1984 Denver Broncos season

American football team season December 2013 February 2026 Denver Broncos 1984 13–3 1st AFC West Dan Reeves Joe Collier Pat Bowlen Mile High Stadium Lost Divisional Playoffs(vs. Steelers) 17–24 Broncos 1968-96 uniforms.png Broncos seasons thumb|right|Broncos running back Sammy Winder rushing the ball against the Green Bay Packers in 1984 The 1984 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 15th season in the National Football League (NFL), and the 25th overall. The team finished with its then franchise-best record of thirteen wins and three losses and were champions of the AFC West. In the playoffs, the Broncos were upset by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round, 24–17. This would be the final season for Tight End coach Fran Polsfoot, who died in April 1985. Offseason NFL draft 1984 NFL draft 1984 Denver Broncos 2 46 Andre Townsend Defensive end Mississippi 1984-1990 (7 seasons) yes 3 78 Tony Lilly Defensive back Florida 1984-1987 (4 seasons) yes 4 89 Randy Robbins Defensive back Arizona 1984-1991 (8 seasons) grey then New England in 1992 yes 6 159 Aaron Smith Linebacker Utah State 1984 7 186 Clarence Kay Tight end Georgia 1984-1992 (9 seasons) yes 8 207 Winford Hood Guard Georgia 1984-1988 (5 seasons) yes 8 218 Scott Garnett Defensive tackle Washington 1984 grey then San Diego/San Francisco in 1985, and Buffalo in 1987 9 245 Chris Brewer Running back Arizona 1984 grey then Chicago in 1987 yes 10 272 Bobby Micho Tight end Texas 11 299 Gene Lang Running back LSU 1984-1987 (4 seasons) grey then played for Atlanta from 1988-1990 yes 12 326 Murray Jarman Wide receiver Clemson no no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/1984_draft.htm 1984 Denver Broncos draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com October 12, 2014 Personnel Staff 1984 Denver Broncos President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen Assistant General Manager – John Beake Coordinator of College Scouting – Reed Johnson Head Coach – Dan Reeves Assistant Head Coach/Defense – Joe Collier Running Backs – Nick Nicolau Wide Receivers – Mike Shanahan Offensive Line – Marvin Bass Offensive Line – Alex Gibbs Defensive Line – Stan Jones Linebackers – Myrel Moore Defensive Backs – Charlie West Special Teams/Tight Ends – Fran Polsfoot Strength/Conditioning – IJ Gorman 2010 Denver Broncos Media Guide 359 http://media.denverbroncos.com/media+guide/ March 6, 2011 Roster 1984 Denver Broncos 49 8 0  7 John Elway  8 Gary Kubiak 26 Chris Brewer y 33 Gene Lang American football y 39 Jesse Myles 24 Rick Parros 47 Gerald Willhite 23 Sammy Winder 80 Ray Alexander gridiron football y 86 Butch Johnson American football 84 Clint Sampson 81 Steve Watson wide receiver 88 Clarence Kay y 85 Don Summers y 87 James Wright tight end 54 Keith Bishop American football G 64 Billy Bryan C 62 Mike Freeman guard y G/C 72 Marsharne Graves y T 78 Winford Hood y T 60 Paul Howard American football G 67 Glenn Hyde G 76 Ken Lanier T 70 Dave Studdard T 65 Walt Bowyer DE 68 Rubin Carter American football DT 79 Barney Chavous DE 66 Scott Garnett y DT 75 Rulon Jones DE 69 Brison Manor DE 61 Andre Townsend y DE 58 Steve Busick ILB 59 Darren Comeaux ILB 55 Rick Dennison ILB 98 Ricky Hunley OLB 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 28 Roger Jackson defensive back CB/S 22 Tony Lilly y FS 48 Randy Robbins American football y SS 49 Dennis Smith American football SS 45 Steve Wilson defensive back CB 20 Louis Wright American football CB  3 Rich Karlis K  4 Chris Norman American football y P 12 Scott Brunner QB IR 63 Mark Cooper American football G IR -- Jim Joyce no y DE IR 29 Wilbur Myers S IR 83 John Sawyer American football TE IR -- Aaron Smith linebacker y LB IR -- Rob Swanke no y NT IR 51 Bob Swenson LB IR None - Vacant Preseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 4, 1984 Washington Redskins L 13–16 0–1 Mile High Stadium 31,716 2 August 11, 1984 San Francisco 49ers W 21–20 1–1 Mile High Stadium 70,211 3 August 18, 1984 Indianapolis Colts W 31–0 2–1 Mile High Stadium 68,951 4 August 24, 1984 at Atlanta Falcons W 24–13 3–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 30,988 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 2 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–17 1–0 Mile High Stadium 74,178 2 September 9 at Chicago Bears L 0–27 1–1 Soldier Field 54,335 3 September 16 at Cleveland Browns W 24–14 2–1 Cleveland Stadium 61,980 4 September 23 Kansas City Chiefs W 21–0 3–1 Mile High Stadium 74,263 5 September 30 Los Angeles Raiders W 16–13 4–1 Mile High