1978 Denver Broncos (NFL) |
| 1st place • American Football Conference • Western Division • 10-6-0 .625 |
| Playoff Statistics |
| Head Coach: Red Miller |
| Marv Braden | Special Teams |
| Joe Collier | Defensive Coordinator |
| Ken Gray | Offensive Line |
| Stan Jones | Defensive Line |
| Richie McCabe | Linebackers |
| Babe Parilli | Quarterbacks |
| Fran Polsfoot | Receivers |
| Paul Roach | Offensive Backs |
| Bob Zeman | Defensive Backs |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Result | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/5/1978 | A | Houston Oilers | 17-12 | W | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 48027 | |
| Sat | 8/12/1978 | H | Dallas Cowboys | 14-21 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74619 | |
| Sat | 8/19/1978 | A | Buffalo Bills | 23-13 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 18301 | |
| Fri | 8/25/1978 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 13-24 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 73559 | |
| Sun | 9/3/1978 | H | Oakland Raiders | 14-6 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74904 | |
| Mon | 9/11/1978 | A | Minnesota Vikings | 9-12 | L | OT | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 46508 |
| Sun | 9/17/1978 | H | San Diego Chargers | 27-14 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74983 | |
| Sun | 9/24/1978 | A | Kansas City Chiefs | 23-17 | W | Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium | 60593 | |
| Sun | 10/1/1978 | H | Seattle Seahawks | 28-7 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74989 | |
| Sun | 10/8/1978 | A | San Diego Chargers | 0-23 | L | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 50077 | |
| Mon | 10/16/1978 | H | Chicago Bears | 16-7 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 75008 | |
| Sun | 10/22/1978 | A | Baltimore Colts | 6-7 | L | Baltimore, MD | Memorial Stadium | 54057 | |
| Sun | 10/29/1978 | A | Seattle Seahawks | 20-17 | W | OT | Seattle, WA | Kingdome | 62948 |
| Sun | 11/5/1978 | H | New York Jets | 28-31 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74983 | |
| Sun | 11/12/1978 | A | Cleveland Browns | 19-7 | W | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 70856 | |
| Sun | 11/19/1978 | H | Green Bay Packers | 16-3 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74965 | |
| Thu | 11/23/1978 | A | Detroit Lions | 14-17 | L | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 71785 | |
| Sun | 12/3/1978 | A | Oakland Raiders | 21-6 | W | Oakland, CA | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | 53932 | |
| Sun | 12/10/1978 | H | Kansas City Chiefs | 24-3 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74149 | |
| Sat | 12/16/1978 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 17-21 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74104 | |
| AFC Divisional Playoff | |||||||||
| Sat | 12/30/1978 | A | Pittsburgh Steelers | 10-33 | L | Pittsburgh, PA | Three Rivers Stadium | 48921 | |
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Lyle Alzado | 77 | RDE | 6-3 | 254 | 29 | Yankton | 16 | 16 |
| Otis Armstrong | 24 | RB | 5-10 | 196 | 28 | Purdue | 16 | 9 |
| Bill Bain | 75 | LOT | 6-4 | 270 | 26 | Colorado; San Diego CC; Southern California | 1 | 1 |
| Billy Bryan | 64 | C | 6-2 | 255 | 23 | Duke | 13 | 12 |
| Larry Canada | 35 | RB | 6-2 | 225 | 24 | Wisconsin | 16 | 0 |
| Rubin Carter | 68 | NT | 6-0 | 254 | 26 | Miami (Florida) | 16 | 16 |
| Barney Chavous | 79 | LDE | 6-3 | 254 | 27 | South Carolina State | 16 | 16 |
| Bucky Dilts | 10 | P | 5-9 | 183 | 25 | Georgia | 16 | 0 |
| Jack Dolbin | 82 | WR | 5-10 | 180 | 30 | Wake Forest | 16 | 14 |
| Ron Egloff | 85 | TE | 6-5 | 227 | 23 | Wisconsin | 8 | 0 |
