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1987 Denver Broncos

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Record: 10-4-1, Finished 1st in AFC West Division
NFL Season Summary

1987 AFC Champions

Scored 379 points (25.3/g), 4th of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 288 points (19.2/g), 7th.
 Differential of 91 points (6.1/g), 5th.
 Expected W-L: 9.9-5.1.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +11 (0.7/g), 4th.

Coached by Dan Reeves (10-4-1)

1987 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Team Games & Schedule

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Score Offense Defense
Week Date Rec Opp Tm Opp 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO
1 Sun September 13 box W 1-0 Seattle Seahawks 40 17 25 504 338 166 2 15 277 169 108 5
2 Sun September 20 box T 1-0-1 @ Green Bay Packers 17 17 29 478 281 197 6 14 234 100 134 1
3 Sun October 4 box L 1-1-1 Houston Oilers 10 40 14 220 182 38 3 20 414 260 154 2
4 Mon October 12 box W 2-1-1 Los Angeles Raiders 30 14 24 346 142 204 2 16 270 168 102 5
5 Sun October 18 box W 3-1-1 @ Kansas City Chiefs 26 17 23 373 275 98 4 16 247 125 122 3
6 Mon October 26 box L 3-2-1 @ Minnesota Vikings 27 34 21 329 206 123 1 27 393 196 197 5
7 Sun November 1 box W 4-2-1 Detroit Lions 34 0 28 460 248 212 1 14 191 128 63 2
8 Sun November 8 box L 4-3-1 @ Buffalo Bills 14 21 12 215 139 76 2 25 428 170 258 3
9 Mon November 16 box W 5-3-1 Chicago Bears 31 29 26 439 341 98 2 24 446 300 146 2
10 Sun November 22 box W 6-3-1 @ Los Angeles Raiders 23 17 20 403 276 127 1 17 271 122 149 1
11 Sun November 29 box W 7-3-1 @ San Diego Chargers 31 17 31 522 347 175 1 18 378 312 66 2
12 Sun December 6 box W 8-3-1 New England Patriots 31 20 21 371 259 112 3 20 369 158 211 6
13 Sun December 13 box L 8-4-1 @ Seattle Seahawks 21 28 20 380 308 72 2 24 367 226 141 4
14 Sat December 19 box W 9-4-1 Kansas City Chiefs 20 17 22 369 226 143 2 20 377 254 123 1
15 Sun December 27 box W 10-4-1 San Diego Chargers 24 0 15 215 86 129 4 7 151 108 43 5
Playoffs
Division Sun January 10 box W 11-4-1 Houston Oilers 34 10 19 316 255 61 1 20 337 264 73 3
ConfChamp Sun January 17 box W 12-4-1 Cleveland Browns 38 33 24 412 256 156 1 25 464 336 128 4
SuperBowl Sun January 31 box L 12-5-1 N Washington Redskins 10 42 18 327 230 97 3 25 602 322 280 1

Team Stats and Rankings

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Passing Rushing
Pts Yds Ply Y/P 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A 1stD Att Yds TD Y/A 1stD TO FL 1stPy
Team Offense 379 5624 1070 5.3 331 285 530 3654 24 19 6.5 173 510 1970 18 3.9 132 36 17 26
Team Defense 288 4813 941 5.1 277 261 456 2796 15 28 5.7 148 454 2017 16 4.4 103 47 19 26
Lg Rank Offense 4 2 2 2 3 9 15 4 7 12 3 20 16 14
Lg Rank Defense 7 9 8 6 5 3 2 9 11 20 20 26 3 8

