| 1998 Denver Broncos season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Pat Bowlen |
| President | Pat Bowlen |
| General manager | John Beake and Mike Shanahan |
| Head coach | Mike Shanahan |
| Offensive coordinator | Gary Kubiak |
| Defensive coordinator | Greg Robinson |
| Home stadium | Mile High Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 14–2 |
| Division place | 1stAFC West |
| Playoffs | WonDivisional Playoffs (vs.Dolphins) 38–3 WonAFC Championship (vs.Jets) 23–10 WonSuper Bowl XXXIII (vs.Falcons) 34–19 |
| All-Pros | RBTerrell Davis(1st team) TEShannon Sharpe(1st team) WREd McCaffrey(2nd team) KJason Elam(2nd team) |
| Pro Bowlers | QBJohn Elway RBTerrell Davis WREd McCaffrey TEShannon Sharpe TTony Jones GMark Schlereth CTom Nalen OLBBill Romanowski FSSteve Atwater KJason Elam |
The1998 season was theDenver Broncos' 29th in theNational Football League (NFL) and their 39th overall. The Broncos entered the season as thedefending Super Bowl champions and looked to become only the fifth team in league history to win consecutive Super Bowls.
Finishing with a record of 12–4 the previous year, the Broncos improved on that mark by two wins and tiedthe Atlanta Falcons for second best record at 14–2. They won their first thirteen games, the best start since theunbeaten1972 Dolphins.
After 16 seasons,John Elway retired following the Super Bowl. He finished his Broncos career with 51,475 yards passing and 300 touchdowns. UntilPeyton Manning won inSuper 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 thegeneral manager and president of football operations for the Broncos.
Running backTerrell Davis set a team single season rushing mark. His final total was 2,008 yards, making him only the fourth player to rush forover 2,000 yards in single season.
A multi-year investigation from 2001 to 2005 revealed that between 1996 and 1998, the team had circumvented 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 NFL did not issue any official statements but the team was subsequently fined nearly $2 million and were forced to give up two third-round picks in the2002 and2005 drafts.[1][2]
In 2007, the 1998 Broncos were ranked as the 12th greatest Super Bowl champions on theNFL Network's documentary seriesAmerica'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]
| 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 onePro Bowl during career | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
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 ofSports Illustrated. However, they were upset bythe New York Giants (who would end another attempt at a 19–0 seasonnine seasons later) in week 15 by a score of 20–16. They finished the regular season 14–2 after losing tothe Dolphins in their first encounter with that team since1985.[8][9]
They finished first in theAFC West and won their divisional playoff game againstthe Miami Dolphins 38–3 for their first win over the Dolphins since1968.[8] They then won theAFC Championship over theBill Parcells coachedNew York Jets 23–10 after coming back from a 10–0 deficit. Many had expected Denver to playthe Minnesota Vikings, the team with the number one record that year at 15–1, in the Super Bowl. However, the Vikings lost theNFC Championship Game tothe Atlanta Falcons in overtime.
The Broncos defeated the Falcons 34–19 in Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway was theSuper Bowl MVP and Davis rushed for over 100 yards. It was Elway's last game, and Denver would not reach the Super Bowl again untilthe 2013 season.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 8 | atSt. 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 | atTennessee Oilers | L 13–16 | 3–1 | Vanderbilt Stadium | 33,194 | Recap |
| 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 | atOakland Raiders | W 34–17 | CBS 2:15pm | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 3–0 | 56,578 | |
| 4 | September 27 | atWashington 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 | atSeattle 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 | atCincinnati 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 | atKansas 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 | atSan 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 | atNew York Giants | L 16–20 | CBS 11:00am | Giants Stadium | 13–1 | 72,336 | |
| 16 | December 21 | atMiami 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 | |
| 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 | ||
| 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 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Broncos | 14 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 38 |
atMile High Stadium,Denver, Colorado
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jets | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Broncos | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 23 |
atMile High Stadium,Denver, Colorado
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Despite a subpar performance from quarterbackJohn 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.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 34 |
| Falcons | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 19 |
atPro Player Stadium,Miami, Florida
The Denver Broncos become the third team in the last 9 years to repeat as Super Bowl champions, along with theSan Francisco 49ers and theDallas Cowboys.John Elway was voted Super Bowl MVP.
The Broncos had 3,808yards 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.
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 inMatt Prater, and once again byJustin Tucker.
Steve Atwater, Davis, Elway,Tony Jones,Mark Schlereth, McCaffrey,Tom Nalen,Bill Romanowski, and Sharpe made thePro Bowl.