| Larry Evans | 56 | LB | 6-2 | 217 | 25 | Mississippi College | 16 | 0 |
| Steve Foley | 43 | RCB | 6-2 | 190 | 25 | Tulane | 16 | 16 |
| Tom Glassic | 62 | LOG | 6-3 | 254 | 24 | Virginia | 11 | 10 |
| Randy Gradishar | 53 | RILB | 6-3 | 233 | 26 | Ohio State | 16 | 16 |
| John Grant | 63 | DT | 6-3 | 235 | 28 | Southern California | 16 | 0 |
| Maurice Harvey | 27 | CB | 5-10 | 189 | 22 | Ball State | 16 | 0 |
| Paul Howard | 60 | ROG | 6-3 | 260 | 28 | Brigham Young | 13 | 13 |
| Glenn Hyde | 65 | OG | 6-3 | 255 | 27 | Pittsburgh | 15 | 5 |
| Bernie Jackson | 29 | WS | 6-0 | 173 | 28 | Los Angeles Pierce JC; Washington State | 16 | 16 |
| Tom Jackson | 57 | ROLB | 5-11 | 220 | 27 | Louisville | 16 | 16 |
| Jon Keyworth | 32 | RB | 6-3 | 230 | 28 | Colorado | 16 | 16 |
| Vince Kinney | 84 | WR | 6-2 | 190 | 22 | Maryland | 8 | 0 |
| Don Latimer | 72 | DT | 6-3 | 259 | 23 | Miami (Florida) | 14 | 0 |
| Rob Lytle | 41 | RB | 5-11 | 196 | 24 | Michigan | 13 | 7 |
| Brison Manor | 66 | DE | 6-4 | 248 | 26 | Pratt CC; Arkansas | 16 | 0 |
| Bobby Maples | 50 | C | 6-3 | 247 | 36 | Baylor | 16 | 5 |
| Claudie Minor | 71 | LOT | 6-4 | 278 | 27 | Mount San Antonio JC; San Diego CC; San Diego State | 16 | 16 |
| Bob Moore | 87 | WR | 6-3 | 225 | 29 | Stanford | 8 | 2 |
| Craig Morton | 7 | QB | 6-4 | 213 | 35 | California | 14 | 13 |
| Haven Moses | 25 | WR | 6-2 | 200 | 32 | Los Angeles Harbor JC; San Diego State | 16 | 16 |
| Rob Nairne | 58 | LOLB | 6-4 | 227 | 24 | Oregon State | 16 | 1 |
| Tom Neville | 76 | ROT | 6-4 | 252 | 35 | Mississippi State | 16 | 15 |
| Riley Odoms | 88 | TE | 6-4 | 230 | 28 | Houston | 16 | 16 |
| Chris Pane | 23 | S | 5-11 | 184 | 25 | Chabot JC; Chico State | 5 | 0 |
| Craig Penrose | 12 | QB | 6-3 | 211 | 25 | Colorado; San Diego State | 4 | 2 |
| Lonnie Perrin | 33 | RB | 6-1 | 222 | 26 | Illinois | 16 | 0 |
| Dave Preston | 46 | RB | 5-11 | 195 | 23 | Bowling Green State | 16 | 0 |
| Joe Rizzo | 59 | LILB | 6-1 | 220 | 28 | Merchant Marine | 14 | 14 |
| Steve Schindler | 67 | LOG | 6-3 | 255 | 24 | Boston College | 14 | 3 |
| John Schultz | 86 | WR | 5-10 | 182 | 25 | Maryland | 4 | 0 |
| Paul Smith | 70 | DT | 6-3 | 254 | 33 | New Mexico | 11 | 0 |
| Bob Swenson | 51 | LOLB | 6-3 | 222 | 25 | California | 16 | 15 |
| Billy Thompson | 36 | SS | 6-1 | 200 | 32 | Maryland-Eastern Shore | 16 | 16 |
| Godwin Turk | 55 | LILB | 6-3 | 230 | 28 | California; Southern University | 16 | 2 |
| Jim Turner | 15 | K | 6-2 | 206 | 37 | Utah State | 16 | 0 |
| Rick Upchurch | 80 | WR | 5-10 | 173 | 26 | Indian Hills JC; Minnesota | 12 | 0 |
| Norris Weese | 14 | QB | 6-1 | 195 | 27 | Mississippi | 13 | 1 |
| Charlie West | 40/42 | SS | 6-1 | 190 | 32 | Angelo State; Texas-El Paso | 16 | 0 |
| Louis Wright | 20 | LCB | 6-3 | 200 | 25 | Arizona State; Bakersfield CC; San Jose State | 16 | 16 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 27 | Don Latimer | DT | Miami (Florida) |
| 2 | 55 | William Gay | TE | Southern California |
| 8 | 221 | Franky Smith | T | Alabama A&M |
| 10 | 277 | Vince Kinney | WR | Maryland |
| 11 | 305 | Lacy Brumley | T | Clemson |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 58 | 55 | 71 | 89 | 9 | 282 |
| Opponents Totals | 44 | 75 | 50 | 26 | 3 | 198 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 294 | 129 | 137 | 28 | 81/226 35.8% | / % | 132 | 1092 | |
| Opponents Totals | 251 | 106 | 120 | 25 | 88/249 35.3% | / % | 114 | 894 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Turner | 0 | 31 | 35 | 88.6 | 11 | 22 | 50.0 | 0 | 64 |
