1985 Denver Broncos (NFL) |
| 2nd place • American Football Conference • Western Division • 11-5-0 .688 |
| Head Coach: Dan Reeves |
| Marvin Bass | Special Assistant |
| Joe Collier | Assistant Head Coach/Defense |
| Chan Gailey | Special Teams/Defensive Assistant |
| Alex Gibbs | Head Offensive Line/Running Game |
| Stan Jones | Defensive Line |
| Al Miller | Strength and Conditioning |
| Myrel Moore | Linebackers |
| Nick Nicolau | Running Backs/Play-Action Passing Game |
| Mike Shanahan | Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers |
| Richard Urich | Tight Ends/Assistant Offensive Line |
| Charlie West | Defensive Backs |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/10/1985 | H | New York Giants | 20-30 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 49374 | |
| Mon | 8/19/1985 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 20-13 | W | San Francisco, CA | Candlestick Park | 55425 | |
| Sat | 8/24/1985 | H | Indianapolis Colts | 20-3 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 71406 | |
| Fri | 8/30/1985 | H | Minnesota Vikings | 9-13 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 69373 | |
| Sun | 9/8/1985 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 16-20 | L | Anaheim, CA | Anaheim Stadium | 52522 | |
| Sun | 9/15/1985 | H | New Orleans Saints | 34-23 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74488 | |
| Sun | 9/22/1985 | A | Atlanta Falcons | 44-28 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 37903 | |
| Sun | 9/29/1985 | H | Miami Dolphins | 26-30 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 73614 | |
| Sun | 10/6/1985 | H | Houston Oilers | 31-20 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74699 | |
| Sun | 10/13/1985 | A | Indianapolis Colts | 15-10 | W | Indianapolis, IN | Hoosier Dome | 60128 | |
| Sun | 10/20/1985 | H | Seattle Seahawks | 13-10 | W | OT | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74899 |
| Sun | 10/27/1985 | A | Kansas City Chiefs | 30-10 | W | Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium | 68246 | |
| Sun | 11/3/1985 | A | San Diego Chargers | 10-30 | L | San Diego, CA | Jack Murphy Stadium | 57312 | |
| Mon | 11/11/1985 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 17-16 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 73173 | |
| Sun | 11/17/1985 | H | San Diego Chargers | 30-24 | W | OT | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74376 |
| Sun | 11/24/1985 | A | Los Angeles Raiders | 28-31 | L | OT | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 63131 |
| Sun | 12/1/1985 | A | Pittsburgh Steelers | 31-23 | W | Pittsburgh, PA | Three Rivers Stadium | 56797 | |
| Sun | 12/8/1985 | H | Los Angeles Raiders | 14-17 | L | OT | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 75042 |
| Sat | 12/14/1985 | H | Kansas City Chiefs | 14-13 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 69209 | |
| Fri | 12/20/1985 | A | Seattle Seahawks | 27-24 | W | Seattle, WA | Kingdome | 56283 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Mike Barber | 85 | TE | 6-3 | 237 | 32 | Louisiana Tech | 10 | 1 |
| Keith Bishop | 54 | LOG | 6-3 | 265 | 28 | Nebraska; Baylor | 14 | 14 |
| Billy Bryan | 64 | C | 6-2 | 255 | 30 | Duke | 16 | 16 |
| Steve Busick | 58 | RILB-RLB-MLB | 6-4 | 227 | 27 | Southern California | 16 | 16 |
| Rubin Carter | 68 | NT-LDT | 6-0 | 254 | 33 | Miami (Florida) | 16 | 16 |
| Barney Chavous | 79 | LDE-RDT | 6-3 | 254 | 34 | South Carolina State | 16 | 15 |
| Darren Comeaux | 59 | LB | 6-1 | 227 | 25 | San Diego Mesa JC; Arizona State | 11 | 0 |
| Mark Cooper | 63 | LOT-TE | 6-5 | 273 | 25 | Miami (Florida) | 15 | 2 |
| Rick Dennison | 55 | LILB-RLB | 6-3 | 220 | 27 | Colorado State | 15 | 7 |
