1988 Denver Broncos season

NFL team season

1988 Denver Broncos season

Owner| Pat Bowlen
General manager| John Beake
Head coach| Dan Reeves
Home field| Mile High Stadium
Results
Record| 8–8
Division place| 2nd AFC West
Playoff finish| Did not qualify
Uniform

* <- 1987
* Broncos seasons
* 1989 ->

The 1988 Denver Broncos season was the team's 29th year in professional football and its 19th with the National Football League (NFL). The Broncos entered the season as two-time defending AFC champions and looked to advance to the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season, but went 8–8 and missed the playoffs for the second time in six seasons. After the season, the last remaining Bronco from their Super Bowl XII team, longtime offensive lineman Billy Bryan, retired, ending a 12-year era for the team.

## Off Season[edit]

### NFL draft[edit]

Main article: 1988 NFL draft

1988 Denver Broncos draft

Round  | Pick  | Player  | Position  | College  | Notes
1  | 26  | Ted Gregory | NT | Syracuse |
2  | 45  | Gerald Perry | Tackle | Southern University |
3  | 79  | Kevin Guidry | Cornerback | LSU |
5  | 136  | Corris Ervin | DB | Central Florida |
7  | 174  | Pat Kelly | TE | Syracuse |
7  | 192  | Garry Frank | Guard | Mississippi State |
9  | 248  | Mel Farr Jr. | Running back | UCLA |
10  | 268  | Channing Williams | RB | Arizona State |
11  | 304  | Shaun Grady | RB | Duke |
12  | 332  | Michael Rhyan | QB | Cal State Fullerton |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

## Personnel[edit]

### Staff[edit]

1988 Denver Broncos staff

| Ownership

{{{ownership}}}

Front office

* President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen
* General Manager – John Beake
* Director of Player Personnel – Reed Johnson
* Director of Pro Personnel – Lide Huggins

Head coaches

* Vice President/Head Coach – Dan Reeves
* Assistant Head Coach/Defense – Joe Collier
* Special Assistant – Marvin Bass

Offensive coaches

* Quarterbacks – Chan Gailey
* Running Backs – Mo Forte
* Wide Receivers – Larry Kennan
* Tight Ends/Assistant Offensive Line – Pete Mangurian
* Offensive Line – George Henshaw

|  |  | Defensive coaches

* Defensive Line – Stan Jones
* Assistant Defensive Line – Rubin Carter
* Linebackers – Myrel Moore
* Defensive Backs – Charlie West

Special teams coaches

* Special Teams/Assistant Linebackers – Mike Nolan
* Special Teams/Assistant Defensive Backs – Charlie Waters

Strength and conditioning

* Strength/Conditioning – Al Miller

### Roster[edit]

1988 Denver Broncos roster

| Quarterbacks

* 7 John Elway
* 12 Ken Karcher
* 8 Gary Kubiak

Running backs

* 35 Ken Bell KR
* 33 Tony Dorsett
* 30 Steve Sewell
* 23 Sammy Winder FB

Wide receivers

* 80 Mark Jackson
* 87 Jason Johnson KR
* 82 Vance Johnson
* 84 Ricky Nattiel KR/PR

Tight ends

* 88 Clarence Kay
* 86 Pat Kelly
* 89 Orson Mobley

|  | Offensive linemen

* 54 Keith Bishop G/LS
* 64 Billy Bryan C
* 78 Winford Hood T
* 66 Jim Juriga G/T
* 72 Keith Kartz G
* 76 Ken Lanier T
* 60 Gerald Perry G
* 57 Mike Ruether C
* 70 Dave Studdard T

Defensive linemen

* 65 Walt Bowyer DE
* 90 Freddie Gilbert DE
* 75 Rulon Jones DE
* 99 Shawn Knight NT
* 71 Greg Kragen NT
* 61 Andre Townsend DE

|  | Linebackers

* 56 Michael Brooks OLB
* 95 Steve Bryan ILB
* 55 Rick Dennison ILB
* 73 Simon Fletcher OLB
* 59 Tim Lucas OLB
* 77 Karl Mecklenburg ILB
* 51 Marc Munford ILB
* 50 Jim Ryan ILB/OLB

Defensive backs

* 34 Tyrone Braxton CB
* 28 Jeremiah Castille CB
* 37 Kevin Guidry CB
* 31 Mike Harden FS
* 36 Mark Haynes CB
* 48 Randy Robbins SS
* 49 Dennis Smith SS
* 45 Steve Wilson CB

