Rewatch: Broncos vs. Saints 9/15/85

I couldn't resist coming back for another season after seeing the variety of games available for the 1985 Broncos.

The Saints came to town for Broncos home opener. The Broncos are coming off a road loss to the L.A. Rams to open the season the week before. It's kind of a gray and cloudy day in Denver. There's no audio of the broadcast for the first several minutes, just some groovy music and messages about technical difficulties.  When we finally get sound midway through the first quarter, the Broncos have just taken a 7-0 lead on a John Elway to Butch Johnson touchdown pass, although the actual play has been removed from the video. 

CBS is on the broadcast, and once again they've sent Steamboat-lovin' Verne Lundquist and Elway-hatin' Terry Bradshaw. This will be the Broncos' only appearance on the network in 1985.  

The Saints are beginning the 19th year in the NFL and are still a couple of years away from their first winning season. They are led by Bum Phillips, who is strolling the sideline sporting his trademark cowboy hat, sky-blue trousers, a large belt buckle, and a white western-style shirt. I kind of miss this era of coaching fashion. He's starting his fifth year as the coach in New Orly-ans (as Verne says it) although his son Wade, the Saints defensive coordinator, will take over head duties by the end of the year. Only four years later Wade will come to Denver to head the Broncos' defensive unit. 

Bum Phillips in sideline attire

Bum rose to fame in the late 1970s as head coach of the Houston Oilers, who made the playoffs every year between 1978-1980 although they could never break through to the Super Bowl. A big part of their success was due to Earl Campbell, who averaged nearly 1,700 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns over those three seasons.

Earl joined Bum and the Saints in 1984 and is the biggest name on the roster. However, it's clear in the early going that it's not 1979 anymore.  Verne suggest that Earl appears to be near the end of the line but Terry’s like, “oh, no, he’s really good. I played against him and I just can’t believe that.”

The 1985 season turns out to be the last for both Earl and Bum.

The Broncos score twice more to go up 21-0 in the second quarter. Both of these are missing from the video. It's very odd. The game is just going along and then suddenly you see the Broncos celebrating and you're like, well, something must have happened. Then they give the instant replay and you can see the scoring play. Someone mentioned it in the comments and the uploader of the video said that it must have been removed by YouTube and the NFL for copyright. Maybe so, but why wouldn't they just take down the entire game? It seems like a lot of work to go through and snip out certain plays from a meaningless NFL game from nearly 40 years ago. Hopefully this isn't a trend or it will really but a damper on my rewatches.    

Butch Johnson makes a nice sideline grab in the third quarter and gets both feet in. However, it wouldn’t count under today’s rules as the ball popped out as soon as he hit the ground. Of course, neither would his Super Bowl XII TD catch for the Cowboys against the Broncos. After a pass interference penalty gets the ball to the one-yard line, Elway hits Clarence Kay for a touchdown, which we get to see without interruption. The remover of scoring plays must have given up by this point. The Broncos are up 31-9 so the game is essentially over. 

Other notes:

Saints cornerback Johnnie Poe almost intercepts Elway. “Doggone good play by Johnnie Poe,” says Bradshaw.

Rich Karlis hits the upright on a 48-yard field goal (shades of 1984) but this one bounces through for three points and a 34-16 lead.

Broncos LB Jim Ryan has a letter ripped off his jersey at some point so he plays out the game as Jim Rya.

The Saints pull within 34-23 and make things interesting when they drive to the Broncos 12-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. They go for it on 4th & 7 but Tony Lilly knocks away the pass to the end zone to end the threat with five and a half minutes remaining.

Rain is falling hard in the fourth quarter. Karl Mecklenburg picks up a late sack to give him his first career four-sack game. Elway has four TD passes to match, and also finishes with 28 completions for 353 yards, both of which were career highs at that point of his career.

Why Did You Do This Thing?

Someone might come across my blog and wonder why this guy rewatched nine Broncos games from 40 years ago and then took the time to write about it. 