Stadium 74,833 6 October 7 at Detroit Lions W 28–7 5–1 Pontiac Silverdome 55,836 7 October 15 Green Bay Packers W 17–14 6–1 Mile High Stadium 62,546 8 October 21 at Buffalo Bills W 37–7 7–1 Rich Stadium 31,204 9 October 28 at Los Angeles Raiders W 22–19 (OT) 8–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 91,020 10 November 4 New England Patriots W 26–19 9–1 Mile High Stadium 74,908 11 November 11 at San Diego Chargers W 16–13 10–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 53,162 12 November 18 Minnesota Vikings W 42–21 11–1 Mile High Stadium 74,716 13 November 25 Seattle Seahawks L 24–27 11–2 Mile High Stadium 74,922 14 December 2 at Kansas City Chiefs L 13–16 11–3 Arrowhead Stadium 38,494 15 December 9 San Diego Chargers W 16–13 12–3 Mile High Stadium 74,867 16 December 15 at Seattle Seahawks W 31–14 13–3 Kingdome 64,411 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 2 (Sunday, September 9, 1984): at Chicago Bears Denver Broncos 1984 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 2: Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears – Game summary September 9, 1984 11:00 a.m. MDT Broncos (1–1) 0 0 0 0 Bears (2–0) 10 17 0 0 Soldier Field • Chicago, Illinois 54,335 Gene Barth NBC Don Criqui (play–by–play) and Bob Trumpy (color commentator) Pro Football Reference; Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears – September 9, 1984The Football Database; Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears – September 9, 1984 right Denver Broncos DEN Chicago Bears CHI DEN CHI collapsed 1 10:05 Bears FG 38 Thomas 0 3 1 3:13 Bears RecTD Gault McMahon 61 good Thomas 0 10 2 9:49 Bears RushTD Payton 72 good Thomas 0 17 2 2:43 Bears FG 26 Thomas 0 20 2 0:24 Bears RushTD Suhey 4 good Thomas 0 27 0 27 Point spread: Over/under: Time of game: BroncosGame statisticsBears First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Passes Completions–Attempts–Interceptions Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Punts Number–Average yardage Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession Individual stats Week 7 vs. Packers 1984 Green Bay Packers season Denver Broncos 1984 2; text-align:center collapsed Green Bay Packers (1–5) at Denver Broncos (5–1) October 15 9:00 p.m. EDT Packers 0 0 7 7 Broncos 14 3 0 0 Mile High Stadium • Denver, Colorado 62,546 Snow • 32 F C • Wind 4 Gordon McCarter ABC Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, and O. J. Simpson Pro-Football-Reference.com Packers Lynn Dickey27/37, 371 Yds, TD, INT Jessie Clark11 Rush, 37 Yds James Lofton11 Rec, 206 Yds, TD Broncos John Elway11/20, 101 Yds, INT Sammy Winder29 Rush, 86 Yds Steve Watson4 Rec, 42 Yds GB DEN collapsed 1 Broncos FumbleTD Foley 22 good Karlis run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 7 1 Broncos FumbleTD Wright 27 good Karlis run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 14 2 Broncos FG 30 Karlis 0 17 3 Packers RushTD Ellis 5 good Garcia run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 17 4 Packers RecTD Lofton Dickey 54 good Garcia run/pass good/failed/incomplete 14 17 14 17 Standings Postseason 1984–85 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance AFC Divisional Playoffs December 30 Pittsburgh Steelers (3) L 17–24 0–1 Mile High Stadium 74,981 Playoff game summaries 1984 AFC Divisional Playoffs (Sunday, December 30, 1984): vs. (3) Pittsburgh Steelers Denver Broncos 1984 2; text-align:center autocollapse AFC Divisional Playoffs: Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos – Game summary December 30, 1984 2:00 p.m. MST Steelers (1–0) 0 10 7 7 Broncos (0–1) 7 0 10 0 Mile High Stadium • Denver, Colorado 74,981 33 degrees, 58 humidity, 6 wind chill Fred Wyant NBC Dick Enberg (play–by–play), Merlin Olsen (color commentator) and Ahmad Rashad (sideline reporter) Pro Football Reference; 1984 AFC Divisional Playoffs – (3) Pittsburgh Steelers at (2) Denver Broncos – December 30, 1984The Football Database; 1984 AFC Divisional Playoffs – (3) Pittsburgh Steelers at (2) Denver Broncos – December 30, 1984 right Pittsburgh Steelers PIT Denver Broncos DEN Mark Malone 17/28, 224 YDS, 1 TD Frank Pollard 16 CAR, 99 YDS, 2 TDs Louis Lipps 5 REC,. 