| John Elway | 7 | QB | 6-3 | 214 | 25 | Stanford | 16 | 16 |
| Simon Fletcher | 73 | RDE | 6-6 | 240 | 23 | Houston | 16 | 1 |
| Steve Foley | 43 | FS | 6-2 | 190 | 32 | Tulane | 12 | 11 |
| Mike Harden | 31 | RCB-SS | 6-1 | 192 | 26 | Michigan | 16 | 16 |
| Winford Hood | 74 | LOG-ROG | 6-3 | 263 | 23 | Georgia | 16 | 3 |
| Paul Howard | 60 | ROG | 6-3 | 260 | 35 | Brigham Young | 16 | 15 |
| Ricky Hunley | 98 | LILB-MLB | 6-2 | 244 | 24 | Arizona | 16 | 2 |
| Daniel Hunter | 25 | CB | 5-11 | 178 | 23 | Henderson State | 16 | 0 |
| Glenn Hyde | 66 | OG-C | 6-3 | 255 | 34 | Pittsburgh | 11 | 0 |
| Roger Jackson | 28 | S | 6-0 | 186 | 26 | Bethune-Cookman | 9 | 0 |
| Tom Jackson | 57 | ROLB | 5-11 | 220 | 34 | Louisville | 12 | 5 |
| Butch Johnson | 86 | WR | 6-1 | 187 | 31 | UC Riverside | 16 | 8 |
| Vance Johnson | 82 | WR | 5-11 | 181 | 22 | Arizona | 16 | 7 |
| Rulon Jones | 75 | RDE-LDE | 6-6 | 260 | 27 | Utah State | 16 | 16 |
| Rich Karlis | 3 | K | 6-0 | 180 | 26 | Cincinnati | 16 | 0 |
| Clarence Kay | 88 | TE | 6-2 | 237 | 24 | Georgia | 16 | 16 |
| Greg Kragen | 71 | RDT-NT | 6-3 | 265 | 23 | Utah State | 16 | 1 |
| Gary Kubiak | 8 | QB | 6-0 | 192 | 24 | Texas A&M | 16 | 0 |
| Gene Lang | 33 | RB | 5-10 | 196 | 23 | Louisiana State | 12 | 2 |
| Ken Lanier | 76 | ROT | 6-3 | 273 | 26 | Florida State | 16 | 16 |
| Tony Lilly | 22 | FS | 6-0 | 199 | 23 | Florida | 16 | 5 |
| Keli McGregor | 89 | TE | 6-6 | 252 | 23 | Colorado State | 2 | 0 |
| Karl Mecklenburg | 77 | LILB-LLB | 6-3 | 232 | 25 | Augustana (South Dakota); Minnesota | 16 | 9 |
| Dean Miraldi | 67 | OT | 6-5 | 270 | 27 | Long Beach State; Utah | 10 | 0 |
| Chris Norman | 1 | P | 6-2 | 198 | 23 | South Carolina | 16 | 0 |
| Nathan Poole | 34 | RB | 5-9 | 210 | 29 | Louisville | 3 | 0 |
| Randy Robbins | 48 | SS | 6-2 | 189 | 23 | Arizona | 10 | 1 |
| Jim Ryan | 50 | LOLB | 6-1 | 218 | 28 | William & Mary | 16 | 14 |
| Clint Sampson | 84 | WR | 5-11 | 183 | 24 | Mount San Antonio JC; San Diego State | 16 | 0 |
| Steve Sewell | 30 | RB | 6-3 | 210 | 22 | Oklahoma | 16 | 2 |
| Dennis Smith | 49 | SS | 6-3 | 200 | 26 | Southern California | 13 | 12 |
| Dave Studdard | 70 | LOT | 6-4 | 260 | 30 | Texas | 16 | 15 |
| Don Summers | 85 | TE | 6-4 | 235 | 24 | Oregon Tech; Boise State | 2 | 0 |
| Andre Townsend | 61 | LDE | 6-3 | 265 | 23 | Mississippi | 16 | 1 |
| Steve Watson | 81 | WR | 6-4 | 195 | 28 | Temple | 16 | 15 |
| Gerald Willhite | 47 | RB | 5-10 | 200 | 26 | American River JC; San Jose State | 15 | 4 |
| Steve Wilson | 45 | RCB-LCB | 5-10 | 195 | 28 | Howard | 14 | 4 |
| Sammy Winder | 23 | RB | 5-11 | 203 | 26 | Southern Mississippi | 14 | 12 |
| Ken Woodard | 52 | ROLB | 6-1 | 219 | 25 | Tuskegee | 16 | 9 |
| Jim Wright | 87 | TE | 6-3 | 240 | 29 | Blinn JC; Texas Christian | 16 | 12 |
| Louis Wright | 20 | LCB | 6-3 | 200 | 32 | Arizona State; Bakersfield CC; San Jose State | 15 | 15 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 26 | Steve Sewell | RB | Oklahoma |
| 2 | 31 | Vance Johnson | WR | Arizona |
| 4 | 110 | Keli McGregor | TE | Colorado State |
| 5 | 139 | Billy Hinson | G | Florida |
| 7 | 194 | Dallas Cameron | NT | Miami (Florida) |
| 8 | 222 | Eric Riley | DB | Florida State |
| 9 | 249 | Daryl Smith | DB | North Alabama |
| 10 | 269 | Buddy Funck | QB | New Mexico |
| 10 | 278 | Ron Anderson | LB | Southern Methodist |
| 11 | 306 | Gary Rolle | WR | Florida |
| 12 | 334 | Dan Lynch | G | Washington State |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 82 | 142 | 39 | 108 | 9 | 380 |
| Opponents Totals | 48 | 89 | 102 | 84 | 6 | 329 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 31:19 | 339 | 113 | 192 | 34 | 102/253 40.3% | 6/10 60.0% | 85 | 677 |