Watching the old games started out as just something to have on while I was working. And maybe some of it was to fill a void created by the seven going on eight-year playoff drought the Broncos are currently in.

But for me these weren't just random games. The second half of the 1984 NFL season was the foundation for my love of sports. So it was like revisiting my childhood, much like discovering an old box of family movies in the attic. I was young at the time and so I didn't fully understand everything that was going on and didn't have the attention span to sit through an entire game. So seeing them again and filling in the gaps filled me with thoughts and observations for which I needed an outlet.

But it wasn’t just purely sentimental - this was an awesome season! The 1984 season marked the 25-year anniversary of the Broncos and the AFC, and this was the second-best season in team history at that point, although now a little lost in the sands of time. The Broncos had been in a little bit of a dry spell since the 1977 season as far as having postseason success, losing their first playoff game in 1978, 1979, and 1983 and failing to qualify from 1980 to 1982. Heading into the 1984 season, the Broncos weren't expected to have the type of success they did. They shared a division with the Raiders, the defending Super Bowl champs, and the Seahawks, who had easily handled the Broncos in the previous season's wildcard matchup. In fact, even the Chargers had better Super Bowl odds than the Broncos. 

But they went a combined 3-1 against the Raiders and Seahawks, swept the Chargers, and claimed what turned out to be the best division in football in 1984. They won 10 games in a row until they were beaten at home by the Seahawks. It was the longest win streak in team history at that point, and only two teams have put together a longer regular-season winning streak - 11 by the 2012 team, and 13 by the 1998 team.

At that point, it was the most regular-season wins in team history. Since then, it has been matched four times (1996, 2005, 2012, and 2013) but has only been exceeded once (1998).

The defense allowed only 241 points on the season, second best in the NFL that season. At the time, that was the fourth-best in team history for a full season behind the 1977, 1978, and 1976 squads. Since then it has only been surpassed by two Broncos defenses - the 1989 squad allowed 226 and the 1991 unit gave up 235.

The defense also recorded 57 sacks, a team record that still stands. The 1991, 2012, and 2015 teams are tied for second with 52. 

The remarkable number of takeaways has been mentioned in various posts but to recap, the 1984 Broncos:

Set the team record for most takeaways in a season with 55, which still stands.

Recovered 24 opponent fumbles, a team record that still stands. 

Intercepted 31 passes, one behind the 1964 team record. 

Scored 8 touchdowns defensively, a team record that still stands. 

Set a team record for takeaways in a game with 10 against Detroit, which still stands. They also had seven against the Raiders, which is tied for fourth-most. No Bronco team since has had seven or more takeaways in a single game.

Tied the team record for interceptions in a game with seven against Detroit, which still stands. 

There is more emphasis on ball security in today’s NFL, so most of these records will likely never be broken. The Cowboys have led the league in takeaways the past two seasons with 33 and 34. The Broncos’ 55 takeaways didn’t even lead the league in 1984 as the Seahawks managed an eye-popping 63. 

The Broncos didn’t finish in “the final four” in 1984, but I think they were solidly among the top five NFL teams in 1984.

They won the third-most games, behind only the 49ers and Dolphins.

They had the fifth-highest total point differential.

They were tied with the Raiders for fourth in combined offensive/defensive ranking. 

Even if they had beaten the Steelers, the Broncos probably wouldn’t have made it past the Dolphins in the AFC Championship and certainly wouldn’t have beat the 49ers in the Super Bowl, but it was an incredible season nonetheless. 

TOTAL POINT DIFFERENTIAL 

49ers +248

Dolphins +215

Seahawks +136

Redskins +116

Broncos +112

COMBINED OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE RANKING (POINTS)

49ers - 3 (#2 offense, #1 defense)

Dolphins - 8 (#1 offense, #7 defense)

Seahawks - 10 (#5 offense, #5 defense)

Broncos - 13 (#11 offense, #2 defense)

Raiders - 13 (#9 offense, #4 defense)

Rewatch: Steelers at Broncos 12/30/84

This is the first Broncos home playoff game in seven years so the crowd is amped for this one. It's only the Broncos 7th playoff game in their 25-year history, but already the third against the Steelers. And you know it's gotta be Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen in the house for this one.