| Riley Odoms | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Haven Moses | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Lonnie Perrin | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Jon Keyworth | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Larry Canada | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Otis Armstrong | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Rob Lytle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Dave Preston | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Rick Upchurch | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Ron Egloff | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Randy Gradishar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Tom Jackson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Billy Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Norris Weese | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Lyle Alzado | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Team Totals | 36 | 31 | 35 | 88.6 | 11 | 22 | 50.0 | 1 | 282 |
| Opponents Totals | 21 | 21 | 21 | 100.0 | 17 | 27 | 63.0 | 0 | 198 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Turner | 11 | 22 | 50.0 | 2 | 45 | 1/1 | 3/4 | 3/7 | 4/8 | 0/2 |
| Team Totals | 11 | 22 | 50.0 | 2 | 45 | 1/1 | 3/4 | 3/7 | 4/8 | 0/2 |
| Opponents Totals | 17 | 27 | 63.0 | 2/3 | 8/9 | 4/7 | 3/8 | 0/0 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lonnie Perrin | 108 | 455 | 4.2 | 28 | 4 |
| Jon Keyworth | 112 | 444 | 4.0 | 30 | 3 |
| Otis Armstrong | 112 | 381 | 3.4 | 20 | 1 |
| Larry Canada | 79 | 365 | 4.6 | 47 | 3 |
| Rob Lytle | 81 | 341 | 4.2 | 25 | 2 |
| Dave Preston | 66 | 296 | 4.5 | 16 | 1 |
| Craig Morton | 17 | 71 | 4.2 | 12 | 0 |
| Norris Weese | 17 | 48 | 2.8 | 8 | 1 |
| Rick Upchurch | 5 | 31 | 6.2 | 11 | 0 |
| Steve Foley | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 |
| Riley Odoms | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 7 | 0 |
| Craig Penrose | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 601 | 2451 | 4.1 | 47 | 15 |
| Opponents Totals | 549 | 1979 | 3.6 | 76 | 12 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Morton | 267 | 146 | 54.7 | 113 | 1802 | 6.7 | 12.3 | 42t | 11 | 4.1 | 8 | 3.0 | 36 | 238 | 1564 | 77.0 |
| Norris Weese | 87 | 55 | 63.2 | 27 | 723 | 8.3 | 13.1 | 31 | 4 | 4.6 | 5 | 5.7 | 12 | 94 | 629 | 80.8 |
| Craig Penrose | 37 | 16 | 43.2 | 17 | 185 | 5.0 | 11.6 | 29 | 2 | 5.4 | 4 | 10.8 | 0 | 0 | 185 | 37.4 |
| Team Totals | 391 | 217 | 55.5 | 157 | 2710 | 6.9 | 12.5 | 42t | 17 | 4.3 | 17 | 4.3 | 48 | 332 | 2378 | 73.6 |
| Opponents Totals | 438 | 246 | 56.2 | 161 | 2712 | 6.2 | 11.0 | 75t | 9 | 2.1 | 31 | 7.1 | 30 | 242 | 2470 | 52.0 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riley Odoms | 54 | 829 | 15.4 | 42t | 6 |
| Haven Moses | 37 | 744 | 20.1 | 42 | 5 |
| Jack Dolbin | 24 | 284 | 11.8 | 21 | 0 |
| Dave Preston | 24 | 199 | 8.3 | 21 | 1 |
| Jon Keyworth | 21 | 166 | 7.9 | 20 | 1 |
| Rick Upchurch | 17 | 210 | 12.4 | 29t | 1 |
| Otis Armstrong | 12 | 98 | 8.2 | 19 | 1 |
| Lonnie Perrin | 10 | 54 | 5.4 | 13 | 1 |
| Larry Canada | 6 | 37 | 6.2 | 12 | 0 |
| Rob Lytle | 6 | 37 | 6.2 | 10 | 0 |
| Ron Egloff | 4 | 33 | 8.3 | 15 | 1 |
| Vince Kinney | 1 | 23 | 23.0 | 23 | 0 |
| Jim Turner | 1 | -4 | -4.0 | -4 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 217 | 2710 | 12.5 | 42t | 17 |
| Opponents Totals | 246 | 2712 | 11.0 | 75t | 9 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernie Jackson | 6 | 128 | 21.3 | 38 | 0 |
| Steve Foley | 6 | 84 | 14.0 | 30 | 0 |
| Randy Gradishar | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 8 | 0 |
| Billy Thompson | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Jackson | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 28t | 1 |
| Joe Rizzo | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 10 | 0 |
| Godwin Turk | 2 | 36 | 18.0 | 22 | 0 |