| Opponents Totals | 28:41 | 290 | 103 | 168 | 19 | 73/229 31.9% | 8/20 40.0% | 91 | 953 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Karlis | 0 | 41 | 44 | 93.2 | 23 | 38 | 60.5 | 0 | 110 |
| Sammy Winder | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | ||
| Gene Lang | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | ||
| Steve Sewell | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Steve Watson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Clint Sampson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Gerald Willhite | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Butch Johnson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Vance Johnson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Clarence Kay | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Mike Harden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Jim Wright | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Louis Wright | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Team Totals | 45 | 41 | 44 | 93.2 | 23 | 38 | 60.5 | 0 | 380 |
| Opponents Totals | 36 | 35 | 36 | 97.2 | 26 | 33 | 78.8 | 0 | 329 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Karlis | 23 | 38 | 60.5 | 1 | 48 | 2/2 | 7/9 | 6/11 | 8/11 | 0/5 |
| Team Totals | 23 | 38 | 60.5 | 1 | 48 | 2/2 | 7/9 | 6/11 | 8/11 | 0/5 |
| Opponents Totals | 26 | 33 | 78.8 | 1/1 | 11/11 | 10/10 | 3/8 | 1/3 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sammy Winder | 199 | 714 | 3.6 | 42 | 8 |
| Gene Lang | 84 | 318 | 3.8 | 26 | 5 |
| Steve Sewell | 81 | 275 | 3.4 | 16 | 4 |
| John Elway | 51 | 253 | 5.0 | 22 | 0 |
| Gerald Willhite | 66 | 237 | 3.6 | 14 | 3 |
| Vance Johnson | 10 | 36 | 3.6 | 14 | 0 |
| Nathan Poole | 4 | 12 | 3.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Gary Kubiak | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Chris Norman | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 497 | 1851 | 3.7 | 42 | 20 |
| Opponents Totals | 475 | 1973 | 4.2 | 61t | 10 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Elway | 605 | 327 | 54.0 | 255 | 3891 | 6.4 | 11.9 | 65t | 22 | 3.6 | 23 | 3.8 | 38 | 307 | 3584 | 70.2 |
| Gary Kubiak | 5 | 2 | 40.0 | 3 | 61 | 12.2 | 30.5 | 54t | 1 | 20.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 125.8 |
| Vance Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Chris Norman | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Steve Sewell | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Gerald Willhite | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Sammy Winder | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Team Totals | 617 | 329 | 53.3 | 265 | 3952 | 6.4 | 12.0 | 65t | 23 | 3.7 | 23 | 3.7 | 38 | 307 | 3645 | 70.1 |
| Opponents Totals | 547 | 277 | 50.6 | 246 | 3586 | 6.6 | 12.9 | 73 | 22 | 4.0 | 24 | 4.4 | 47 | 378 | 3208 | 66.7 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Watson | 61 | 915 | 15.0 | 60 | 5 |
| Vance Johnson | 51 | 721 | 14.1 | 63t | 3 |
| Gerald Willhite | 35 | 297 | 8.5 | 21 | 1 |
| Sammy Winder | 31 | 197 | 6.4 | 24 | 0 |
| Clarence Kay | 29 | 339 | 11.7 | 27 | 3 |
| Jim Wright | 28 | 246 | 8.8 | 30 | 1 |
| Clint Sampson | 26 | 432 | 16.6 | 46 | 4 |
| Steve Sewell | 24 | 224 | 9.3 | 54t | 1 |
| Gene Lang | 23 | 180 | 7.8 | 24 | 2 |
| Butch Johnson | 19 | 380 | 20.0 | 65t | 3 |
| Mark Cooper | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 |
| Mike Barber | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 329 | 3952 | 12.0 | 65t | 23 |
| Opponents Totals | 277 | 3586 | 12.9 | 73 | 22 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Harden | 5 | 100 | 20.0 | 42t | 1 |
| Louis Wright | 5 | 44 | 8.8 | 24 | 0 |
| Steve Foley | 3 | 47 | 15.7 | 29 | 0 |