Special teams

* 2 Mike Horan P
* 3 Rich Karlis K

|  | Reserve lists

* 40 Jeff Alexander FB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 25 Kip Corrington S (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 83 Sam Graddy WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 79 Stefan Humphries G (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 97 Bruce Klosterman LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 85 Rick Massie WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 74 Andrew Provence DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 94 Randy Thornton LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 81 Steve Watson WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 47 Gerald Willhite FB/PR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)

Practice squad none

47 active, 10 inactive

Rookies in italics

[1]

## Schedule[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Venue  | Attendance

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1  | September 4  | Seattle Seahawks | L 14–21  | 0–1  | Mile High Stadium | 75,986
2  | September 11  | San Diego Chargers | W 34–3  | 1–1  | Mile High Stadium  | 75,359
3  | September 18  | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 13–20  | 1–2  | Arrowhead Stadium | 63,268
4  | September 26 | Los Angeles Raiders | L 27–30 (OT) | 1–3  | Mile High Stadium  | 75,964
5  | October 2  | at San Diego Chargers | W 12–0  | 2–3  | Jack Murphy Stadium | 55,763
6  | October 9  | at San Francisco 49ers | W 16–13 (OT) | 3–3  | Candlestick Park | 61,711
7  | October 16  | Atlanta Falcons | W 30–14  | 4–3  | Mile High Stadium  | 75,287
8  | October 23  | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 21–39  | 4–4  | Three Rivers Stadium | 49,811
9  | October 31 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 23–55  | 4–5  | Hoosier Dome | 60,544
10  | November 6  | Kansas City Chiefs | W 17–11  | 5–5  | Mile High Stadium  | 74,227
11  | November 13  | Cleveland Browns | W 30–7  | 6–5  | Mile High Stadium  | 75,806
12  | November 20  | at New Orleans Saints | L 0–42  | 6–6  | Louisiana Superdome | 68,075
13  | November 27  | Los Angeles Rams | W 35–24  | 7–6  | Mile High Stadium  | 74,141
14  | December 4  | at Los Angeles Raiders | L 20–21  | 7–7  | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 65,561
15  | December 11  | at Seattle Seahawks | L 14–42  | 7–8  | Kingdome | 62,838
16  | December 17  | New England Patriots | W 21–10  | 8–8  | Mile High Stadium  | 70,910
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

## Game summaries[edit]

### Week 9 at Colts[edit]

Week Nine: Denver Broncos (4–4) at Indianapolis Colts (3–5)

Period | 1 | 2 | 3| 4| Total

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Broncos | 0 | 10 | 0| 13| 23
Colts | 21 | 24 | 3| 7| 55

at Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

* Date: October 31
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Indoors (dome)
* Game attendance: 60,544
* TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels
* Box Score, Box Score

Game information

First quarter

* IND – Eric Dickerson 12-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 9:41. Colts 7–0.
* IND – Eric Dickerson 11-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 5:39. Colts 14–0.
* IND – Eric Dickerson 1-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 0:16. Colts 21–0.

Second quarter

* IND – Dean Biasucci 31-yard field goal, 13:22. Colts 24–0.
* IND – Eric Dickerson 41-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 11:47. Colts 31–0.
* DEN – Steve Sewell 2-yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick, 9:54. Colts 31–7.
* IND – Bill Brooks 53-yard pass from Gary Hogeboom (Dean Biasucci kick), 7:08. Colts 38–7.
* DEN – Rich Karlis 27-yard field goal, 1:00. Colts 38–10.
* IND – Clarence Verdin 40-yard pass from Chris Chandler (Dean Biasucci kick), 0:22. Colts 45–10.

Third quarter

* IND – Dean Biasucci 27-yard field goal, 6:34. Colts 48–10.

Fourth quarter

* IND – Albert Bentley 4-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 11:49. Colts 55–10.
* DEN – Vance Johnson 7-yard pass from Gary Kubiak (kick failed), 6:07. Colts 55–17.
* DEN – Steve Sewell 48-yard pass from Gary Kubiak (Rich Karlis kick), 5:39. Colts 55–23.

