1989 Denver Broncos season
American football team season
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The 1989 Denver Broncos season was the team's 30th year in professional football and its 20th with the National Football League (NFL). The head coach was Dan Reeves while Chan Gailey was the offensive coordinator and Wade Phillips was the defensive coordinator. In the postseason Denver won a nail biter over the Pittsburgh Steelers 24–23 then cruised over the Cleveland Browns 37–21 in the AFC Championship Game.
| 1989 Denver Broncos season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Pat Bowlen |
| General manager | John Beake |
| Head coach | Dan Reeves |
| Offensive coordinator | Chan Gailey |
| Defensive coordinator | Wade Phillips |
| Home stadium | Mile High Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 1st AFC West |
| Playoffs | Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Steelers) 24–23 Won AFC Championship (vs. Browns) 37–21 Lost Super Bowl XXIV (vs. 49ers) 10–55 |
| Pro Bowlers | QB John Elway DT Greg Kragen LB Karl Mecklenburg S Dennis Smith K David Treadwell |
| Uniform | |
| |
The season ended with the Broncos being blown out 55–10 in Super Bowl XXIV by the San Francisco 49ers.
Offseason
NFL draft
| 1989 Denver Broncos draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Steve Atwater * † | S | Arkansas | |
| 1 | Supp | Bobby Humphrey | RB | Alabama | |
| 2 | 41 | Doug Widell | G | Boston College | |
| 2 | 47 | Warren Powers | DE | Maryland | |
| 3 | 69 | Darrell Hamilton | T | North Carolina | |
| 4 | 97 | Jake McCullough | DE | Clemson | |
| 5 | 134 | Darren Carrington | S | Northern Arizona | |
| 6 | 152 | Anthony Stafford | WR | Oklahoma | |
| 7 | 180 | Melvin Bratton | RB | Miami (FL) | |
| 8 | 208 | Paul Green | TE | USC | |
| 9 | 236 | Monte Smith | G | North Dakota State | |
| 9 | 241 | Wayne Williams | RB | Florida | |
| 10 | 264 | Anthony Butts | DE | Mississippi State | |
| 11 | 292 | Richard Shelton | DB | Liberty | |
| 12 | 320 | John Javis | WR | Howard | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Pat Hegarty | Quarterback | UTEP |
| Chris Rule | Quarterback | Colorado State |
Personnel
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
Regular season
One of Denver's new major additions was rookie running back Bobby Humphrey, who rushed for 1,151 yards, caught 22 passes for 156 yards, and scored 8 touchdowns. Humphrey gave the Broncos a powerful running attack that they lacked in their previous Super Bowl seasons. The defense had a new weapon as well: rookie free safety Steve Atwater. Together with veteran defensive backs Dennis Smith, Wymon Henderson and Tyrone Braxton, the Broncos secondary combined for 14 interceptions. Braxton lead the team with 6, which he returned for 103 yards and a touchdown, while also recovering 2 fumbles. Another new addition was defensive end Ron Holmes, who recorded 9 sacks. Holmes, along with veteran linebackers Karl Mecklenburg (7.5 sacks and 4 fumble recoveries) and Simon Fletcher (12 sacks) gave Denver one of the top defensive lines in the AFC.
