1980 Denver Broncos (NFL) |
| 3rd place • American Football Conference • Western Division • 8-8-0 .500 |
| Head Coach: Red Miller |
| Marv Braden | Special Teams |
| Joe Collier | Defensive Coordinator |
| Whitey Dovell | Offensive Line |
| Rod Dowhower | Offensive Coordinator |
| Stan Jones | Defensive Line |
| Richie McCabe | Defensive Secondary |
| Fran Polsfoot | Receivers |
| Paul Roach | Offensive Backs |
| Bob Zeman | Linebackers |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Result | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/9/1980 | H | Cincinnati Bengals | 17-6 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 67532 | |
| Sat | 8/16/1980 | A | New York Giants | 6-9 | L | East Rutherford, NJ | Giants Stadium | 30904 | |
| Sat | 8/23/1980 | H | Los Angeles Rams | 13-26 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 73946 | |
| Sat | 8/30/1980 | A | Green Bay Packers | 38-0 | W | Green Bay, WI | Lambeau Field | 53060 | |
| Sun | 9/7/1980 | A | Philadelphia Eagles | 6-27 | L | Philadelphia, PA | Veterans Stadium | 70307 | |
| Sun | 9/14/1980 | H | Dallas Cowboys | 41-20 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74919 | |
| Sun | 9/21/1980 | H | San Diego Chargers | 13-30 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74970 | |
| Mon | 9/29/1980 | A | New England Patriots | 14-23 | L | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 60153 | |
| Sun | 10/5/1980 | A | Cleveland Browns | 19-16 | W | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 81065 | |
| Mon | 10/13/1980 | H | Washington Redskins | 20-17 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74657 | |
| Sun | 10/19/1980 | H | Kansas City Chiefs | 17-23 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74459 | |
| Sun | 10/26/1980 | A | New York Giants | 14-9 | W | East Rutherford, NJ | Giants Stadium | 67598 | |
| Sun | 11/2/1980 | H | Houston Oilers | 16-20 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74717 | |
| Sun | 11/9/1980 | A | San Diego Chargers | 20-13 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 51435 | |
| Sun | 11/16/1980 | H | New York Jets | 31-24 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 72114 | |
| Sun | 11/23/1980 | H | Seattle Seahawks | 36-20 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 73274 | |
| Mon | 12/1/1980 | A | Oakland Raiders | 3-9 | L | Oakland, CA | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | 51593 | |
| Sun | 12/7/1980 | A | Kansas City Chiefs | 14-31 | L | Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium | 40237 | |
| Sun | 12/14/1980 | H | Oakland Raiders | 21-24 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 73974 | |
| Sun | 12/21/1980 | A | Seattle Seahawks | 25-17 | W | Seattle, WA | Kingdome | 51853 | |
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Otis Armstrong | 24 | HB | 5-10 | 196 | 30 | Purdue | 9 | 6 |
| Keith Bishop | 54 | C-OG | 6-3 | 265 | 23 | Nebraska; Baylor | 16 | 0 |
| Greg Boyd | 77 | DE | 6-6 | 280 | 28 | Fresno CC; San Diego State | 16 | 0 |
| Greg Bracelin | 52 | LB | 6-1 | 216 | 23 | California | 12 | 0 |
| Larry Brunson | 82 | WR | 5-11 | 180 | 31 | Mesa CC; Colorado | 13 | 0 |
| Billy Bryan | 64 | C | 6-2 | 255 | 25 | Duke | 16 | 16 |
| Rubin Carter | 68 | NT | 6-0 | 254 | 28 | Miami (Florida) | 16 | 16 |
| Barney Chavous | 79 | LDE | 6-3 | 254 | 29 | South Carolina State | 16 | 16 |
| Kelvin Clark | 73 | LOT | 6-3 | 265 | 24 | Nebraska | 14 | 5 |
| Ron Egloff | 85 | TE | 6-5 | 227 | 25 | Wisconsin | 16 | 4 |
| Larry Evans | 56 | LILB | 6-2 | 217 | 27 | Mississippi College | 16 | 12 |
| Steve Foley | 43 | RCB-FS | 6-2 | 190 | 27 | Tulane | 16 | 16 |
| Tom Glassic | 62 | LOG | 6-3 | 254 | 26 | Virginia | 13 | 13 |
| Randy Gradishar | 53 | RILB | 6-3 | 233 | 28 | Ohio State | 16 | 16 |
| Mike Harden | 31 | S | 6-1 | 192 | 21 | Michigan | 16 | 0 |
| Maurice Harvey | 27 | FS | 5-10 | 189 | 24 | Ball State | 15 | 3 |
| Paul Howard | 80 | ROG | 6-3 | 260 | 30 | Brigham Young | 14 | 14 |
