1996 Denver Broncos season

American football team season December 2013 February 2026 Denver Broncos 1996 13–3 1st AFC West Mike Shanahan Gary Kubiak Greg Robinson John Beake and Mike Shanahan Pat Bowlen Pat Bowlen Mile High Stadium Lost Divisional Playoffs(vs. Jaguars) 27–30 9 QB John Elway RB Terrell Davis TE Shannon Sharpe T Gary Zimmerman DE Alfred Williams DT Michael Perry OLB Bill Romanowski FS Steve Atwater SS Tyrone Braxton 5 RB Terrell Davis (1st team) TE Shannon Sharpe (1st team) T Gary Zimmerman (1st team) DE Alfred Williams (1st team) QB John Elway (2nd team) Terrell Davis 200px Broncos seasons thumb|270px|Denver vs. Tampa Bay at Mile High Stadium, September 15, 1996 The 1996 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 27th season in the National Football League, the 37th overall and their 2nd under head coach Mike Shanahan. The Broncos improved on their 8–8 record from 1995 and finished the season with a 13–3 record. They also clinched the AFC West for the first time since 1991, and earning the top seed in the AFC Playoffs. In the playoffs, the Broncos were upset by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round, 30–27. Prior to their defeat, they were the top-seeded team in the NFL and were heavily favored to go to and win the Super Bowl by many analysts, breaking the AFC losing streak from the 1980s. The loss rendered the 1996 Broncos team as a historic failure, as it was a major Super Bowl or bust year. After the season, Jumpy Geathers retired. Offseason NFL draft 1996 NFL draft 1996 Denver Broncos 1 15 John Mobley Linebacker Kutztown yes 2 44 Tory James Defensive back LSU yes yes 3 65 Detron Smith Running back Texas A&M yes 3 78 Mark Campbell Defensive tackle Florida yes 4 100 Jeff Lewis Quarterback Northern Arizona yes 4 122 Darrius Johnson Defensive back Oklahoma yes 5 159 Patrick Jeffers Wide receiver Virginia yes 6 181 Tony Veland Defensive back Nebraska 7 213 Leslie Ratliffe Offensive tackle Tennessee 7 226 Chris Banks Guard Kansas 7 235 L. T. Levine Running back Kansas 7 236 Brian Gragert Punter Wyoming no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/1996_draft.htm 1996 Denver Broncos Draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com December 18, 2013 Personnel Staff 1996 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 Administrative Assistant/Player Personnel – Harold Richardson Administrative Assistant/Defense – J. D. Brookhart 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 – Barney Chavous Offensive Assistant – Rick Dennison Defensive Coordinator – Greg Robinson Defensive Line – George Dyer Linebackers – Frank Bush Defensive Backs/Secondary – Ed Donatell Defensive Assistant – Rick Smith Special Teams – Richard Smith Strength and Conditioning – Rich Tuten Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Greg Saporta Strength Assistant – Barney Chavous Roster 1996 Denver Broncos 53 2 5  7 John Elway  8 Jeff Lewis American football y 14 Bill Musgrave 29 Aaron Craver FB 30 Terrell Davis 22 Vaughn Hebron KR 38 Reggie Rivers 42 Detron Smith y FB 82 Patrick Jeffers y 81 Todd Kinchen PR 87 Ed McCaffrey 83 Anthony Miller wide receiver, born 1965 88 Mike Sherrard 80 Rod Smith wide receiver PR 89 Dwayne Carswell 86 Byron Chamberlain 84 Shannon Sharpe 70 Jamie Brown American football T 63 David Diaz-Infante G 75 Brian Habib G 68 Reggie McElroy T 66 Tom Nalen C 69 Mark Schlereth G 64 Ralph Tamm G/C 76 Broderick Thompson T 65 Gary Zimmerman T 67 Mark Campbell defensive tackle y DT 79 Jumpy Geathers DT 96 Harald Hasselbach DE 72 Ernest