Top passers

* DEN – John Elway – 15/27, 158 yards, TD
* IND – Chris Chandler – 10/13, 167 yards, TD

Top rushers

* DEN – Ricky Nattiel – 1 rush, 29 yards
* IND – Eric Dickerson – 21 rushes, 159 yards, 4 TD

Top receivers

* DEN – Steve Sewell – 6 receptions, 82 yards, 2 TD
* IND – Bill Brooks – 3 receptions, 108 yards, TD

|

### Week 16[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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Patriots | 7 | 3| 0| 0 | 10
• Broncos | 7 | 7| 0| 7 | 21

* Date: December 17
* Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
* Game start: 4:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C); wind 9 mph (14 km/h)

| Scoring summary

Q1| | NE| Stephens 23 yard run (Staurovsky kick)| NE 7–0
Q1| | DEN| Winder 1 yard run (Karlis kick)| Tie 7–7
Q2| | DEN| Dorsett 5 yard run (Karlis kick)| DEN 14–7
Q2| | NE| Staurovsky 32 yard field goal| DEN 14–10
Q4| | DEN| Winder 4 yard run (Karlis kick)| DEN 21–10

[2]

## Standings[edit]

AFC West

* view
* talk
* edit

| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK
Seattle Seahawks(3) | 9  | 7  | 0  | .563  | 6–2  | 8–4  | 339  | 329  | W2
Denver Broncos | 8  | 8  | 0  | .500  | 3–5  | 5–7  | 327  | 352  | W1
Los Angeles Raiders | 7  | 9  | 0  | .438  | 6–2  | 6–6  | 325  | 369  | L2
San Diego Chargers | 6  | 10  | 0  | .375  | 3–5  | 4–8  | 231  | 332  | W2
Kansas City Chiefs | 4  | 11  | 1  | .281  | 2–6  | 4–9–1  | 254  | 320  | L2

## References[edit]

1. ^ "1988 Denver Broncos starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-19.

## External links[edit]

* Denver Broncos – 1988 media guide
* 1988 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com

* v
* t
* e

Denver Broncos

* Founded in 1960
* Based in Denver, Colorado
* Headquartered in Dove Valley, Colorado

Franchise|

* History
* Players
* Starting quarterbacks
* Coaches
* Seasons
* First-round draft picks
* Broadcasters

Stadiums|

* Mile High Stadium
* Empower Field at Mile High

Key personnel|

Owners
Rob Walton
Greg Penner (CEO)
Carrie Walton Penner
Mellody Hobson
Condoleezza Rice
Lewis Hamilton
General manager
George Paton
Head coach
Sean Payton
Consultant
John Elway

Culture|

* A Few Seconds of Panic
* Alan Roach
* Barrel Man
* Bucky the Bronco
* Cheerleaders
* Elway to Marino
* Everybody's All-American
* Hold That Mork ("Mork & Mindy" episode)
* "Joy to the World"
* Miles
* No Fly Zone
* Orange Crush Defense
* "Rocky Mountain Way"
* South Park
* Thunder
* "You Only Move Twice" (The Simpsons episode)

Lore|

* Snowball Game
* The Drive
* The Fumble
* Tebowmania
* Mile High Miracle

Rivalries|

* Kansas City Chiefs
* Las Vegas Raiders
* Los Angeles Chargers
* New England Patriots
* Brady–Manning rivalry
* Pittsburgh Steelers
* Seattle Seahawks

Retired numbers|

* 7
* 18
* 44

Division championships (15)|

* 1977
* 1978
* 1984
* 1986
* 1987
* 1989
* 1991
* 1996
* 1998
* 2005
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015

Conference championships (8)|

* 1977
* 1986
* 1987
* 1989
* 1997
* 1998
* 2013
* 2015

League championships (3)|

* 1997 (XXXII)
* 1998 (XXXIII)
* 2015 (50)

Media|

* Radio network
* Dave Logan
* Brian Griese
* Scott Hastings
* Ed McCaffrey
* Alan Roach
* TV: KUSA 9News
* Radio: 850 KOA (AM)

Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1970–present)
* Conference: American Football Conference
* Division: West Division

Former league affiliation|

* League: American Football League (1960–1969)

* v
* t
* e

Denver Broncos seasons

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

Bold indicates Super Bowl victory
Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance

* v
* t
* e

1988 NFL season

| AFC| East | Central| West| East| Central| West | NFC

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Buffalo | Cincinnati| Denver| Dallas| Chicago| Atlanta
Indianapolis | Cleveland| Kansas City| NY Giants| Detroit| LA Rams
Miami | Houston| LA Raiders| Philadelphia| Green Bay| New Orleans
New England | Pittsburgh| San Diego| Phoenix| Minnesota| San Francisco
NY Jets | | Seattle| Washington| Tampa Bay|

* 1988 NFL Draft
* NFL playoffs
* Pro Bowl
* Super Bowl XXIII

This article relating to an American football season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[IR]: Injured reserve
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[DIV]: Win–Loss record within their division
*[CONF]: Win–Loss record within their conference
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template