| 1996 Denver Broncos season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Pat Bowlen |
| General manager | John Beake and Mike Shanahan |
| President | Pat Bowlen |
| Head coach | Mike Shanahan |
| Offensive coordinator | Gary Kubiak |
| Defensive coordinator | Greg Robinson |
| Home stadium | Mile High Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–3 |
| Division place | 1stAFC West |
| Playoffs | LostDivisional Playoffs (vs.Jaguars) 27–30 |
| All-Pros | 5
|
| Pro Bowlers | |
| Team MVP | Terrell Davis |
| Uniform | |
 | |
The1996 Denver Broncos season was thefranchise's 27thseason in theNational Football League, the 37th overall and their 2nd underhead coachMike Shanahan. The Broncos improved on their 8–8 record from1995 and finished the season with a 13–3 record. They also clinched theAFC West for the first time since1991, and earning the top seed in theAFC Playoffs.
In the playoffs, the Broncos wereupset by theJacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round, 30–27. Prior to their defeat, they were the top-seeded team in the NFL and were heavily favored to go to and win the Super Bowl by many analysts, breaking the AFC losing streak from the 1980s. The loss rendered the 1996 Broncos team as a historic failure, as it was a major Super Bowl or bust year. After the season,Jumpy Geathers retired.
| 1996 Denver Broncos draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | John Mobley | Linebacker | Kutztown | |
| 2 | 44 | Tory James * | Defensive back | LSU | |
| 3 | 65 | Detron Smith | Running back | Texas A&M | |
| 3 | 78 | Mark Campbell | Defensive tackle | Florida | |
| 4 | 100 | Jeff Lewis | Quarterback | Northern Arizona | |
| 4 | 122 | Darrius Johnson | Defensive back | Oklahoma | |
| 5 | 159 | Patrick Jeffers | Wide receiver | Virginia | |
| 6 | 181 | Tony Veland | Defensive back | Nebraska | |
| 7 | 213 | Leslie Ratliffe | Offensive tackle | Tennessee | |
| 7 | 226 | Chris Banks | Guard | Kansas | |
| 7 | 235 | L. T. Levine | Running back | Kansas | |
| 7 | 236 | Brian Gragert | Punter | Wyoming | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB)
Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Practice squad 53 active, 2 inactive, 5 practice squadReserve
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 1 | New York Jets | W 31–6 | 1–0 | Mile High Stadium | 70,595 | Recap |
| 2 | September 8 | atSeattle Seahawks | W 30–20 | 2–0 | Kingdome | 43,671 | Recap |
| 3 | September 15 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 27–23 | 3–0 | Mile High Stadium | 71,535 | Recap |
| 4 | September 22 | atKansas City Chiefs | L 14–17 | 3–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | 79,439 | Recap |
| 5 | September 29 | atCincinnati Bengals | W 14–10 | 4–1 | Cinergy Field | 51,798 | Recap |
| 6 | October 6 | San Diego Chargers | W 28–17 | 5–1 | Mile High Stadium | 75,058 | Recap |
| 7 | Bye | ||||||
| 8 | October 20 | Baltimore Ravens | W 45–34 | 6–1 | Mile High Stadium | 70,453 | Recap |
| 9 | October 27 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 34–7 | 7–1 | Mile High Stadium | 75,652 | Recap |
| 10 | November 4 | atOakland Raiders | W 22–21 | 8–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 61,179 | Recap |
| 11 | November 10 | Chicago Bears | W 17–12 | 9–1 | Mile High Stadium | 75,555 | Recap |
| 12 | November 17 | atNew England Patriots | W 34–8 | 10–1 | Foxboro Stadium | 59,457 | Recap |
| 13 | November 24 | atMinnesota Vikings | W 21–17 | 11–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 59,142 | Recap |
| 14 | December 1 | Seattle Seahawks | W 34–7 | 12–1 | Mile High Stadium | 74,982 | Recap |
| 15 | December 8 | atGreen Bay Packers | L 6–41 | 12–2 | Lambeau Field | 60,712 | Recap |
| 16 | December 15 | Oakland Raiders | W 24–19 | 13–2 | Mile High Stadium | 75,466 | Recap |
| 17 | December 22 | atSan Diego Chargers | L 10–16 | 13–3 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 46,801 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text.
| AFC West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| (1)Denver Broncos | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 391 | 275 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 297 | 300 | L3 |
| San Diego Chargers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 310 | 376 | W1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 340 | 293 | L2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 317 | 376 | W1 |
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | First-round bye | ||||||
| Divisional | January 4, 1997 | Jacksonville Jaguars (5) | L 27–30 | 0–1 | Mile High Stadium | 75,678 | Recap |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaguars | 0 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 30 |
| Broncos | 12 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 27 |
atMile High Stadium,Denver, CO
AP Offensive Player of the Year – Terrell Davis
UPI AFL-AFC Offensive MVP – Terrell Davis (1996 was the last year this award was given out)
Terrell Davis set franchise rushing record for most carries (345) in a season and most rushing touchdowns (13) in a season
Terrell Davis reached 1,000 yards faster than any Denver Bronco running back in franchise history
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