The hallmark of the Broncos defense in 1984 was the turnover, and they came up with two in the early going. Rich Karlis missed a field goal after the first one, but the Steelers immediately fumbled the ball away again. This time the Broncos cashed in, taking a 7-0 lead after John Elway connected with Jim Wright for a touchdown. 

Pittsburgh managed to hold onto the ball on their next possession and moved deep into Denver territory.  Louis Wright nearly has an interception in the end zone, but has the ball knocked out of his hands. The Steelers end up with a field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.

The Broncos break out a gadget play on their next drive. Elway laterals to Gerald Willhite, who then goes deep for Steve Watson. He hauls it in for a 52-yard gain, although the play probably would have scored if Willhite had thrown a better pass. The Broncos still move into prime scoring position and have a first-and-goal at the Steeler eight-yard line. However, they fail to score when Elway throws a bad pass under pressure on third-and-goal coming out of a timeout and is intercepted. 

The Steelers put together a pair of good drives before halftime. Gary Anderson misses a field goal to end the first one, but they get a touchdown out of the second to take a 10-7 lead into halftime. 

The Steelers get the ball to start the second half, but can’t move it. Roger Jackson blocks the punt which rolls out of bounds at the four-yard line. Sammy Winder loses a yard, then a gadget play with Willhite and tackle-eligible Dave Studdard doesn't materialize. After Elway throws incomplete under pressure on third down, the Broncos settle for a 21-yard Karlis field goal. The game is now tied, but another golden opportunity has slipped away. And as the game comes back from commercial break, we see Elway's upper thigh getting wrapped on the sideline due to a groin pull apparently sustained on the third-down attempt. 

The Steelers again fail to move the ball, and the Broncos are back in business after a good punt return by Willhite. Elway is limping after every throw, but it doesn't stop him from firing a bullet to Steve Watson for a 20-yard touchdown. The Broncos are back in the lead with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. Watson is having one of the finest days of his career: he finishes with 11 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown.

Steve Watson hauls in 3rd quarter touchdown pass

The Steelers answer right back with a touchdown drive and tie it up at 17 when Louis Lipps catches a short pass and powers his way over the goal line. The Broncos can't sustain a drive and are set to punt it back to the Steelers as the fourth quarter begins.

Lipps, who has just been selected to the Pro Bowl as a kick returner, bobbles and then drops the punt at his own 20 yard line. There's a scramble and a pile-up, but the refs signal that Lipps recovered the ball.

The Steelers and the Broncos exchange punts, and then the Steelers start to move the ball. Walter Abercrombie and Frank Pollard are breaking off big gains on the ground, and a pass to Weegie Thompson picks up a first down at the Bronco 11. Weegie Thompson! One of the great NFL names of the 80s. The tide seems to be turning in the Steelers’ favor. The Broncos can’t stop their ground game. The Steelers are over 170 yards rushing for the game. However, true to their bend-but-don’t break form, the Broncos defense stiffens and Gary Anderson comes on to try a chip-shot field goal to put Pittsburgh in the lead.

He shanks it. From 26 yards away. For as much talking up of the kickers as Dick and Merlin did, neither kicker had a very good day, each missing a pair. 

They flash a stat: Broncos have won 6 of 8 games in 1984 decided in final 4 minutes. They’ve done this before. 

The Broncos now have the ball, a little momentum, and one of the best fourth-quarter QBs of all time. All they need to do is run out some clock and get into scoring position. 

But Elway's hurt. He's looked a little worse after every throw. He’s picked off on the second play, and it's returned to the Broncos 2-yard line. This time the Steelers won’t be denied. Pollard scores his second touchdown of the day on a second effort on third and goal to give the Steelers a 24-17 lead.

