1987 Denver Broncos season

American football team season December 2013 February 2026 Denver Broncos 1987 10–4–1 1st AFC West Dan Reeves Mike Shanahan Joe Collier John Beake Pat Bowlen Mile High Stadium Broncos 1968-96 uniforms.png Won Divisional Playoffs(vs. Oilers) 34–10Won AFC Championship(vs. Browns) 38–33 Lost Super Bowl XXII(vs. Redskins) 10–42 QB John ElwayG Keith BishopLB Karl Mecklenburg Broncos seasons thumb|150px|A ticket for the AFC Championship Game between the Browns and the Broncos. The 1987 Denver Broncos season was the team's 28th year in professional football and its 18th with the National Football League (NFL). Games scheduled during the third week of the season were cancelled, and games played from weeks 4 to 6 were played with replacement teams. The Broncos finished first in the AFC West, and were AFC champions for the second straight year. Quarterback John Elway was voted league MVP for 1987. The Broncos reached the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season, but lost for the second straight time, 42–10 to the Washington Redskins. Offseason NFL draft 1987 NFL draft 1987 Denver Broncos 1 27 Ricky Nattiel Wide receiver Florida yes 3 84 Michael Brooks Linebacker Louisiana State yes yes 4 111 Marc Munford Linebacker Nebraska yes 6 167 Warren Marshall Running back James Madison 7 194 Wilbur Strozier Tight end Georgia 8 222 Dan Morgan Guard Penn State 9 250 Bruce Plummer Center Mississippi State yes 10 278 Rafe Wilkinson Linebacker Richmond 11 299 Steve Roberts Defensive end Washington 11 306 Tommy Neal Running back Maryland 12 334 Tyrone Braxton Safety North Dakota State yes yes Personnel Staff 1987 Denver Broncos President and chief executive officer – Pat Bowlen General manager – John Beake Director of player personnel – Reed Johnson Director of pro personnel – Lide Huggins 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/tight ends – Chan Gailey Offensive line – Alex Gibbs Defensive line – Stan Jones Assistant defensive line – Rubin Carter Linebackers – Myrel Moore Defensive backs – Charlie West Special teams – Mike Nolan Strength/conditioning – Al Miller Broncos Directory https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1987.pdf#page=3 NFL Enterprises, LLC 1987 Denver Broncos Media Guide September 26, 2019 March 29, 2021 en-US Roster 1987 Denver Broncos 50 14 0  7 John Elway 12 Ken Karcher  8 Gary Kubiak 35 Ken Bell American football 24 Tony Boddie 33 Gene Lang American football 29 Warren Marshall y 46 Bobby Micho 23 Sammy Winder 83 Sam Graddy y 80 Mark Jackson wide receiver 82 Vance Johnson 84 Ricky Nattiel 81 Steve Watson wide receiver 89 Mitch Andrews 88 Clarence Kay 89 Orson Mobley 54 Keith Bishop American football G 62 Mike Freeman guard C/G 79 Stefan Humphries G 72 Keith Kartz T 76 Ken Lanier T 68 Larry Lee American football C 74 Dan Remsberg T 70 Dave Studdard T 65 Walt Bowyer DE 79 Steve Bryan y American football DE 90 Freddie Gilbert DE 75 Rulon Jones DE 71 Greg Kragen NT 61 Andre Townsend DE 56 Michael Brooks linebacker y OLB 55 Rick Dennison ILB 73 Simon Fletcher American football OLB 98 Ricky Hunley ILB 97 Bruce Klosterman ILB 58 Tim Lucas American football OLB 77 Karl Mecklenburg ILB 51 Marc Munford y ILB 50 Jim Ryan linebacker OLB 34 Tyrone Braxton y SS 28 Jeremiah Castille CB 27 Kevin Clark American football y CB 31 Mike Harden CB 36 Mark Haynes CB 22 Tony Lilly FS 38 Bruce Plummer CB 45 Steve Wilson defensive back CB  2 Mike Horan American football P  3 Rich Karlis K 53 Dave Baran G/T IR 64 Billy Bryan C IR 69 Tony Colorito NT IR 78 Winford Hood G IR -- Paul Howard American football G PUP 20 Daryll Jones S IR 66 Jim Juriga T IR 85 Rick Massie y WR IR 93 Richard Reed American football y LB IR 48 Randy Robbins American football S IR 30 Steve Sewell RB IR 49 Dennis Smith American football S IR -- Rafe Wilkinson y LB IR 47 Gerald Willhite RB IR None - Vacant NFL replacement players After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled: 1987 Denver Broncos replacement roster Quarterbacks 26 Marshall Barnes 12 Ken Karcher 14 Dean May 16 Monte McGuire y Running backs 28 Scott Caldwell American football 32 Joe Dudek 34 Walt Goffigan 41 Zeph Lee 43 Bruce McIntyre 24 Percy Keith 29 John Sterling American