| Glenn Hyde | 65 | ROG-LOG | 6-3 | 255 | 29 | Pittsburgh | 16 | 5 |
| Bernie Jackson | 29 | FS | 6-0 | 173 | 30 | Los Angeles Pierce JC; Washington State | 4 | 4 |
| Tom Jackson | 57 | ROLB | 5-11 | 220 | 29 | Louisville | 16 | 16 |
| Jim Jensen | 30 | FB | 6-3 | 230 | 27 | Iowa | 14 | 13 |
| Rulon Jones | 75 | RDE | 6-6 | 260 | 22 | Utah State | 16 | 2 |
| Jon Keyworth | 32 | FB | 6-3 | 230 | 30 | Colorado | 10 | 3 |
| Jeff Knapple | 16 | QB | 6-2 | 200 | 24 | UCLA; Colorado; Northern Colorado | 2 | 0 |
| Aaron Kyle | 41 | RCB | 5-11 | 185 | 26 | Wyoming | 10 | 9 |
| Bill Larson | 87 | TE | 6-4 | 225 | 27 | Pratt CC; Colorado State | 2 | 0 |
| Don Latimer | 72 | NT | 6-3 | 259 | 25 | Miami (Florida) | 14 | 0 |
| Rob Lytle | 41 | RB | 5-11 | 196 | 26 | Michigan | 16 | 0 |
| Brison Manor | 66 | RDE | 6-4 | 248 | 28 | Pratt CC; Arkansas | 16 | 14 |
| Lawrence McCutcheon | 33 | RB | 6-1 | 205 | 30 | Colorado State | 6 | 0 |
| Claudie Minor | 71 | ROT | 6-4 | 278 | 29 | Mount San Antonio JC; San Diego CC; San Diego State | 15 | 15 |
| Emery Moorehead | 86 | WR | 6-2 | 220 | 26 | Colorado | 16 | 0 |
| Craig Morton | 7 | QB | 6-4 | 213 | 37 | California | 12 | 9 |
| Haven Moses | 25 | WR | 6-2 | 200 | 34 | Los Angeles Harbor JC; San Diego State | 15 | 14 |
| Rob Nairne | 58 | LOLB | 6-4 | 227 | 26 | Oregon State | 16 | 16 |
| Ben Norman | 34 | RB | 6-0 | 212 | 25 | Ferrum JC; Colorado State | 3 | 0 |
| Riley Odoms | 88 | TE | 6-4 | 230 | 30 | Houston | 15 | 15 |
| Dave Preston | 46 | HB | 5-11 | 195 | 25 | Bowling Green State | 12 | 10 |
| Luke Prestridge | 11 | P | 6-4 | 235 | 24 | Baylor | 16 | 0 |
| Joe Rizzo | 59 | LILB | 6-1 | 220 | 30 | Merchant Marine | 4 | 4 |
| Matt Robinson | 17 | QB | 6-2 | 190 | 25 | Georgia | 14 | 7 |
| Jim Ryan | 50 | LB | 6-1 | 218 | 23 | William & Mary | 16 | 0 |
| Laval Short | 63 | NT | 6-3 | 250 | 22 | Colorado | 15 | 0 |
| Artie Smith | 55 | LB | 6-1 | 222 | 24 | Hawaii | 2 | 0 |
| Perry Smith | 45 | LCB | 6-0 | 193 | 29 | Colorado Mesa; Colorado State | 14 | 1 |
| Fred Steinfort | 19 | K | 5-11 | 180 | 27 | Boston College | 16 | 0 |
| Dave Studdard | 70 | LOT-ROT | 6-4 | 260 | 25 | Texas | 16 | 12 |
| Arland Thompson | 61 | C | 6-3 | 260 | 23 | Baylor | 2 | 0 |
| Billy Thompson | 36 | SS | 6-1 | 200 | 34 | Maryland-Eastern Shore | 16 | 16 |
| Rick Upchurch | 80 | WR | 5-10 | 173 | 28 | Indian Hills JC; Minnesota | 16 | 14 |
| Steve Watson | 81 | WR | 6-4 | 195 | 23 | Temple | 16 | 1 |
| Jim Wright | 87 | TE | 6-3 | 240 | 24 | Blinn JC; Texas Christian | 1 | 0 |
| Louis Wright | 20 | LCB | 6-3 | 200 | 27 | Arizona State; Bakersfield CC; San Jose State | 15 | 15 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 2 | 42 | Rulon Jones | DE | Utah State |
| 3 | 74 | Larry Carter | DB | Kentucky |
| 4 | 107 | Rick Parros | RB | Utah State |
| 5 | 131 | Mike Harden | DB | Michigan |
| 5 | 136 | Laval Short | DT | Colorado |
| 6 | 157 | Keith Bishop | G | Baylor |
| 7 | 184 | John Havekost | G | Nebraska |
| 8 | 197 | Don Coleman | WR | Oregon |
| 9 | 243 | Greg Bracelin | LB | California |
| 10 | 270 | Virgil Seay | WR | Troy |
| 11 | 297 | Phil Farris | WR | North Carolina |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 63 | 90 | 86 | 71 | 310 |
| Opponents Totals | 39 | 151 | 45 | 88 | 323 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 286 | 107 | 158 | 21 | 84/223 37.7% | / % | 93 | 899 | |
| Opponents Totals | 303 | 125 | 158 | 20 | 91/227 40.1% | / % | 101 | 850 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Steinfort | 0 | 32 | 33 | 97.0 | 26 | 34 | 76.5 | 0 | 110 |
