1977 Denver Broncos

1977 Denver Broncos season
Head Coach	Robert (Red) Miller
Home Field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	12–2
Place	1st AFC West
Playoff Finish	Lost Super Bowl XII
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1976	1978

The 1977 Denver Broncos season was the team's 18th year in professional football and its 8th with the National Football League.

The team had by far its best season to date, finishing first in the AFC West and making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Broncos won the first two playoff games in franchise history (over perennial AFC powerhouses Pittsburgh and Oakland) and won their first AFC Championship, earning a berth in Super Bowl XII, where they fell to the NFC champion Dallas Cowboys, 27-10.

Still, 1977 was a major leap for the Broncos, who had never won more than nine games in a season. Coach Red Miller — in his first full season as the Broncos' head coach — was named NFL Coach of the Year, and quarterback Craig Morton was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1977 Denver Broncos final staff

Front Office

Chairman of the Board – Gerald Phipps
President – Allan Phipps
Vice President/General Manager – Fred Gehrke
Director of Player Personnel – Carroll Hardy
Director of Pro Scouting – Doc Urich

Head Coaches

Head Coach – Red Miller

Offensive Coaches

Quarterbacks – Babe Parilli
Offensive Backfield – Paul Roach
Wide Receivers – Fran Polsfoot
Offensive Line – Ken Gray

Defensive Coaches

Defensive Coordinator – Joe Collier
Defensive Line – Stan Jones
Linebackers – Myrel Moore
Defensive Backs – Bob Gambold

Special Teams Coaches

Special Teams – Marv Braden

Roster[]

1977 Denver Broncos roster

Quarterbacks

7 Craig Morton
12 Craig Penrose
14 Norris Weese

Running backs

24 Otis Armstrong
30 Jim Jensen
32 Jon Keyworth FB
35 Lonnie Perrin
41 Rob Lytle

Wide receivers

82 Jack Dolbin
25 Haven Moses
80 Rick Upchurch
86 John Schultz

Tight ends

85 Ron Egloff
88 Riley Odoms

Offensive linemen

64 Billy Bryan C
62 Tom Glassic G
65 Glenn Hyde T
60 Paul Howard G
50 Bobby Maples C
74 Andy Maurer T
71 Claudie Minor T
52 Mike Montler C
67 Steve Schindler G

Defensive linemen

77 Lyle Alzado DE
79 Barney Chavous DE
68 Rubin Carter DT
63 John Grant DT
66 Brison Manor DE
70 Paul Smith DT

Linebackers

56 Larry Evans
53 Randy Gradishar
57 Tom Jackson OLB
58 Rob Nairne
59 Joe Rizzo
51 Bob Swenson

Defensive backs

29 Bernard Jackson FS
43 Steve Foley CB
26 Larry Riley CB
21 Randy Poltl S
36 Bill Thompson FS
20 Louis Wright CB

Special teams

10 Bucky Dilts P
15 Jim Turner K

Reserve lists

54 Rich Baska LB (IR)
64 Billy Bryan C (IR)
-- Randy Cozens DE (IR)
-- Charles Jackson LB (IR)
23 Chris Pane CB (IR)

Practice/Taxi Squad

Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	Att.
1	September 18	St. Louis	W 7–0	Mile High Stadium	1–0	75,002
2	September 25	Buffalo	W 26–6	Mile High Stadium	2–0	74,897
3	October 2	at Seattle	W 24–13	Kingdome	3–0	53,108
4	October 9	Kansas City	W 23–7	Mile High Stadium	4–0	74,878
5	October 16	at Oakland	W 30–7	Oakland Coliseum	5–0	53,616
6	October 23	at Cincinnati	W 30–7	Riverfront Stadium	6–0	54,395
7	October 30	Oakland	L 24–14	Mile High Stadium	6–1	75,007
8	November 6	Pittsburgh	W 21–7	Mile High Stadium	7–1	74,967
9	November 13	at San Diego	W 17–14	San Diego Stadium	8–1	45,211
10	November 20	at Kansas City	W 14–7	Arrowhead Stadium	9–1	54,050
11	November 27	Baltimore	W 27–13	Mile High Stadium	10–1	74,939
12	December 4	at Houston	W 24–14	Astrodome	11–1	46,875
13	December 11	San Diego	W 17–9	Mile High Stadium	12–1	74,905
14	December 18	at Dallas	L 6–14	Texas Stadium	12–2	63,752

Playoffs[]

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Att.
Divisional Playoffs	December 24	Pittsburgh	W 34–21	Mile High Stadium	75,011
AFC Championship	January 1	Oakland	W 20–17	Mile High Stadium	74,982
Super Bowl XII	January 15	Dallas	L 10–27	Superdome	76,400

Standings[]

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Denver Broncos	12	2	0	.857	274	148	L-1
Oakland Raiders	11	3	0	.786	351	230	W-2
San Diego Chargers	7	7	0	.500	222	205	L-2
Seattle Seahawks	5	9	0	.357	282	373	W-2
Kansas City Chiefs	2	12	0	.143	225	349	L-6