football 42 Mark Templeton American football Wide receivers 82 Laron Brown 84 Eric Hodges 83 Rick Massie 87 Michel James 80 Shane Swanson  4 Bob Thompson American football Tight ends 86 Mitch Andrews 89 Kerry Locklin 88 Russell Payne American football 85 Erich RumpleOffensive linemen 73 Kevin Belcher offensive tackle T -- Robin Ham 76 Archie Harris American football y T 69 David Jones offensive lineman 71 Jack Peavey C 60 Rick Pryor 66 Carlos Scott -- Tyrone Sorrells 61 Isaac Williams American football Defensive linemen -- Kyle Ambrose 79 Steve Bryan 65 Theron Harrison 74 Bill Lobenstein DE 68 Ron McLean American football 91 Jeff Tupper American football DE 99 Ray Woodard 77 Mitchell YoungLinebackers 51 Stan David 59 Kirk Dodge 95 Tim Joiner 56 Mike Knox American football 58 Tim Lucas American football 52 Dan MacDonald 57 Matt Smith American football 55 Bryant Winn Defensive backs 27 Kevin Clark American football 37 Steve Fitzhugh 25 Roger Jackson defensive back 20 Daryll Jones 45 Leonard Jones American football 40 Martin Rudolph y 39 Darryl Russell y 38 Larry Shepherd 46 Kennedy Webster Special teams 15 Mike Clendenen K 6 Ralph Giacomarro P 19 John Pieper Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 13 Seattle Seahawks W 40–17 1–0 Mile High Stadium 75,999 2 September 20 at Green Bay Packers T 17–17 (OT) 1–0–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 50,624 3 September 28 at Cleveland Browns canceled 1–0–1 Cleveland Stadium 4 October 4 Houston Oilers L 10–40 1–1–1 Mile High Stadium 38,494 5 October 12 Los Angeles Raiders W 30–14 2–1–1 Mile High Stadium 61,230 6 October 18 at Kansas City Chiefs W 26–17 3–1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 20,296 7 October 26 at Minnesota Vikings L 27–34 3–2–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,011 8 November 1 Detroit Lions W 34–0 4–2–1 Mile High Stadium 75,172 9 November 8 at Buffalo Bills L 14–21 4–3–1 Rich Stadium 63,698 10 November 16 Chicago Bears W 31–29 5–3–1 Mile High Stadium 75,783 11 November 22 at Los Angeles Raiders W 23–17 6–3–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 61,318 12 November 29 at San Diego Chargers W 31–17 7–3–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 61,880 13 December 6 New England Patriots W 31–20 8–3–1 Mile High Stadium 75,795 14 December 13 at Seattle Seahawks L 21–28 8–4–1 Kingdome 61,759 15 December 19 Kansas City Chiefs W 20–17 9–4–1 Mile High Stadium 75,053 16 December 27 San Diego Chargers W 24–0 10–4–1 Mile High Stadium 21,189 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1 Seahawks 14 3 0 0 Broncos 7 13 14 6 September 17 Mile High Stadium 2:00 p.m. MST 75,999 Red Cashion Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen NBC yes Q1 SEA Turner 20 yard pass from Krieg (Johnson kick) SEA 7–0 Q1 DEN Sewell 72 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick) Tie 7–7 Q1 SEA Warner 10 yard pass from Krieg (Johnson kick) SEA 14–7 Q2 SEA Johnson 25 yard field goal SEA 17–7 Q2 DEN Karlis 37 yard field goal SEA 17–10 Q2 DEN Karlis 42 yard field goal SEA 17–13 Q2 DEN Watson 4 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick) DEN 20–17 Q3 DEN Mobley 5 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick) DEN 27–17 Q3 DEN Johnson 59 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick) DEN 34–17 Q4 DEN Karlis 25 yard field goal DEN 37–17 Q4 DEN Karlis 29 yard field goal DEN 40–17 yes John Elway 22/32, 338 Yds, 4 TD, INT Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Feb-02. Week 2 Broncos 0 3 7 7 0 Packers 7 7 0 3 0 September 20 Milwaukee County Stadium Dick Hantak NBC Week 4 Oilers 7 10 10 13 Broncos 0 10 0 0 October 4 Mile High Stadium Jim Tunney NBC Week 5 Raiders 0 14 0 0 Broncos 14 3 6 7 October 12 Mile High Stadium 7:00 p.m. MST 61,230 53 F; wind 7 mph on Fred Silva Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf ABC yes Q1 DEN Dudek 7 yard run (Clendenen kick) DEN 7–0 Q1 DEN Dudek 3 yard run (Clendenen kick) DEN 14–0 Q2 LA Perry 3 yard pass from Evans (Hardy kick) DEN 14–7 Q2 LA Calhoun 55 yard interception return (Hardy kick) Tie 14–14 Q2 DEN Clendenen 31 yard field goal DEN 17–14 Q3 DEN Massie 10 yard pass from Karcher (kick failed) DEN 23–14 Q4 DEN Poole 1 yard run (Clendenen