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1998 Denver Broncos season

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The 1998 season was the Denver Broncos' 29th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 39th overall. The Broncos entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champions and looked to become only the fifth team in league history to win consecutive Super Bowls.

1998 Denver Broncos season
OwnerPat Bowlen
General managerJohn Beake and Mike Shanahan
PresidentPat Bowlen
Head coachMike Shanahan
Offensive coordinatorGary Kubiak
Defensive coordinatorGreg Robinson
Home fieldMile High Stadium
Results
Record14–2
Division place1st AFC West
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Dolphins) 38–3
Won AFC Championship
(vs. Jets) 23–10
Won Super Bowl XXXIII
(vs. Falcons) 34–19
Pro BowlersQB John Elway
RB Terrell Davis
WR Ed McCaffrey
TE Shannon Sharpe
T Tony Jones
G Mark Schlereth
C Tom Nalen
OLB Bill Romanowski
FS Steve Atwater
K Jason Elam
AP All-ProsRB Terrell Davis (1st team)
TE Shannon Sharpe (1st team)
WR Ed McCaffrey (2nd team)
K Jason Elam (2nd team)

Finishing with a record of 12–4 the previous year, the Broncos improved on that mark by two wins and tied the Atlanta Falcons for second best record at 14–2. They won their first thirteen games, the best start since the unbeaten 1972 Dolphins.

After 16 seasons, John Elway retired following the Super Bowl. He finished his Broncos career with 51,475 yards passing and 300 touchdowns. Until Peyton Manning won in Super Bowl 50, Elway stood as the only Broncos quarterback to win a Super Bowl. However, Elway even played a large role in that victory as the general manager and president of football operations for the Broncos.

Running back Terrell Davis set a team single season rushing mark. His final total was 2,008 yards, making him only the fourth player to rush for over 2,000 yards in single season.

A multi-year investigation from 2001 to 2005 revealed that between 1996 and 1998, the team had cheated the salary cap by deferring other money to Elway and Davis outside of the team’s salary. Denver claimed it gave them no competitive advantage. The team was subsequently fined nearly two million dollars and were forced to give up two third-round picks in the 2002 and 2005 drafts.[1][2]

In 2007, the 1998 Broncos were ranked as the 12th greatest Super Bowl champions on the NFL Network's documentary series America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions. They ranked #14 on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary.[3][4]

Offseason

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NFL draft

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Main article: 1998 NFL draft
1998 Denver Broncos draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 30 Marcus Nash  Wide receiver Tennessee
2 61 Eric Brown  Safety Mississippi State
3 91 Brian Griese *  Quarterback Michigan
4 122 Curtis Alexander  Running back Alabama
5 153 Chris Howard  Running back Michigan
7 200 Trey Teague  Center Tennessee
7 219 Nate Wayne  Linebacker Ole Miss
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

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1998 Denver Broncos staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning


Roster

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1998 Denver Broncos roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad


53 active, 3 inactive, 5 practice squad Reserve


Rookies in italics

[5]

Season summary

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The Denver superfan Barrel Man seen at the regular season opener at Mile High Stadium against New England

The Broncos won their first 13 games of the season. There was much speculation that they might finish 19–0[6][7] 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.[8][9]

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.[8] 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

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 August 8 at St. Louis Rams W 20–13 1–0 Trans World Dome 53,842 Recap
2 August 14 New Orleans Saints W 17–10 2–0 Mile High Stadium 75,329 Recap
3 August 24 Green Bay Packers W 34–31 3–0 Mile High Stadium 73,183 Recap
4 August 29 at Tennessee Oilers L 13–16 3–1 Vanderbilt Stadium 33,194 Recap