Passing

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
No. Age Pos G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk%
7 John Elway* 27 QB 12 12 8-3-1 224 410 54.6 3198 19 4.6 12 2.9 72 7.8 6.9 14.3 266.5 83.4 20 138 7.1 6.3 4.7
12 Ken Karcher 24 3 3 2-1-0 56 102 54.9 628 5 4.9 4 3.9 49 6.2 4.9 11.2 209.3 73.5 5 45 5.4 4.2 4.7
8 Gary Kubiak 26 12 0 3 7 42.9 25 0 0.0 2 28.6 17 3.6 -9.3 8.3 2.1 13.1 2 14 1.2 -8.8 22.2
14 Dean May 25 3 0 0 5 0.0 0 0 0.0 1 20.0 0 0.0 -9.0 0.0 0.0 1 7 -1.2 -8.7 16.7
16 Monte McGuire 23 2 0 2 3 66.7 23 0 0.0 0 0.0 13 7.7 7.7 11.5 11.5 89.6 0 0 7.7 7.7 0.0
82 Vance Johnson 24 WR 11 9 0 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.6 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
33 Gene Lang 25 FB 12 6 0 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.6 1 7 -3.5 -3.5 50.0
47 Gerald Willhite 28 3 1 0 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.6 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Team Total 25.6 15 10-4-1 285 530 53.8 3874 24 4.5 19 3.6 72 7.3 6.1 13.6 258.3 77.5 30 220 6.5 5.4 5.4
Opp Total 15 261 456 57.2 3040 15 3.3 28 6.1 6.7 4.2 11.6 202.7 62.9 31 244 5.7 3.5

Rushing & Receiving

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Rushing Receiving
No. Age Pos G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G YScm RRTD Fmb
23 Sammy Winder 28 RB 12 10 196 741 6 19 3.8 61.8 16.3 14 74 5.3 1 13 1.2 6.2 815 7 5
33 Gene Lang 25 FB 12 6 89 303 2 28 3.4 25.3 7.4 17 130 7.6 2 29 1.4 10.8 433 4 0
7 John Elway* 27 QB 12 12 66 304 4 29 4.6 25.3 5.5 304 4 2
32 Joe Dudek 23 2 2 35 154 2 16 4.4 77.0 17.5 7 41 5.9 0 19 3.5 20.5 195 2 4
34 Nathan Poole 31 2 0 28 126 1 15 4.5 63.0 14.0 1 9 9.0 0 9 0.5 4.5 135 1 0
47 Gerald Willhite 28 3 1 26 141 0 29 5.4 47.0 8.7 9 25 2.8 0 6 3.0 8.3 166 0 1
30 Steve Sewell 24 7 0 19 83 2 17 4.4 11.9 2.7 13 209 16.1 1 72 1.9 29.9 292 3 1
28 Scott Caldwell 24 3 1 16 53 0 7 3.3 17.7 5.3 4 34 8.5 0 14 1.3 11.3 87 0 0
35 Ken Bell 23 RET 12 1 13 43 0 11 3.3 3.6 1.1 1 8 8.0 0 8 0.1 0.7 51 0 2
12 Ken Karcher 24 3 3 9 3 0 8 0.3 1.0 3.0 3 0 2
46 Bobby Micho 25 15 3 4 8 0 5 2.0 0.5 0.3 25 242 9.7 2 26 1.7 16.1 250 2 1
24 Tony Boddie 27 5 0 3 7 1 4 2.3 1.4 0.6 9 85 9.4 0 26 1.8 17.0 92 1 0
84 Ricky Nattiel 21 12 3 2 13 0 10 6.5 1.1 0.2 31 630 20.3 2 54 2.6 52.5 643 2 2
14 Dean May 25 3 0 2 -4 0 -2 -2.0 -1.3 0.7 -4 0 0
82 Vance Johnson 24 WR 11 9 1 -8 0 -8 -8.0 -0.7 0.1 42 684 16.3 7 59 3.8 62.2 676 7 1
8 Gary Kubiak 26 12 0 1 3 0 3 3.0 0.3 0.1 3 0 0
88 Clarence Kay 26 TE 12 12 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 31 440 14.2 0 30 2.6 36.7 440 0 3
80 Mark Jackson 24 WR 12 9 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 26 436 16.8 2 52 2.2 36.3 436 2 0
89 Orson Mobley 24 te 10 6 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 16 228 14.3 1 28 1.6 22.8 228 1 1
83 Rick Massie 27 9 4 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 13 244 18.8 4 39 1.4 27.1 244 4 0
81 Steve Watson 30 5 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 11 167 15.2 1 49 2.2 33.4 167 1 0
80 Shane Swanson 25 3 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 6 87 14.5 1 35 2.0 29.0 87 1 1
86 Mitch Andrews 23 8 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 4 53 13.3 0 20 0.5 6.6 53 0 0
82 Laron Brown 24 3 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 4 40 10.0 0 18 1.3 13.3 40 0 0
88 Russell Payne 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 1 8 8.0 0 8 1.0 8.0 8 0 0
Team Total 25.6 15 510 1970 18 29 3.9 131.3 34.0 285 3874 13.6 24 72 19.0 258.3 5844 42 29
Opp Total 15 454 2017 16 4.4 134.5 30.3 261 2796 10.7 15 17.4 186.4 4813 31 35