| Dennis Smith | 3 | 46 | 15.3 | 39 | 0 |
| Steve Wilson | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 8 | 0 |
| Tony Lilly | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Daniel Hunter | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 |
| Ken Woodard | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Randy Robbins | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 24 | 290 | 12.1 | 42t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 23 | 332 | 14.4 | 53 | 2 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Norman | 92 | 3764 | 40.9 | 61 | 2 | 12 | 16 | 325 | 3199 | 34.0 |
| Team Totals | 94 | 3764 | 40.0 | 61 | 2 | 12 | 16 | 325 | 3199 | 34.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 94 | 3868 | 41.1 | 68 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 429 | 3219 | 34.2 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vance Johnson | 30 | 6 | 260 | 8.7 | 38 | 0 |
| Gerald Willhite | 16 | 5 | 169 | 10.6 | 18 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 46 | 11 | 429 | 9.3 | 38 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 38 | 17 | 325 | 8.6 | 30 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vance Johnson | 30 | 0 | 740 | 24.7 | 39 | 0 |
| Gene Lang | 17 | 0 | 361 | 21.2 | 33 | 0 |
| Gerald Willhite | 2 | 0 | 40 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 |
| Daniel Hunter | 2 | 0 | 33 | 16.5 | 18 | 0 |
| Steve Sewell | 1 | 0 | 29 | 29.0 | 29 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 52 | 0 | 1203 | 23.1 | 39 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 64 | 0 | 1346 | 21.0 | 98t | 1 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Karl Mecklenburg | 13.0 | |
| Rulon Jones | 10.0 | |
| Barney Chavous | 6.0 | |
| Andre Townsend | 5.0 | |
| Dennis Smith | 4.0 | |
| Ken Woodard | 3.0 | |
| Greg Kragen | 2.0 | |
| Jim Ryan | 1.0 | |
| Mike Harden | 1.0 | |
| Simon Fletcher | 1.0 | |
| Rubin Carter | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 47.0 | 378.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 38.0 | 307.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Bryan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Busick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rubin Carter | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Barney Chavous | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Elway | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -35 | 0 | |
| Mike Harden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Vance Johnson | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rulon Jones | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Clarence Kay | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Gene Lang | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tony Lilly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Karl Mecklenburg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Norman | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Ryan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Sewell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dave Studdard | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Townsend | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerald Willhite | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Steve Wilson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Sammy Winder | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Wright | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 24 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 26 | -22 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 22 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 0 |
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