolphinsSee History of the NFL's Structure and Formats, Part Two for an explanation of why the Dolphins never played the Broncos between 1986 and 1997. They finished first in the AFC West and won their divisional playoff game against the Miami Dolphins 38–3 for their first win over the Dolphins since 1968. They then won the AFC Championship over the Bill Parcells coached New York Jets 23–10 after coming back from a 10–0 deficit. Many had expected Denver to play the Minnesota Vikings, the team with the number one record that year at 15–1, in the Super Bowl. However, the Vikings lost the NFC Championship Game to the Atlanta Falcons in overtime. The Broncos defeated the Falcons 34–19 in Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway was the Super Bowl MVP and Davis rushed for over 100 yards. It was Elway's last game, and Denver would not reach the Super Bowl again until the 2013 season. Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 August 8, 1998 at St. Louis Rams W 20–13 1–0 Trans World Dome 53,842 Recap 2 August 14, 1998 New Orleans Saints W 17–10 2–0 Mile High Stadium 75,329 Recap 3 August 24, 1998 Green Bay Packers W 34–31 3–0 Mile High Stadium 73,183 Recap 4 August 29, 1998 at Tennessee Oilers L 13–16 3–1 Vanderbilt Stadium 33,194 Recap Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 7 New England Patriots W 27–21 1–0 Mile High Stadium 74,745 2 September 13 Dallas Cowboys W 42–23 2–0 Mile High Stadium 75,013 3 September 20 at Oakland Raiders W 34–17 3–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 56,578 4 September 27 at Washington Redskins W 38–16 4–0 FedExField 71,880 5 October 4 Philadelphia Eagles W 41–16 5–0 Mile High Stadium 73,218 6 October 11 at Seattle Seahawks W 21–16 6–0 Kingdome 66,2587 Bye 8 October 25 Jacksonville Jaguars W 37–24 7–0 Mile High Stadium 75,217 9 November 1 at Cincinnati Bengals W 33–26 8–0 Cinergy Field 59,974 10 November 8 San Diego Chargers W 27–10 9–0 Mile High Stadium 74,925 11 November 16 at Kansas City Chiefs W 30–7 10–0 Arrowhead Stadium 78,100 12 November 22 Oakland Raiders W 40–14 11–0 Mile High Stadium 75,325 13 November 29 at San Diego Chargers W 31–16 12–0 Qualcomm Stadium 66,532 14 December 6 Kansas City Chiefs W 35–31 13–0 Mile High Stadium 74,962 15 December 13 at New York Giants L 16–20 13–1 Giants Stadium 72,336 16 December 21 at Miami Dolphins L 21–31 13–2 Pro Player Stadium 74,363 17 December 27 Seattle Seahawks W 28–21 14–2 Mile High Stadium 74,057 Standings Playoffs Round Date Opponent Result Game site Record Attendance Divisional Playoffs January 9, 1999 Miami Dolphins W 38–3 Mile High Stadium 15–275,729 AFC Championship January 17, 1999 New York Jets W 23–10 Mile High Stadium 16–275,482 Super Bowl XXXIII January 31, 1999 Atlanta Falcons W 34–19 Pro Player Stadium 17–274,803 AFC Divisional Game vs. Miami Dolphins Denver Broncos 97thru11 2;text-align:center; autocollapse AFC Divisional Playoff: Miami Dolphins vs Denver Broncos – Game summary January 9, 1999 2:15 p.m. MDT Dolphins 0 3 0 0 Broncos 14 7 3 14 Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado 29 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 62%, wind 14 mph km/h knots CBS Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, and Armen Keteyian First quarter Den – Terrell Davis 1 yard rush (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 7–0 Den – Terrell Davis 20 yard rush (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 14–0 Second quarter Mia – Olindo Mare 22 yard field goal. Broncos 14–3 Den – Derek Loville 11 yard rush (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 21–3 Third quarter Den – Jason Elam 32 yard field goal Broncos 24–3 Fourth quarter Den – Rod Smith 28 yard pass from John Elway (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 31–3 Den – Neil Smith 79 yard fumble return (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 38–3 Dolphins Dan Marino. 26–37, 243 yards, 0 TD, 2 Int Broncos John Elway. 14–23, 182 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int Terrell Davis. 