Kick & Punt Returns

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Age Pos G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
27 Kevin Clark 23 RET 11 3 18 233 1 71 12.9 2 33 0 25 16.5 266
80 Shane Swanson 25 3 2 9 132 0 33 14.7 9 234 0 50 26.0 453
84 Ricky Nattiel 21 12 3 12 73 0 14 6.1 4 78 0 25 19.5 794
35 Ken Bell 23 RET 12 1 15 323 0 42 21.5 374
82 Vance Johnson 24 WR 11 9 1 9 0 9 9.0 7 140 0 34 20.0 825
33 Gene Lang 25 FB 12 6 4 78 0 25 19.5 511
47 Gerald Willhite 28 3 1 4 22 0 9 5.5 188
82 Laron Brown 24 3 1 3 57 0 28 19.0 97
31 Mike Harden 29 RCB 12 12 2 11 0 7 5.5 11
22 Tony Lilly 25 FS 13 9 2 6 0 4 3.0 6
50 Jim Ryan 30 ROLB 14 14 2 9 0 9 4.5 9
Team Total 25.6 15 48 486 1 71 10.1 46 952 0 50 20.7 7282
Opp Total 15 34 2 61 1168 0 19.1

Kicking & Punting

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
0--19 20--29 30--39 40--49 50+ Tot PAT Punting
No. Age Pos G GS FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
3 Rich Karlis 28 K 12 0 9 9 6 4 7 4 3 1 25 18 72.0% 37 37 100.0%
2 Mike Horan 28 P 12 0 44 1807 61 2 41.1
6 Ralph Giacomarro 26 3 0 18 757 50 0 42.1
15 Mike Clendenen 24 3 0 1 1 2 2 1 4 3 75.0% 7 7 100.0%
7 John Elway* 27 QB 12 12 1 31 31 0 31.0
Team Total 25.6 15 10 10 8 6 8 4 3 1 29 21 72.4% 44 44 100.0% 63 2595 61 2 41.2
Opp Total 15 21 14 66.7% 35 32 91.4% 75 3158 42.1