kick) DEN 30–14 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Aug-25. Week 6 Broncos 9 10 0 7 Chiefs 7 7 3 0 October 18 Arrowhead Stadium Jerry Markbreit Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy NBC Week 7 Broncos 7 10 0 10 Vikings 7 7 13 7 October 26 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Tom Dooley Gary Bender and Lynn Swann ABC Week 8 Lions 0 0 0 0 Broncos 17 7 0 10 November 1 Mile High Stadium Jerry Seeman CBS Week 9 Broncos 0 0 7 7 Bills 0 18 3 0 November 8 Rich Stadium Dick Jorgensen NBC Week 10 Bears 14 0 15 0 Broncos 0 21 0 10 November 16 Mile High Stadium Red Cashion Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf ABC Week 11 Broncos 10 10 0 3 Raiders 0 14 3 0 November 22 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Jim Tunney Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen NBC yes Q1 DEN Karlis 49 yard field goal DEN 3–0 Q1 DEN Johnson 24 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick) DEN 10–0 Q2 DEN Karlis 31 yard field goal DEN 13–0 Q2 LA Jackson 35 yard run (Bahr kick) DEN 13–7 Q2 DEN Elway 1 yard run (Karlis kick) DEN 20–7 Q2 LA Jackson 1 yard run (Bahr kick) DEN 20–14 Q3 LA Bahr 34 yard field goal pass DEN 20–17 Q4 DEN Karlis 20 yard field goal DEN 23–17 yes Week 12 Broncos 7 10 14 0 Chargers 7 3 0 7 November 29 Jack Murphy Stadium Gene Barth Charlie Jones and Jimmy Cefalo NBC Week 13 Patriots 7 10 3 0 Broncos 0 3 14 14 December 6 Mile High Stadium Fred Silva Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen NBC yes Q1 NE Dupard 10 yard run (Franklin kick) NE 7–0 Q2 DEN Karlis 24 yard field goal NE 7–3 Q2 NE Collins 4 yard pass from Ramsey (Franklin kick) NE 14–3 Q2 NE Franklin 36 yard field goal NE 17–3 Q3 DEN Boddie 1 yard run (Karlis kick) NE 17–10 Q3 DEN Massie 7 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick) Tied 17–17 Q3 NE Franklin 27 yard field goal NE 20–17 Q4 DEN Jackson 2 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick) DEN 24–20 Q4 DEN Haynes 14 yard interception return (Karlis kick) DEN 31–20 yes Week 14 Broncos 0 0 14 7 Seahawks 0 14 7 7 December 13 Kingdome Indoors (dome) Bob McElwee ESPN yes Q2 5:50 SEA Warner 3 yard run (Johnson kick) SEA 7–0 Q2 0:22 SEA Butler 35 yard pass from Krieg (Johnson kick) SEA 14–0 Q3 12:28 DEN Winder 11 yard run (Karlis kick) SEA 14–7 Q3 10:36 DEN Massie 39 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick) Tied 14–14 Q3 9:30 SEA Butler 40 yard pass from Krieg (Johnson kick) SEA 21–14 Q4 12:39 SEA Williams 7 yard pass from Krieg (Johnson kick) SEA 28–14 Q4 0:25 DEN Winder 1 yard run (Karlis kick) SEA 28–21 yes Week 15 Chiefs 0 3 7 7 Broncos 7 10 3 0 December 19 Saturday Mile High Stadium Week 16 Chargers 0 0 0 0 Broncos 14 0 0 10 December 27 Mile High Stadium Fred Silva Charlie Jones and Jimmy Cefalo NBC yes Q1 DEN Clark 71 yard punt return DEN 7–0 Q1 DEN Winder 1 yard rush (Karlis kick) DEN 14–0 Q4 DEN Karlis 26 yard field goal DEN 17–0 Q4 DEN Hunley 52 yard interception return (Karlis kick) DEN 24–0 yes Standings Playoffs 1987–88 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Divisional January 10, 1988 Houston Oilers (4) W 34–10 1–0 Mile High Stadium 75,968 AFC Championship January 17, 1988 Cleveland Browns (2) W 38–33 2–0 Mile High Stadium 75,993 Super Bowl XXII January 31, 1988 Washington Redskins (N3) L 10–42 2–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 73,302 Divisional Oilers 0 3 0 7 Broncos 14 10 3 7 January 10 Mile High Stadium Broncos go to the AFC Championship Game and win to the Browns 38-33 but lost in Super Bowl XXII to the Redskins 42-10. Conference Championship Browns 0 3 21 9 Broncos 14 7 10 7 January 17 Mile High Stadium Broncos go to Super Bowl XXII but lost to the Redskins 42-10. Super Bowl Redskins 0 35 0 7 Broncos 10 0 0 0 January 31 Jack Murphy Stadium Broncos lost and in 1988 missed the playoffs 8-8. Awards and records Ricky Nattiel, All-Rookie selection References External links Denver Broncos – 1987 media guide 1987 Denver Broncos season at jt-sw.com 1987 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com Denver Broncos Category:AFC West championship seasons Category:American Football Conference championship seasons Category:Denver Broncos seasons Denver Bronco