Jones defensive lineman DE/DT 97 Mike Lodish DT 95 Michael Dean Perry DT 94 Jeff Robinson American football DE/LS 98 Maa Tanuvasa DT 91 Alfred Williams DE 90 Dan Williams defensive end DE 57 Allen Aldridge MLB 56 Keith Burns American football player MLB 59 Glenn Cadrez OLB 54 Britt Hager OLB 51 John Mobley y OLB 53 Bill Romanowski OLB 27 Steve Atwater FS 34 Tyrone Braxton SS 39 Ray Crockett CB 37 Tim Hauck FS 21 Randy Hilliard CB 20 Tory James y CB 25 Darrius Johnson y CB 31 Rondell Jones SS 48 Lionel Washington CB  1 Jason Elam K 16 Tom Rouen P 77 Jason Childs T PUP -- Steve Russ LB Military -- Reggie Green American football y G 60 John Jones offensive line G -- Marcus Price T 41 Michael Titley TE 32 Tony Veland y S https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/1996_roster.htm 1996 Denver Broncos starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com November 20, 2014 Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 1 New York Jets W 31–6 1–0 Mile High Stadium 70,595 Recap 2 September 8 at Seattle Seahawks W 30–20 2–0 Kingdome 43,671 Recap 3 September 15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–23 3–0 Mile High Stadium 71,535 Recap 4 September 22 at Kansas City Chiefs L 14–17 3–1 Arrowhead Stadium 79,439 Recap 5 September 29 at Cincinnati Bengals W 14–10 4–1 Cinergy Field 51,798 Recap 6 October 6 San Diego Chargers W 28–175–1Mile High Stadium 75,058 Recap 7Bye 8 October 20 Baltimore Ravens W 45–34 6–1 Mile High Stadium 70,453 Recap 9 October 27 Kansas City Chiefs W 34–7 7–1 Mile High Stadium 75,652 Recap 10 November 4, 1996 at Oakland Raiders W 22–21 8–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 61,179 Recap 11 November 10 Chicago Bears W 17–12 9–1 Mile High Stadium 75,555 Recap 12 November 17 at New England Patriots W 34–8 10–1 Foxboro Stadium 59,457 Recap 13 November 24 at Minnesota Vikings W 21–17 11–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,142 Recap 14 December 1 Seattle Seahawks W 34–7 12–1 Mile High Stadium 74,982 Recap 15 December 8 at Green Bay Packers L 6–41 12–2 Lambeau Field 60,712 Recap 16 December 15 Oakland Raiders W 24–19 13–2 Mile High Stadium 75,466 Recap 17 December 22 at San Diego Chargers L 10–16 13–3 Jack Murphy Stadium 46,801 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Postseason 1996–97 NFL playoffs Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Wild Card First-round bye Divisional January 4, 1997 F j, Y Jacksonville Jaguars (5) L 27–30 0–1 Mile High Stadium 75,678 Recap AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs (5) Jacksonville Jaguars Denver Broncos 1996 2;text-align:center; autocollapse AFC Divisional Playoffs: (5) Jacksonville Jaguars at (1) Denver Broncos – Game summary January 4, 1997 Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO 2:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) 75,678 36 F C, sunny Jaguars 0 13 7 10 Broncos 12 0 0 15 Awards and records AP Offensive Player of the Year – Terrell Davis UPI AFL-AFC Offensive MVP – Terrell Davis (1996 was the last year this award was given out) Terrell Davis set franchise rushing record for most carries (345) in a season and most rushing touchdowns (13) in a season Milestones Terrell Davis reached 1,000 yards faster than any Denver Bronco running back in franchise history References External links Denver Broncos – 1996 media guide Broncos on Pro Football Reference Broncos Schedule on jt-sw.com Denver Broncos Category:Denver Broncos seasons Category:AFC West championship seasons Bronco Category:Long stubs with short prose