86 YDS, 1 TD John Elway 19/37, 184 YDS, 2 TDs, 2 INTs Sammy Winder 15 CAR, 37 YDS Gerald Willhite 4 REC, 32 YDS PIT DEN collapsed 1 6:30 Broncos 5 22 2:25 RecTD Wright Elway 9 good Karlis 0 7 2 14:56 Steelers 12 62 6:16 FG 28 Anderson 3 7 2 1:14 Steelers 8 78 1:56 RushTD Pollard 1 good Anderson 10 7 3 12:50 Broncos 4 0 1:47 FG 21 Karlis 10 7 3 7:15 Broncos 6 46 3:01 RecTD Watson Elway 20 good Karlis 10 17 3 3:19 Steelers 7 66 3:46 RecTD Lipps Malone 10 good Anderson 17 17 4 1:59 Steelers 3 2 1:36 RushTD Pollard 2 good Anderson 24 17 24 17 Point spread: Over/under: Time of game: 3 hours, 11 minutes SteelersGame statisticsBroncos25 First downs 1540–169 Rushes–yards 22–51224 Passing yards 23617–28–0 Passes Completions–Attempts–Interceptions 20–38–22–12 Sacked–yards 4–37212 Net passing yards 199381 Total yards 250145 Return yards 732–42.5 Punts Number–Average yardage 4–42.23–2 Fumbles–lost 2–04–30 Penalties–yards 1–532:52 Time of possession 27:08 Individual stats The Broncos lost to the Steelers 24–17 at Denver's Mile High Stadium on Sunday, December 30, 1984. The game was televised on NBC. Given Denver's record and their opportunistic defense (they ranked bottom 5 in total defense and 2nd in points allowed), Pittsburgh was the decided underdog. Indeed, much talk before the game centered on a possible meeting of two up-and-coming quarterbacks—Denver's John Elway and Miami's Dan Marino—in the AFC Championship Game. The game turned into a defensive struggle. After the Broncos' first drive ended in a punt, Steelers' quarterback Mark Malone fumbled on two consecutive drives; the first ended in a missed Rich Karlis field goal, but the second was converted into a touchdown pass from Elway to receiver Jim Wright. The Steelers then answered with a scoring drive, as Gary Anderson kicked a 28-yard field goal. With the teams trading punts, a miscue by the Steelers threatened to blow the game open. Midway through the second quarter, Steelers' punter Craig Colquitt had his punt blocked—the first of his career—and Denver set up at Pittsburgh's four-yard-line. But on third-and-goal, Elway floated a weak pass into the arms of nose tackle Gary Dunn. Now with the momentum, the Steelers were able to put a drive together at the end of the first half, resulting in a one-yard Frank Pollard touchdown run. The Broncos tried to tie the game with time running out in the half, but a long field goal attempt by Karlis fell short. Leading somewhat surprisingly 10–7, Pittsburgh looked to grind out yards on the ground and keep Elway on the sidelines. But Denver managed two drives to take the lead in the quarter; the first ended with a Karlis chip-shot to tie the game at 10, then Elway hit receiver Steve Watson for a 20-yard strike to take a 17–10 lead. The Steelers then came back with a drive of their own, resulting in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Malone to receiver Louis Lipps. After both defenses held and forced a couple of more punts, Pittsburgh used Pollard and Walter Abercrombie to knife through a tiring Broncos defense. A key pass to Weegie Thompson put the Steelers at the 15-yard-line, where they stalled. However, Anderson missed his second field goal of the afternoon, and Denver took over with about three minutes left. Having sustained a groin pull and a twisted knee, however, Elway was not as mobile and was experiencing difficulty with his throws. On second down, Elway threw a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Steelers' safety Eric Williams, who then ran the ball down to the 2-yard-line. After a short run and an incomplete pass, Pollard scored the go-ahead touchdown with a 1-yard run. With a hobbled Elway not being able to lead the team to a first down, the Broncos turned the ball over on downs. They then used all their time-outs while stopping the Steelers, who, somewhat controversially, attempted a field goal on fourth down—only to see Anderson miss his third attempt of the day. Elway then threw to Watson near midfield, but by the time Elway fired the ball out of bounds to stop the clock, only one second remained. A desperation "Hail Mary" pass fell incomplete, and the Steelers won, 24–17. The Broncos and their fans were bitterly disappointed by the loss, and finished the year 13–4. After a season-long, high-profile rivalry with their AFC West stablemates Seattle, neither team would end up in the AFC Championship Game. Playoff Game Officials Playoff Round Opponent Referee Umpire Head Linesman Line Judge Back Judge Side Judge Field Judge Alternate Divisional Pittsburgh Steelers (11) Fred Wyant (78) Art Demmas (8) Dale Williams (94) Vern Marshall (105) Dick Hantak (16) Royal Cathcart (18) Bob Lewis Broncos lost and in 1985 finished 11-5 but missed the playoffs. References External links 1984 Denver Broncos season at jt-sw.com 1984 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com Denver Broncos Category:AFC West championship seasons Category:Denver Broncos seasons Denver Bronco