Veteran receiver Vance Johnson had the best season of his career, catching 76 passes for 1,095 yards and 7 touchdowns, while also returning 12 punts for 118 yards. However, quarterback John Elway played inconsistently during the regular season, throwing just as many interceptions as touchdowns (18) and recording only a 73.7 passer rating.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 10 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 34–20 | 1–0 | Mile High Stadium | 74,284 | Recap |
| 2 | September 18 | at Buffalo Bills | W 28–14 | 2–0 | Rich Stadium | 78,176 | Recap |
| 3 | September 24 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 31–21 | 3–0 | Mile High Stadium | 75,754 | Recap |
| 4 | October 1 | at Cleveland Browns | L 13–16 | 3–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,637 | Recap |
| 5 | October 8 | San Diego Chargers | W 16–10 | 4–1 | Mile High Stadium | 75,222 | Recap |
| 6 | October 15 | Indianapolis Colts | W 14–3 | 5–1 | Mile High Stadium | 74,680 | Recap |
| 7 | October 22 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 24–21 (OT) | 6–1 | Kingdome | 62,353 | Recap |
| 8 | October 29 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 24–28 | 6–2 | Mile High Stadium | 75,065 | Recap |
| 9 | November 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 34–7 | 7–2 | Mile High Stadium | 74,739 | Recap |
| 10 | November 12 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 16–13 | 8–2 | Arrowhead Stadium | 76,245 | Recap |
| 11 | November 20 | at Washington Redskins | W 14–10 | 9–2 | RFK Stadium | 52,975 | Recap |
| 12 | November 26 | Seattle Seahawks | W 41–14 | 10–2 | Mile High Stadium | 75,117 | Recap |
| 13 | December 3 | at Los Angeles Raiders | L 13–16 (OT) | 10–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 87,560 | Recap |
| 14 | December 10 | New York Giants | L 7–14 | 10–4 | Mile High Stadium | 63,283 | Recap |
| 15 | December 16 | at Phoenix Cardinals | W 37–0 | 11–4 | Sun Devil Stadium | 56,071 | Recap |
| 16 | December 24 | at San Diego Chargers | L 16–19 | 11–5 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 50,524 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Broncos | 5 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 28 |
| Bills | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
- Date: September 18
- Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
- Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 78,176
- Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C); wind 5 mph (8.0 km/h)
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf
| Q1 | DEN | Mueller tackled by Brooks in end zone | DEN 2–0 | |
| Q1 | DEN | Treadwell 22 yard field goal | DEN 5–0 | |
| Q2 | DEN | Treadwell 33 yard field goal | DEN 8–0 | |
| Q2 | DEN | Johnson 19 yard pass from Elway (Treadwell kick) | DEN 15–0 | |
| Q2 | DEN | Treadwell 46 yard field goal | DEN 18–0 | |
| Q3 | DEN | Treadwell 24 yard field goal | DEN 21–0 | |
| Q3 | BUF | Kinnebrew 1 yard run (Norwood kick) | DEN 21–7 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Harmon 20 yard pass from Kelly (Norwood kick) | DEN 21–14 | |
| Q4 | DEN | Humphrey 5 yard run (Treadwell kick) | DEN 28–14 | |
Week 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| • Broncos | 21 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 31 |
- Date: September 24
- Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
- Game start: 2:00 p.m. MST
- Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C), wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
- Referee: Jerry Markbreit
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bill Walsh
| 1 | DEN | John Elway 29 yard run (David Treadwell kick) | Broncos 7–0 | |
| 1 | DEN | Jeff Alexander 1 yard run (David Treadwell kick) | Broncos 14–0 | |
| 1 | DEN | Mark Jackson 46 yard pass from John Elway (David Treadwell kick) | Broncos 21–0 | |
| 2 | DEN | Mark Jackson 11 yard pass from John Elway (David Treadwell kick) | Broncos 28–0 | |
| 3 | LA | Lionel Washington 22 yard interception return (Jeff Jaeger kick) | Broncos 28–7 | |
| 4 | LA | Mervyn Fernandez 75 yard pass from Jay Schroeder (Jeff Jaeger kick) | Broncos 28–14 | |
| 4 | LA | Linden King 15 yard fumble return (Jeff Jaeger kick) | Broncos 28–21 | |
| 4 | DEN | David Treadwell 38 yard field goal | Broncos 31–21 | |
Week 14
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Giants | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Broncos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
- Date: December 10
- Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
- Game start: 2:00 p.m. MST
- Game weather: 31 °F (−1 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
- Referee: Jerry Markbreit
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
| 2 | NYG | Ottis Anderson 3 yard run (Bjorn Nittmo kick) | Giants 7–0 | |
| 2 | NYG | David Meggett 57 yard pass from Phil Simms (Bjorn Nittmo kick) | Giants 14–0 | |
| 4 | DEN | Mike Young 32 yard pass from John Elway (David Treadwell kick) | Giants 14–7 | |
Playoffs
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | January 7, 1990 | Pittsburgh Steelers (5) | W 24–23 | 1–0 | Mile High Stadium | 75,868 | Recap |
| AFC Championship | January 14, 1990 | Cleveland Browns (2) | W 37–21 | 2–0 | Mile High Stadium | 76,005 | Recap |
| Super Bowl XXIV | January 28, 1990 | San Francisco 49ers (N1) | L 10–55 | 2–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 72,919 | Recap |
Standings
| AFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Denver Broncos(1) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 362 | 226 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 3–5 | 6–7–1 | 307 | 286 | W1 |
| Los Angeles Raiders | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 6–6 | 315 | 297 | L2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–4 | 7–5 | 241 | 327 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 4–4 | 4–8 | 266 | 290 | W2 |