21 rush, 199 yards, 2 TD Turnovers: Dolphins – 3 Broncos – 0 AFC Championship game vs. New York Jets Denver Broncos 97thru11 2;text-align:center; autocollapse AFC Championship game: New York Jets at Denver Broncos – Game summary January 17, 1999 2:05 p.m. MDT Jets 0 3 7 0 Broncos 0 0 20 3 Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado 37 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 36%, wind 20 mph km/h knots CBS Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, Armen Keteyian, and Bonnie Bernstein First quarter no scoring Second quarter NYJ – John Hall 32 yard field goal. Jets 3–0 Third quarter NYJ – Curtis Martin 1 yard rush (John Hall kick) Jets 10–0 Den – Howard Griffith 11 yard pass from John Elway (Jason Elam kick) Jets 10–7 Den – Jason Elam 44 yard field goal. Tie 10–10 Den – Jason Elam 48 yard field goal. Broncos 13–10 Den – Terrell Davis 31 yard rush (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 20–10 Fourth quarter Den – Jason Elam 35 yard field goal Broncos 23–10 Jets Vinny Testaverde. 31–56, 356 yards, 0 TD, 2 Int Wayne Chrebet. 8 rec, 121 yards Broncos John Elway. 13–34, 173 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int Terrell Davis. 32 rush, 167 yards, 1 TD Turnovers: Jets – 6 Broncos – 0 Despite a subpar performance from quarterback John Elway, the Broncos came from a ten-point deficit to score twenty three unanswered points, thanks in large part to the Jets turning the ball over an astonishing six times. Broncos go to Super Bowl XXXIII and win to the Falcons 34–19. Super Bowl XXXIII: vs. Atlanta Falcons text-align:center; Denver Broncos 97thru11 2; autocollapse Super Bowl XXXIII: Denver Broncos vs Atlanta Falcons – Game summary January 31, 1999 Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida 6:30 p.m. EST 74 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 67%, wind 11 mph km/h knots Broncos 7 10 0 17 Falcons 3 3 0 13 Fox Pat Summerall, John Madden, Ron Pitts, and Bill Maas The Denver Broncos become the third team in the last 9 years to repeat as Super Bowl champions, along with the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys. John Elway was voted Super Bowl MVP. Statistics Team stats The Broncos had 3,808 yards passing, sixth in the league. They had 2,468 yards rushing, second in the league and 26 rushing touchdowns, first in the league. They had 6,276 total yards, third best. They gave up 3,983 passing yards, a low 28 out of 30 in the NFL, but were third in rushing yards given up with 1,287. They gave up 5,270 yards, 12th in the NFL. They scored 501 points, second in the league and gave up 309, eighth fewest in the league. The Broncos’ 14–2 record remains their best regular season record (most wins and equal fewest losses) in franchise history. Player stats For the season Elway threw for 2,806 yards, 22 touchdowns and ten interceptions. Davis rushed for 2,008 yards and 21 touchdowns. Rod Smith had 86 receptions for 1,222 yards and six touchdowns. Ed McCaffrey had 64 receptions for 1,053 yards. Shannon Sharpe had 64 receptions for 768 yards. Jason Elam kicked 23 out of 27 field goals and 58 out of 58 extra points including a 63-yard field goal to tie Tom Dempsey with the longest field goal in NFL history at that time. This record has since been eclipsed by another Denver Bronco in Matt Prater, and once again by Justin Tucker. Steve Atwater, Davis, Elway, Tony Jones, Mark Schlereth, McCaffrey, Tom Nalen, Bill Romanowski, and Sharpe made the Pro Bowl. Awards and records Terrell Davis, NFL MVP Terrell Davis, Franchise Record, Most Rushing Yards in One Season, 2,008 YardsNFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 44 Terrell Davis, Franchise Record, Most Touchdowns in One Season, 23 Touchdowns John Elway, Super Bowl MVPSuper Bowl MVPs – Super Bowl History – National Football League https://www.espn.com/nfl/superbowl/history/mvps 2025-03-08 ESPN.com Jason Elam, tied longest field goal (63 yards) Milestones Terrell Davis, 1st 2,000-yard rushing season, 2,008 Yards References External links 1998 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com Category:Denver Broncos seasons Category:AFC West championship seasons Category:American Football Conference championship seasons Category:Super Bowl champion seasons Denver Broncos Bronco