1991 Denver Broncos season

1991 Denver Broncos season
Head coach	Dan Reeves
General manager	John Beake
Owner	Pat Bowlen
Home field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st AFC West
Playoff finish	Won AFC Divisional Playoff (Oilers) 26–24 Lost AFC Championship Game (Bills) 7–10

The 1991 Denver Broncos season was the team's 32nd year in professional football and its 22nd with the National Football League (NFL). The team improved on its 5–11 from 1990, winning their third AFC West title in five years, and advanced to the AFC Championship game.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1991 Denver Broncos draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	4	Mike Croel	Defensive End	Nebraska
2	30	Reggie Johnson	Tight End	Florida State
3	61	Keith Traylor	Defensive Tackle	Central Oklahoma
4	89	Derek Russell	Wide Receiver	Arkansas
5	115	Greg Lewis	Running Back	Washington
6	142	Nick Subis	Offensive Tackle	San Diego State
8	200	Kenny Walker	Defensive End	Nebraska
9	227	Don Gibson	Defensive Tackle	Southern California
10	253	Curtis Mayfield	Wide Receiver	Oklahoma State
11	284	Shawn Moore	Quarterback	Virginia
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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Personnel

Staff

1991 Denver Broncos staff
	Front office President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen General Manager – John Beake Director of Football Operations – Lide Huggins Director of Player Personnel – Reed Johnson Head coaches Vice President/Head Coach – Dan Reeves Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Mike Shanahan Running Backs – Mo Forte Wide Receivers – George Henshaw Tight Ends – Harold Richardson Offensive Line – Pete Mangurian Special Assistant – Marvin Bass			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Wade Phillips Defensive Line – Ernie Stautner Linebackers – Mike Nolan Defensive Backs – Charlie Waters Defensive Assistant – Barney Chavous Defensive Quality Control – Joe DeCamillis Special teams coaches Special Teams – Harold Richardson Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Al Miller

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Roster

1991 Denver Broncos roster
	Quarterbacks  7 John Elway  8 Gary Kubiak Running backs 28 Gaston Green 26 Bobby Humphrey 41 Greg Lewis 33 Bob Perryman FB 38 Reggie Rivers FB 30 Steve Sewell FB Wide receivers 80 Mark Jackson 86 Barry Johnson 82 Vance Johnson PR 84 Ricky Nattiel 85 Derek Russell 83 Michael Young		Tight ends 89 Reggie Johnson 88 Clarence Kay 81 Shannon Sharpe Offensive linemen 62 Jeff Davidson T 63 Sean Farrell G 69 Darrell Hamilton T 72 Keith Kartz C 68 Crawford Ker G 76 Ken Lanier T 74 Harvey Salem T 60 Nick Subis T/C 79 Dave Widell G/C 67 Doug Widell G		Defensive linemen 92 Alphonso Carreker DE 90 Ron Holmes DE 71 Greg Kragen NT 91 Warren Powers DE 70 Brian Sochia DE/NT 94 Jim Szymanski DE/NT 96 Kenny Walker DE Linebackers 56 Michael Brooks ILB 51 Mike Croel OLB 73 Simon Fletcher OLB 93 Ronnie Haliburton OLB 59 Tim Lucas OLB 77 Karl Mecklenburg ILB 52 Jeff Mills OLB 57 Mark Murray ILB 54 Keith Traylor ILB		Defensive backs 27 Steve Atwater FS 34 Tyrone Braxton CB 20 Kevin Clark CB 29 Charles Dimry CB 24 Wymon Henderson CB 21 Le-Lo Lang CB 22 Alton Montgomery FS/KR 48 Randy Robbins SS 49 Dennis Smith SS Special teams  2 Mike Horan P  9 David Treadwell K Rookies in italics