| Riley Odoms | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Otis Armstrong | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Haven Moses | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Dave Preston | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Jim Jensen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Matt Robinson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Rick Upchurch | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Randy Gradishar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Jon Keyworth | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Don Latimer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Rob Lytle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Craig Morton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Billy Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Rulon Jones | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Team Totals | 33 | 32 | 33 | 97.0 | 26 | 34 | 76.5 | 1 | 310 |
| Opponents Totals | 34 | 32 | 34 | 94.1 | 29 | 40 | 72.5 | 0 | 323 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Steinfort | 26 | 34 | 76.5 | 1 | 57 | 2/2 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 10/14 | 5/8 |
| Team Totals | 26 | 34 | 76.5 | 1 | 57 | 2/2 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 10/14 | 5/8 |
| Opponents Totals | 29 | 40 | 72.5 | 2/2 | 9/11 | 10/14 | 7/9 | 1/4 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Jensen | 101 | 476 | 4.7 | 32 | 2 |
| Otis Armstrong | 106 | 470 | 4.4 | 20 | 4 |
| Dave Preston | 111 | 385 | 3.5 | 19 | 4 |
| Rob Lytle | 57 | 223 | 3.9 | 35 | 1 |
| Jon Keyworth | 38 | 127 | 3.3 | 14 | 1 |
| Lawrence McCutcheon | 12 | 52 | 4.3 | 12 | 0 |
| Rick Upchurch | 5 | 49 | 9.8 | 21 | 0 |
| Matt Robinson | 21 | 47 | 2.2 | 22 | 3 |
| Craig Morton | 21 | 29 | 1.4 | 9 | 1 |
| Emery Moorehead | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 4 | 0 |
| Jeff Knapple | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 9 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 480 | 1865 | 3.9 | 35 | 16 |
| Opponents Totals | 554 | 2120 | 3.8 | 55t | 10 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Morton | 301 | 183 | 60.8 | 105 | 2150 | 7.1 | 11.7 | 41 | 12 | 4.0 | 13 | 4.3 | 26 | 190 | 1960 | 77.8 |
| Matt Robinson | 162 | 78 | 48.1 | 72 | 942 | 5.8 | 12.1 | 52 | 2 | 1.2 | 12 | 7.4 | 17 | 136 | 806 | 39.7 |
| Jeff Knapple | 4 | 1 | 25.0 | 3 | 15 | 3.8 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 42.7 |
| Lawrence McCutcheon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -4 | |||||||
| Team Totals | 467 | 262 | 56.1 | 180 | 3107 | 6.7 | 11.9 | 52 | 14 | 3.0 | 25 | 5.4 | 44 | 330 | 2777 | 64.2 |
| Opponents Totals | 448 | 270 | 60.3 | 162 | 3449 | 7.7 | 12.8 | 56t | 20 | 4.5 | 16 | 3.6 | 39 | 324 | 3125 | 84.4 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Jensen | 49 | 377 | 7.7 | 28 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Rick Upchurch | 46 | 605 | 13.2 | 35 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Riley Odoms | 39 | 590 | 15.1 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Haven Moses | 38 | 674 | 17.7 | 33 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Dave Preston | 35 | 309 | 8.8 | 36 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Rob Lytle | 18 | 177 | 9.8 | 37 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Jon Keyworth | 15 | 87 | 5.8 | 22 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Otis Armstrong | 7 | 23 | 3.3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Steve Watson | 6 | 146 | 24.3 | 52 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Ron Egloff | 6 | 85 | 14.2 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Larry Brunson | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lawrence McCutcheon | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Bill Larson | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 262 | 3107 | 11.9 | 52 | 14 | ||||
| Opponents Totals | 270 | 3449 | 12.8 | 56t | 20 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Foley | 4 | 115 | 28.8 | 36 | 0 |
| Randy Gradishar | 2 | 96 | 48.0 | 93t | 1 |
| Billy Thompson | 2 | 49 | 24.5 | 36 | 0 |
| Perry Smith | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 3 | 0 |
| Jim Ryan | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 |
| Maurice Harvey | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Don Latimer | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15t | 1 |