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result TV Time(MT) Game site Record Attendance
1 September 7 New England Patriots W 27–21 ABC 6:20pm Mile High Stadium 1–0 74,745
2 September 13 Dallas Cowboys W 42–23 Fox 2:15pm Mile High Stadium 2–0 75,013
3 September 20 at Oakland Raiders W 34–17 CBS 2:15pm Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 3–0 56,578
4 September 27 at Washington Redskins W 38–16 CBS 11:00am FedExField 4–0 71,880
5 October 4 Philadelphia Eagles W 41–16 Fox 2:15pm Mile High Stadium 5–0 73,218
6 October 11 at Seattle Seahawks W 21–16 CBS 2:15pm Kingdome 6–0 66,258
7 Bye
8 October 25 Jacksonville Jaguars W 37–24 CBS 2:15pm Mile High Stadium 7–0 75,217
9 November 1 at Cincinnati Bengals W 33–26 CBS 11:00am Cinergy Field 8–0 59,974
10 November 8 San Diego Chargers W 27–10 CBS 2:15pm Mile High Stadium 9–0 74,925
11 November 16 at Kansas City Chiefs W 30–7 ABC 6:20pm Arrowhead Stadium 10–0 78,100
12 November 22 Oakland Raiders W 40–14 CBS 2:15pm Mile High Stadium 11–0 75,325
13 November 29 at San Diego Chargers W 31–16 ESPN 6:15pm Qualcomm Stadium 12–0 66,532
14 December 6 Kansas City Chiefs W 35–31 CBS 2:15pm Mile High Stadium 13–0 74,962
15 December 13 at New York Giants L 16–20 CBS 11:00am Giants Stadium 13–1 72,336
16 December 21 at Miami Dolphins L 21–31 ABC 6:20pm Pro Player Stadium 13–2 74,363
17 December 27 Seattle Seahawks W 28–21 CBS 2:15pm Mile High Stadium 14–2 74,057

Standings

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AFC West
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) Denver Broncos 14 2 0 .875 501 309 W1
Oakland Raiders 8 8 0 .500 288 356 L1
Seattle Seahawks 8 8 0 .500 372 310 L1
Kansas City Chiefs 7 9 0 .438 327 363 W1
San Diego Chargers 5 11 0 .313 241 342 L5

Playoffs

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Round Date TV Time(MT) Opponent Result Game site Record Attendance
Divisional Playoffs January 9, 1999 CBS 2:15 pm Miami Dolphins W 38–3 Mile High Stadium 15–2 75,729
AFC Championship January 17, 1999 CBS 2:15 pm New York Jets W 23–10 Mile High Stadium 16–2 75,482
Super Bowl XXXIII January 31, 1999 Fox 4:25 pm Atlanta Falcons W 34–19 Pro Player Stadium 17–2 74,803

AFC Divisional Game vs. Miami Dolphins

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AFC Divisional Playoff: Miami Dolphins vs Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 3 003
Broncos 14 7 31438

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: January 9, 1999
  • Game time: 2:15 p.m. MDT
  • Game weather: 29 °F or −1.7 °C, relative humidity 62%, wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, and Armen Keteyian
Game information

AFC Championship game vs. New York Jets

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AFC Championship game: New York Jets at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Jets 0 3 7010
Broncos 0 0 20323

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: January 17, 1999
  • Game time: 2:05 p.m. MDT
  • Game weather: 37 °F or 2.8 °C, relative humidity 36%, wind 20 miles per hour (32 km/h; 17 kn)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, Armen Keteyian, and Bonnie Bernstein
Game information

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.

Super Bowl XXXIII: vs. Atlanta Falcons

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Super Bowl XXXIII: Denver Broncos vs Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Broncos 7 10 01734
Falcons 3 3 01319

at Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida

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

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Team stats

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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

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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

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  • Terrell Davis, NFL MVP
  • Terrell Davis, Franchise Record, Most Rushing Yards in One Season, 2,008 Yards[10]
  • Terrell Davis, Franchise Record, Most Touchdowns in One Season, 23 Touchdowns[10]
  • John Elway, Super Bowl MVP
  • Jason Elam, tied longest field goal (63 yards)

Milestones

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

References

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  1. ^ "Revisiting Denver's cap penalties from the 1990s". ProFootballTalk. February 14, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  2. ^ "Broncos Penalized Again for Salary Cap Violations (washingtonpost.com)". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  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. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  6. ^ "Denver eyes 19–0, but there's no rush" in 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. ^ a b Denver Broncos v Miami Dolphins
  9. ^ See History of the NFL's Structure and Formats, Part Two for an explanation of why the Dolphins never played the Broncos between 1986 and 1997.
  10. ^ a b NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 44
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