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Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 1, 1991	Cincinnati Bengals	W 45–14	72,855
2	September 8, 1991	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 16–13	48,569
3	September 15, 1991	Seattle Seahawks	W 16–10	74,152
4	September 22, 1991	San Diego Chargers	W 27–19	73,258
5	September 29, 1991	at Minnesota Vikings	W 13–6	55,031
6	October 6, 1991	at Houston Oilers	L 42–14	59,145
7	Bye
8	October 20, 1991	Kansas City Chiefs	W 19–16	75,866
9	October 27, 1991	at New England Patriots	W 9–6	43,994
10	November 3, 1991	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 20–13	70,973
11	November 10, 1991	Los Angeles Raiders	L 17–16	75,896
12	November 17, 1991	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 24–20	74,661
13	November 24, 1991	at Seattle Seahawks	L 13–10	60,430
14	December 1, 1991	New England Patriots	W 20–3	67,116
15	December 8, 1991	at Cleveland Browns	W 17–7	73,539
16	December 15, 1991	Phoenix Cardinals	W 24–19	74,098
17	December 22, 1991	at San Diego Chargers	W 17–14	51,449

Season summary

Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 3 7 0 3 13 • Broncos 0 17 3 0 20 Date: November 3 Location: Mile High Stadium • Denver, Colorado Game start: 6:00 p.m. MST Game weather: 16°F, wind 8 mph TV announcers: Mike Patrick & Joe Theismann

Scoring summary 1 PIT Gary Anderson 26-yard field goal Steelers 3–0 2 PIT Eric Green 23-yard pass from Neil O'Donnell (Gary Anderson kick) Steelers 10–0 2 DEN Greg Lewis 1-yard run (David Treadwell kick) Steelers 10–7 2 DEN John Elway 4-yard run (David Treadwell kick) Broncos 14–10 2 DEN David Treadwell 28-yard field goal Broncos 17–10 3 DEN David Treadwell 21-yard field goal Broncos 20–10 4 PIT Gary Anderson 39-yard field goal Broncos 20–13

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Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(2) Denver Broncos	12	4	0	.750	304	235	W4
^(4) Kansas City Chiefs	10	6	0	.625	322	252	W1
^(5) Los Angeles Raiders	9	7	0	.563	298	297	L3
Seattle Seahawks	7	9	0	.438	276	261	W1
San Diego Chargers	4	12	0	.250	274	342	L1

Playoffs

AFC Championship Game

Buffalo Bills 10, Denver Broncos 7

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	0	0	7	7
Bills	0	0	7	3	10

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C), clear
• Game attendance: 80,272
• Referee: Dale Hamer
• TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bill Walsh

Buffalo relied on missed field goals by Denver and some key plays from their defense to narrowly defeat the Broncos in a tough defensive struggle. Although the first half was scoreless, the Broncos advanced into Buffalo territory on all five of their possessions in the first half. However, Denver kicker David Treadwell missed 3 field goals, hitting the goal posts twice and driving the other attempt wide right.

Late in the third quarter, the Broncos faced second down and 10 at their own 19-yard line. Quarterback John Elway threw a shovel pass intended for running back Steve Sewell, but it was tipped by Bills defensive lineman Jeff Wright into the arms of linebacker Carlton Bailey, who returned the ball 11 yards for Buffalo's only touchdown of the game. Elway was then knocked out of the game after suffering a deep thigh bruise, and was replaced by backup Gary Kubiak. With 4:18 left in the game, Buffalo kicker Scott Norwood made a 44-yard field goal to increase the lead, 10–0. Kubiak, who was playing in his last NFL game before retiring, led the Broncos 85 yards in eight plays and scored a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:43 left. Denver then recovered the ensuing onside kick, but the Bills clinched the victory after defensive back Kirby Jackson forced and recovered a fumble from running back Steve Sewell.

Broncos receiver Vance Johnson finished the game with 8 receptions for 104 yards. Kubiak completed 11 of 12 passes for 136 yards and rushed for 22.

Scoring
BUF – Bailey 11 interception return (Norwood kick) BUF 7–0
BUF – field goal Norwood 44 BUF 10–0
DEN – Kubiak 3 run (Treadwell kick) BUF 10–7

References

1. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/1991_draft.htm
2. 1991 Denver Broncos Media Guide. pp. 5–19.
3. 2010 Denver Broncos Media Guide. pp. 603–606. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
4. "1991 Denver Broncos starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
5. Pro-Football-Reference.com

External links

• 1991 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com