1998 Denver Broncos season

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1998 NFL draft

Staff

• President and chief executive officer – Pat Bowlen

• Vice-president of business operations – Joe Ellis (hired Sep 1, 1998)

• 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

• 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/Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Barney Chavous

• Offensive assistant – Ricky Porter

• Defensive coordinator – Greg Robinson

• Defensive line – George Dyer

• Linebackers – Frank Bush

• Defensive backs – Ed Donatell

• Defensive assistant – Pat McPherson

• Defensive assistant – Rick Smith

• Pass rush specialist – John Teerlinck

• Special teams – Rick Dennison

• Strength and conditioning – Rich Tuten

• Assistant strength and conditioning – Greg Saporta

Roster

• Bubby Brister

• John Elway*

• Brian Griese

• Terrell Davis*

• Howard Griffith FB*

• Vaughn Hebron KR

• Derek Loville

• Anthony Lynn

• Detron Smith FB

• Justin Armour

• Willie Green

• Ed McCaffrey*

• Marcus Nash

• Rod Smith*

• Dwayne Carswell

• Byron Chamberlain

• Shannon Sharpe*

• Chris Banks G

• David Diaz-Infante C/G/LS

• KC Jones C

• Tony Jones T*

• Matt Lepsis T

• Tom Nalen C*

• Dan Neil G*

• Mark Schlereth G*

• Harry Swayne T*

• Trey Teague C/T

• Cyron Brown DE

• Harald Hasselbach DE/DT

• Mike Lodish DT

• Trevor Pryce DT*

• Neil Smith DE*

• Maa Tanuvasa DE*

• Keith Traylor NT*

• Marvin Washington DE/DT

• Alfred Williams DE

• Keith Burns MLB

• Glenn Cadrez* MLB

• Seth Joyner OLB

• John Mobley* OLB

• Bill Romanowski* OLB

• Nate Wayne OLB

• Steve Atwater FS*

• Tyrone Braxton SS

• Eric Brown SS*

• George Coghill FS

• Ray Crockett CB*

• Darrien Gordon CB/PR*

• Tory James CB

• Darrius Johnson CB

• Tito Paul CB

• Jason Elam K

• Tom Rouen P

• Chris Gizzi LB (Military Reserve.) [[Image:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Jeff Lewis QB (PUP) [[Image:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Steve Russ LB (IR) [[Image:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

• Curtis Alexander RB

• Andre Cooper WR

• Joseph Daniels DT

• Vili Maumau DT

• Tori Noel S

• Marvin Thomas DE

53 active, 3 inactive, 5 practice squad

Season summary

The Broncos won their first 13 games of the season. There was much speculation that they might finish 19–0 and the Broncos were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. However, they were upset by the New York Giants (who would end another attempt at a 19–0 season nine seasons later) in week 15 by a score of 20–16. They finished the regular season 14–2 after losing to the Dolphins in their first encounter with that team since 1985.

They finished first in the AFC West and won their divisional playoff game against the Miami Dolphins 38–3 for their first win over the Dolphins since 1968. They then won the AFC Championship over the Bill Parcells coached New York Jets 23–10 after coming back from a 10–0 deficit. Many had expected Denver to play the Minnesota Vikings, the team with the number one record that year at 15–1, in the Super Bowl. However, the Vikings lost the NFC Championship Game to the Atlanta Falcons in overtime.

The Broncos defeated the Falcons 34–19 in Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway was the Super Bowl MVP and Davis rushed for over 100 yards. It was Elway's last game, and Denver would not reach the Super Bowl again until the 2013 season.

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Standings

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Game vs. Miami Dolphins

First quarter

• Den – Terrell Davis 1 yard rush (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 7–0
• Den – Terrell Davis 20 yard rush (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 14–0 Second quarter
• Mia – Olindo Mare 22 yard field goal. Broncos 14–3
• Den – Derek Loville 11 yard rush (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 21–3 Third quarter
• Den – Jason Elam 32 yard field goal Broncos 24–3 Fourth quarter
• Den – Rod Smith 28 yard pass from John Elway (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 31–3
• Den – Neil Smith 79 yard fumble return (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 38–3 Dolphins
• Dan Marino. 26–37, 243 yards, 0 TD, 2 Int

Broncos

• John Elway. 14–23, 182 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int
• Terrell Davis. 21 rush, 199 yards, 2 TD

Turnovers:

• Dolphins – 3
• Broncos – 0

AFC Championship game vs. New York Jets

First quarter

• no scoring Second quarter
• NYJ – John Hall 32 yard field goal. Jets 3–0 Third quarter
• NYJ – Curtis Martin 1 yard rush (John Hall kick) Jets 10–0
• Den – Howard Griffith 11 yard pass from John Elway (Jason Elam kick) Jets 10–7
• Den – Jason Elam 44 yard field goal. Tie 10–10
• Den – Jason Elam 48 yard field goal. Broncos 13–10
• Den – Terrell Davis 31 yard rush (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 20–10 Fourth quarter
• Den – Jason Elam 35 yard field goal Broncos 23–10

Jets

• Vinny Testaverde. 31–56, 356 yards, 0 TD, 2 Int
• Wayne Chrebet. 8 rec, 121 yards

Broncos

• John Elway. 13–34, 173 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int
• Terrell Davis. 32 rush, 167 yards, 1 TD

Turnovers:

• Jets – 6
• Broncos – 0 Despite a subpar performance from quarterback John Elway, the Broncos came from a ten-point deficit to score twenty three unanswered points, thanks in large part to the Jets turning the ball over an astonishing six times. Broncos go to Super Bowl XXXIII and win to the Falcons 34–19.

Super Bowl XXXIII: vs. Atlanta Falcons

The Denver Broncos become the third team in the last 9 years to repeat as Super Bowl champions, along with the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys. John Elway was voted Super Bowl MVP.

Statistics

Team stats

The Broncos had 3,808 yards passing, sixth in the league. They had 2,468 yards rushing, second in the league and 26 rushing touchdowns, first in the league. They had 6,276 total yards, third best.

They gave up 3,983 passing yards, a low 28 out of 30 in the NFL, but were third in rushing yards given up with 1,287. They gave up 5,270 yards, 12th in the NFL. They scored 501 points, second in the league and gave up 309, eighth fewest in the league.

The Broncos’ 14–2 record remains their best regular season record (most wins and equal fewest losses) in franchise history.

Player stats

For the season Elway threw for 2,806 yards, 22 touchdowns and ten interceptions. Davis rushed for 2,008 yards and 21 touchdowns. Rod Smith had 86 receptions for 1,222 yards and six touchdowns. Ed McCaffrey had 64 receptions for 1,053 yards. Shannon Sharpe had 64 receptions for 768 yards. Jason Elam kicked 23 out of 27 field goals and 58 out of 58 extra points including a 63-yard field goal to tie Tom Dempsey with the longest field goal in NFL history at that time. This record has since been eclipsed by another Denver Bronco in Matt Prater, and once again by Justin Tucker.

Steve Atwater, Davis, Elway, Tony Jones, Mark Schlereth, McCaffrey, Tom Nalen, Bill Romanowski, and Sharpe made the Pro Bowl.

Awards and records

• Terrell Davis, NFL MVP
• Terrell Davis, Franchise Record, Most Rushing Yards in One Season, 2,008 Yards
• Terrell Davis, Franchise Record, Most Touchdowns in One Season, 23 Touchdowns
• John Elway, Super Bowl MVP
• Jason Elam, tied longest field goal (63 yards)

Milestones

• Terrell Davis, 1st 2,000-yard rushing season, 2,008 Yards

References

References

1. (2016-02-14). "Revisiting Denver's cap penalties from the 1990s".
2. Maske, Mark. (2004-09-17). "Broncos Penalized Again for Salary Cap Violations".
3. "NFL Top 100 Teams". Pro Football Reference.
4. "100 Greatest Teams: Numbers 100–1 SUPERCUT". NFL.com.
5. "1998 Denver Broncos starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
6. "Denver eyes 19–0, but there's no rush" in ''[[Star Tribune. Minneapolis Star Tribune]]'', November 16, 1998
7. Freeman, Mike; "Chasing Perfection and Taking Questions; Voluble Broncos Are 13–0 and Ready to Talk" in ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 9, 1998
8. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/tgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=game&year_min=1940&year_max=2012&game_type=&playoff_round=&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&week_num_min=0&week_num_max=99&game_day_of_week=&game_time=&time_zone=&game_location=&surface=&roof=&game_result=&overtime=&league_id=&team_id=den&opp_id=mia&conference_game=&division_game=&tm_is_playoff=&opp_is_playoff=&tm_is_winning=&opp_is_winning=&tm_scored_first=&tm_led=&tm_trailed=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=game_date&order_by_asc=Y Denver Broncos v Miami Dolphins]
9. 1986]] and [[1997 Denver Broncos season. 1997]].
10. ''NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book'', Workman Publishing Co, New York, {{ISBN. 0-7611-2480-2, p. 44
11. "Super Bowl MVPs – Super Bowl History – National Football League".