| Louis Wright | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bob Swenson | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 31 | 307 | 9.9 | 38 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 17 | 195 | 11.5 | 61 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucky Dilts | 96 | 3494 | 36.4 | 73 | 0 | 6 | 23 | 226 | 3148 | 32.8 |
| Team Totals | 96 | 3494 | 36.4 | 73 | 0 | 6 | 23 | 226 | 3148 | 32.8 |
| Opponents Totals | 88 | 3510 | 39.9 | 60 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 582 | 2628 | 29.9 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Upchurch | 36 | 2 | 493 | 13.7 | 75t | 1 |
| Dave Preston | 10 | 0 | 68 | 6.8 | 23 | 0 |
| Charlie West | 3 | 2 | 20 | 6.7 | 12 | 0 |
| Billy Thompson | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Chris Pane | 1 | 0 | -2 | -2.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 51 | 4 | 582 | 11.4 | 75t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 48 | 21 | 226 | 4.7 | 55 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lonnie Perrin | 12 | 256 | 21.3 | 33 | 0 | |
| Bernie Jackson | 9 | 209 | 23.2 | 40 | 0 | |
| Rick Upchurch | 8 | 222 | 27.8 | 41 | 0 | |
| Dave Preston | 7 | 154 | 22.0 | 32 | 0 | |
| Jon Keyworth | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 13 | 0 | |
| Chris Pane | 1 | 29 | 29.0 | 29 | 0 | |
| Charlie West | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 24 | 0 | |
| John Schultz | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Godwin Turk | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 42 | 952 | 22.7 | 41 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 52 | 1223 | 23.5 | 32 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Lyle Alzado | 8.5 | |
| Rubin Carter | 5.0 | |
| Barney Chavous | 4.5 | |
| Tom Jackson | 3.0 | |
| Don Latimer | 2.0 | |
| John Grant | 2.0 | |
| Bob Swenson | 2.0 | |
| Joe Rizzo | 2.0 | |
| Rob Nairne | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 30.0 | 242.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 48.0 | 332.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otis Armstrong | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Larry Canada | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rubin Carter | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Dolbin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tom Glassic | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Gradishar | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 30 | 1 | |
| John Grant | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jon Keyworth | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rob Lytle | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Maples | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Morton | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -14 | 0 | |
| Haven Moses | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Riley Odoms | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Chris Pane | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Penrose | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | |
| Lonnie Perrin | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dave Preston | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Joe Rizzo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Swenson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Billy Thompson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Rick Upchurch | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Norris Weese | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | |
| Louis Wright | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 28 | 17 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 20 | 2 |
| Opponents Totals | 27 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 0 |
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| Last Updated: August 27, 2025 |