Defense & Fumbles

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
No. Age Pos G GS Sk Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Tkl Ast Sfty
77 Karl Mecklenburg* 27 LILB 12 12 7.0 3 23 0 16 2 0 1 0 0 97
71 Greg Kragen 25 NT 12 9 2.0 0 0 1 0 0 78
73 Simon Fletcher 25 LOLB 12 12 4.0 0 0 1 0 0 70
49 Dennis Smith 28 SS 6 6 2 21 0 15 0 0 2 0 0 35
56 Michael Brooks 23 12 0 1.0 1 0 1 0 0 8
50 Jim Ryan 30 ROLB 14 14 1.5 3 7 0 5 1 2 0 0 1
75 Rulon Jones 29 RDE 12 12 7.0
23 Sammy Winder 28 RB 12 10 5 2 0 0
27 Kevin Clark 23 RET 11 3 3 105 0 50 1 1 0 0
32 Joe Dudek 23 2 2 4 1 0 0
31 Mike Harden 29 RCB 12 12 4 85 0 32 0 1 14 0
12 Ken Karcher 24 3 3 2 3 -11 0
36 Mark Haynes 29 LCB 12 12 3 39 1 25 0 1 24 0
22 Tony Lilly 25 FS 13 9 3 29 0 24 0 1 0 0
58 Tim Lucas 26 11 3 2.0 1 11 0 11 0 1 0 0
48 Randy Robbins 25 10 4 1.0 3 9 0 9
35 Ken Bell 23 RET 12 1 2 1 0 0
98 Ricky Hunley 26 RILB 12 12 1.0 2 64 1 52
88 Clarence Kay 26 TE 12 12 3 0 0 0
84 Ricky Nattiel 21 12 3 2 1 0 0
7 John Elway* 27 QB 12 12 2 0 -1 0
45 Leonard Jones 23 2 1 0 2 24 0
51 Marc Munford 22 12 0 0 2 0 0
91 Jeff Tupper 25 4 3 1.5
67 John Ayers 34 rg 9 5 0 1 0 0
24 Tony Boddie 27 5 0 0 1 0 0
64 Bill Bryan 32 4 4 0 1 0 0
55 Rick Dennison 29 12 0 1 10 0 10
90 Freddie Gilbert 25 7 3 0 1 0 0
82 Vance Johnson 24 WR 11 9 1 0 0 0
68 Larry Lee 28 c 9 5 0 1 0 0
46 Bobby Micho 25 15 3 1 0 0 0
89 Orson Mobley 24 te 10 6 1 0 0 0
71 Jack Peavey 24 3 1 1 0 -16 0
30 Steve Sewell 24 7 0 1 0 0 0
80 Shane Swanson 25 3 2 1 0 0 0
61 Andre Townsend 25 LDE 12 11 1.0
47 Gerald Willhite 28 3 1 1 0 0 0
45 Steve Wilson 30 rcb 11 5 1.0
55 Bryant Winn 26 3 3 0 1 0 0
65 Walt Bowyer 27 15 3 0.5
99 Ray Woodard 26 3 1 0.5
Team Total 25.6 15 31.0 28 403 2 52 3 29 31 34 0 288 1
Opp Total 15 30 35 16 2

Scoring Summary

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
No. Age Pos G GS RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
3 Rich Karlis 28 K 12 0 37 18 91
82 Vance Johnson 24 WR 11 9 7 42
23 Sammy Winder 28 RB 12 10 6 1 42
7 John Elway* 27 QB 12 12 4 24
33 Gene Lang 25 FB 12 6 2 2 24
83 Rick Massie 27 9 4 4 24
30 Steve Sewell 24 7 0 2 1 18
15 Mike Clendenen 24 3 0 7 3 16
32 Joe Dudek 23 2 2 2 12
80 Mark Jackson 24 WR 12 9 2 12
46 Bobby Micho 25 15 3 2 12
84 Ricky Nattiel 21 12 3 2 12
24 Tony Boddie 27 5 0 1 6
27 Kevin Clark 23 RET 11 3 1 6
36 Mark Haynes 29 LCB 12 12 1 6
98 Ricky Hunley 26 RILB 12 12 1 6
89 Orson Mobley 24 te 10 6 1 6
34 Nathan Poole 31 2 0 1 6
80 Shane Swanson 25 3 2 1 6
81 Steve Watson 30 5 1 1 6
50 Jim Ryan 30 ROLB 14 14 1 2
Team Total 25.6 15 18 24 1 2 44 21 1 379
Opp Total 15 16 15 2 32 14 2 288