| Larry Evans | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 |
| Bernie Jackson | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 |
| Rob Nairne | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 16 | 343 | 21.4 | 93t | 2 |
| Opponents Totals | 25 | 388 | 15.5 | 68t | 2 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Prestridge | 70 | 3075 | 43.9 | 57 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 443 | 2512 | 35.9 |
| Team Totals | 70 | 3075 | 43.9 | 57 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 443 | 2512 | 35.9 |
| Opponents Totals | 70 | 2914 | 41.6 | 64 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 408 | 2386 | 34.1 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Upchurch | 37 | 6 | 353 | 9.5 | 34 | 0 |
| Mike Harden | 2 | 0 | 36 | 18.0 | 23 | 0 |
| Larry Brunson | 2 | 0 | 12 | 6.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Dave Preston | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 42 | 6 | 408 | 9.7 | 34 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 52 | 4 | 443 | 8.5 | 75t | 1 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Brunson | 40 | 923 | 23.1 | 53 | 0 | |
| Mike Harden | 12 | 214 | 17.8 | 35 | 0 | |
| Dave Preston | 5 | 106 | 21.2 | 26 | 0 | |
| Rob Lytle | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Emery Moorehead | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Jim Jensen | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Steve Watson | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Jim Ryan | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 62 | 1290 | 20.8 | 53 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 55 | 1187 | 21.6 | 38 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Rulon Jones | 11.5 | |
| Greg Boyd | 9.0 | |
| Tom Jackson | 5.0 | |
| Barney Chavous | 4.5 | |
| Rubin Carter | 3.0 | |
| Brison Manor | 2.0 | |
| Larry Evans | 1.0 | |
| Don Latimer | 1.0 | |
| Randy Gradishar | 1.0 | |
| (Team) | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 39.0 | 324.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 44.0 | 330.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otis Armstrong | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Greg Boyd | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Bryan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -20 | 0 | |
| Rubin Carter | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Barney Chavous | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Glassic | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Harden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Jensen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rulon Jones | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jon Keyworth | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -9 | 0 | |
| Aaron Kyle | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 0 |
| Rob Lytle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Brison Manor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Lawrence McCutcheon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Craig Morton | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | -7 | 0 | |
| Haven Moses | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rob Nairne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Riley Odoms | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Preston | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -8 | 0 | |
| Matt Robinson | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -7 | 0 | |
| Dave Studdard | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Thompson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 32 | 1 |
| Rick Upchurch | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Steve Watson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 25 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 1 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 26 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 1 |
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| Last Updated: October 28, 2025 |