1987 Denver Broncos season

1987 Denver Broncos season
Head coach	Dan Reeves
General manager	John Beake
Owner	Pat Bowlen
Home field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	10–4–1
Division place	1st AFC West
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoff (Oilers) 34–10 Won AFC Championship Game (Browns) 38–33 Lost Super Bowl XXII (Redskins) 10–42

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.

Personnel

Staff

1987 Denver Broncos staff
	Front office President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen General Manager – John Beake Director of Player Personnel – Reed Johnson Director of Pro Personnel – Lide Huggins Head coaches Head Coach – Dan Reeves Assistant Head Coach/Defense – Joe Collier Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Mike Shanahan Running Backs – Nick Nicolau Wide Receivers/Tight Ends – Chan Gailey Offensive Line – Alex Gibbs Special Assistant – Marvin Bass			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Stan Jones Assistant Defensive Line – Rubin Carter Linebackers – Myrel Moore Defensive Backs – Charlie West Special teams coaches Special Teams – Mike Nolan Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Al Miller

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Roster

1987 Denver Broncos final roster
	Quarterbacks  7 John Elway 12 Ken Karcher  8 Gary Kubiak Running backs 23 Sammy Winder 30 Steve Sewell 33 Gene Lang 47 Gerald Willhite Wide receivers 80 Mark Jackson 82 Vance Johnson 84 Ricky Nattiel 81 Steve Watson Tight ends 88 Clarence Kay 89 Orson Mobley		Offensive linemen 54 Keith Bishop 62 Mike Freeman 79 Stefan Humphries 76 Ken Lanier 70 Dave Studdard Defensive linemen 75 Rulon Jones 71 Greg Kragen		Linebackers 77 Karl Mecklenburg 73 Simon Fletcher 98 Ricky Hunley 58 Tim Lucas 50 Jim Ryan Defensive backs 49 Dennis Smith 34 Tyrone Braxton 27 Kevin Clark 22 Tony Lilly 31 Mike Harden 36 Mark Haynes 28 Jeremiah Castille Special teams  2 Mike Horan  3 Rich Karlis		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	Attendance
1	September 13	Seattle Seahawks	W 40–17	Mile High Stadium	1–0	75,999
2	September 20	at Green Bay Packers	T 17–17 (OT)	Milwaukee County Stadium	1–0–1	50,624
–	September 28	at Cleveland Browns	canceled	Cleveland Stadium	1–0–1
4	October 4	Houston Oilers	L 10–40	Mile High Stadium	1–1–1	38,494
5	October 12	Los Angeles Raiders	W 30–14	Mile High Stadium	2–1–1	61,230
6	October 18	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 26–17	Arrowhead Stadium	3–1–1	20,296
7	October 26	at Minnesota Vikings	L 27–34	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	3–2–1	51,011
8	November 1	Detroit Lions	W 34–0	Mile High Stadium	4–2–1	75,172
9	November 8	at Buffalo Bills	L 14–21	Rich Stadium	4–3–1	63,698
10	November 16	Chicago Bears	W 31–29	Mile High Stadium	5–3–1	75,783
11	November 22	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 23–17	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	6–3–1	61,318
12	November 29	at San Diego Chargers	W 31–17	Jack Murphy Stadium	7–3–1	61,880
13	December 6	New England Patriots	W 31–20	Mile High Stadium	8–3–1	75,795
14	December 13	at Seattle Seahawks	L 21–28	Kingdome	8–4–1	61,759
15	December 19	Kansas City Chiefs	W 20–17	Mile High Stadium	9–4–1	75,053
16	December 27	San Diego Chargers	W 24–0	Mile High Stadium	10–4–1	21,189

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 14 3 0 0 17 • Broncos 7 13 14 6 40 Date: September 17 Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado Game start: 2:00 p.m. Game attendance: 75,999

Scoring summary Q1 SEA Daryl Turner 20 yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick) SEA 7–0 Q1 DEN Steve Sewell 72 yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick) Tie 7–7 Q1 SEA Curt Warner 10 yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick) SEA 14–7 Q2 SEA Norm Johnson 25 yard field goal SEA 17–7 Q2 DEN Rich Karlis 37 yard field goal SEA 17–10 Q2 DEN Rich Karlis 42 yard field goal SEA 17–13 Q2 DEN Steve Watson 4 yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick) DEN 20–17 Q3 DEN Orson Mobley 5 yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick) DEN 27–17 Q3 DEN Vance Johnson 59 yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick) DEN 34–17 Q4 DEN Rich Karlis 25 yard field goal DEN 37–17 Q4 DEN Rich Karlis 29 yard field goal DEN 40–17

• John Elway 22/32, 338 Yds, 4 TD, INT

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Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total Raiders 0 14 0 0 14 • Broncos 14 3 6 7 30 Date: October 12 Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 61,230 Game weather: 53°F; wind 7 Television network: ABC

Scoring summary 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

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Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Denver Broncos^(1)	10	4	1	.700	379	288	W2
Seattle Seahawks^(5)	9	6	0	.600	371	314	L1
San Diego Chargers	8	7	0	.533	253	317	L6
Los Angeles Raiders	5	10	0	.333	301	289	L3
Kansas City Chiefs	4	11	0	.267	273	388	W1

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
Divisional Playoffs	January 10	Houston Oilers	W 34–10	Mile High Stadium	75,968
AFC Championship	January 17	Cleveland Browns	W 38–33	Mile High Stadium	75,993
Super Bowl XXII	January 31	Washington Redskins	L 10–42	Jack Murphy Stadium	73,302

Awards and records

• Ricky Nattiel, All-Rookie selection

References

1. 2010 Denver Broncos Media Guide. p. 353. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Feb-02.
3. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Aug-25.

External links

• 1987 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com