The 1997 season was the Denver Broncos' 28th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 38th overall. The Broncos finished the season with a record of 12–4, finishing second in the AFC West, and winning Super Bowl XXXII. The Broncos were the second wild card team since the 1970 merger to win a Super Bowl, joining the 1980 Oakland Raiders.
The 1997 season saw the addition of the Denver Broncos' newest wordmark and logo. Their new logo featured a newer, dynamic Bronco, which has been the team's logo since the 1997 season. The new default team colors unveiled prior to the 1997 season were navy blue jerseys with orange and white pants with orange. This would continue until 2012, when they assigned the all navy blue uniforms as the "Main alternate" slot, making the primary uniforms have orange tops, white bottoms and orange/white shoes.
Offseason
NFL draft
Season summary Having lost a disappointing playoff game to Jacksonville the year before, many thought this might be John Elway's last chance to win a Super Bowl. They started off the season by winning their first six games, beating the Chiefs, Seahawks, Rams, Bengals, Falcons and Patriots in the first game between the last two unbeaten NFL teams since 1973. They then lost to the Raiders, then defeated the Bills, Seahawks, and Panthers. They then lost to the Chiefs, beat the Raiders and the Chargers, lost to the Steelers and the 49ers, but finished the season with a win against the Chargers.
They made the playoffs as a wildcard and advanced against the Jaguars and Chiefs and defeated the Steelers in the 1997 AFC Championship Game. They then won Super Bowl XXXII against the Packers 31–24, only the second team since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970 to ever win a Super Bowl as a wildcard, and the first AFC team to win the title since the Los Angeles Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII following the 1983 season. The win was a big morale boost to Denver and the Broncos, who had suffered through four previous Super Bowl losses, and especially Elway, who had led three of those defeats.
The 1997 Broncos were tenth in the league in total passing yards with 3704 and fourth in the league in total rushing yards with 2378. They finished with 6082 total yards, first in the NFL. They were fourth in total yards given up with 4969. They were also first in total points scored with 472. They were seventh in total points allowed with 287.
The team's 12–4 record is their fifth-best 16-game season in franchise history.
During the season John Elway threw for 3635 yards and Terrell Davis rushed for 1750 yards. Rod Smith had 70 receptions for 1180 yards and Ed McCaffrey had 45 receptions for 590 yards. Tight end Shannon Sharpe has 72 receptions for 1107 yards. Kicker Jason Elam kicked 26 field goals out of 36 attempted. Davis, Elway, Tom Nalen, Sharpe, and Neil Smith made the Pro Bowl.
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 Buffalo Bills W 31–10 1–0 Mile High Stadium 69,739 Recap 2 vs. Miami Dolphins L 19–38 1–1 Estadio Guillermo Cañedo 104,629 Recap 3 at Carolina Panthers W 23–13 2–1 Ericsson Stadium 68,296 Recap 4 August 17 at New England Patriots L 21–31 2–2 Foxboro Stadium 55,354 Recap 5 San Francisco 49ers W 31–17 3–2 Mile High Stadium 69,847 Recap
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap August 31 Kansas City Chiefs W 19–3 1–0 Mile High Stadium Recap September 7 at Seattle Seahawks W 35–14 2–0 Kingdome Recap September 14 St. Louis Rams W 35–14 3–0 Mile High Stadium Recap September 21 Cincinnati Bengals W 38–20 4–0 Mile High Stadium Recap September 28 at Atlanta Falcons W 29–21 5–0 Georgia Dome Recap New England Patriots W 34–13 6–0 Mile High Stadium Recap 7Bye October 19 at Oakland Raiders L 25–28 6–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap October 26 at Buffalo Bills W 23–20 7–1 Rich Stadium Recap November 2 Seattle Seahawks W 30–27 8–1 Mile High Stadium Recap November 9 Carolina Panthers W 34–0 9–1 Mile High Stadium Recap November 16 at Kansas City Chiefs L 22–24 9–2 Arrowhead Stadium Recap Oakland Raiders W 31–3 10–2 Mile High Stadium Recap November 30 at San Diego Chargers W 38–28 11–2 Qualcomm Stadium Recap December 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 24–35 11–3 Three Rivers Stadium Recap at San Francisco 49ers L 17–34 11–4 3Com Park Recap December 21 San Diego Chargers W 38–3 12–4 Mile High Stadium Recap
Game summaries
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Standings
Playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Result TV Time (MT) TV Announcers Game site Attendance Wild Card Playoffs December 27, 1997 Jacksonville Jaguars (5) W 42–17 ABC 2:00pm Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf Mile High Stadium 74,481 Divisional Playoffs January 4, 1998 at Kansas City Chiefs (1) W 14–10 NBC 2:00pm Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms Arrowhead Stadium 76,695 AFC Championship January 11, 1998 at Pittsburgh Steelers (2) W 24–21 NBC 10:30am Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms Three Rivers Stadium 61,382 Super Bowl XXXII January 25, 1998 vs. Green Bay Packers (N2) W 31–24 NBC 4:30pm Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms Qualcomm Stadium 68,912 AFC Wild Card: vs. (5) Jacksonville Jaguars
In the 1997 AFC Wildcard Playoff weekend, the Broncos were paired against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Broncos viewed this game as a chance to avenge the previous season's Divisional Playoff loss of 30–27 to the Jaguars, an early exit in a year the Broncos were favored to win the Super Bowl. Ultimately, 21 unanswered 4th quarter points saw the Broncos seize the win and a playoff berth against the Division Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Broncos go to the Divisional Round and win to the Chiefs 14–10. Win in the AFC Championship Game to the Steelers 24–21. And in Super Bowl XXXII Win to the Green Bay Packers 31–24.
AFC Divisional Playoff: at (1) Kansas City Chiefs
Broncos go to the AFC Championship Game and win to the Steelers 24–21. And win Super Bowl XXXII to the Packers 31–24.
AFC Championship Game: at (2) Pittsburgh Steelers
Broncos go to Super Bowl XXXII to the Packers and win 31–24.
Super Bowl: vs. (N2) Green Bay Packers
Broncos win and in 1998 finished 14–2 to win Super Bowl XXXIII to the Falcons 34–19.
Awards and records Terrell Davis, Super Bowl MVP John Elway, Franchise Record, Most Touchdowns in One Season, 27 Touchdown Passes NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 44
References
External links at Pro-Football-Reference.com