The Broncos make a last ditch effort with the time left on the clock, but it might as well have been Jack Elway under center. The season is over. We don’t get the Elway and Marino matchup in the AFC Championship Game, although it felt like there would be many more of those to come. However, the closest it ever comes to happening is when they meet in a divisional round game near the end of their careers. 

Ultimately, it's a game of what-ifs for the Broncos.

What if the Willhite to Watson pass went for six? What if they hadn't had to settle for three after the blocked punt? What if the Lipps fumble had bounced their way? What if Elway doesn’t get hurt?

The Steelers rushing attack of Pollard & Abercrombie is the highlight - 169 yards on 40 carries. Even so, the Broncos defense seems like it did the job. The Steelers only had 17 points with three and a half minutes left. However, after a season of living off takeaways at the rate of 3.5 per game, the defense only gets the two early on. Would a couple of second-half takeaways have changed the outcome?

It felt like the Broncos should have scored 28 in this one. But they struggled with the pressure applied by the Steelers pass rush. And once Elway got hurt, it seemed like they were just living on a prayer. What would have happened if they had gone to Gary Kubiak in the fourth quarter?

We don’t know the answers to these questions although it’s fun to wonder about. On this day, the Steelers were just a little better. 

Rewatch: Broncos at Seahawks 12/15/84

I’ve referred to this game in several of my previous rewatch posts - the Week 16 Saturday Showdown in the Kingdome between the Broncos and Seahawks. The winner gets the AFC West crown, a week off, and a home playoff game. The loser plays the next week in the wildcard game against the Raiders. A game like this wouldn't have the same magnitude today as the number of playoff teams dilutes the value of a division title - probably they'd just be playing to determine which team would host the other the following week.

A Kingdome-record crowd of 64,411 is on hand, but the Broncos quickly quiet them when Elway connects with Steve Watson for a 73-yard completion on the second play of the game, much like the Seahawks did when they scored on an 80-yard touchdown on the first play of the game in Denver. The Broncos punched it in on a 1-yard run by Elway and took a 7-0 lead. However, Elway's first half stat line outside of the opening drive is not great: 4-for-14 for 23 yards and 4 interceptions. The Seattle defense was number one in takeaways in 1984, but in this game the offense was unable to do much with them and so the Broncos maintained a 10-7 lead at halftime. 

The number two team in takeaways in 1984 was the Denver Broncos, and they were able to take control of the game in the second half thanks in part to turnovers. Seattle returner Randall Morris is stripped of the ball on the second half kickoff by Bronco rookie Tony Lilly. Denver recovers the ball and scores moments later on a pretty pass from Elway to Jim Wright to take a 17-7 lead. After the teams exchange punts, Seattle QB Dave Krieg is intercepted by Steve Foley, who returns it 40 yards for a touchdown. It’s the 39th interception of Foley’s career and his first pick 6. Even though we didn't call it a pick 6 back then. It was the Broncos’ eighth touchdown off a turnover for the year, tying Seattle for the NFL lead. 

Foley retired two years later as the Broncos’ all-time leader in interceptions with 44, a record he still holds to this day and for the foreseeable future. Current Bronco Justin Simmons has a ways to go with only 27.

Steve Foley after first career pick 6

The Seahawks answer with a quick 73-yard touchdown drive, but the Broncos come back with a TD drive of their own to increase their lead to 31-14. The Seahawks drain about 8 minutes of game clock on a fourth quarter drive that stalls at the Broncos 15. Norm Johnson comes on to kick a field goal, and they attempt a poorly executed fake. And that’s essentially the ball game. Karl Mecklenburg gets a 42-yard interception return in the final minute similar to his one in Detroit.

The Broncos clinch their first AFC West crown since 1978 and are guaranteed no worse than hosting the AFC Central champion in the divisional round of the playoffs. As this game ended, they still had a chance at home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs if the Dolphins were to stumble the following day against the Cowboys (they didn’t). The Seahawks still faced the possibility of going on the road to play the Raiders in the wildcard round if the Raiders finished their season with a win over the Steelers (they didn’t).  

On the broadcast they mentioned that Seattle had seven players selected to the Pro Bowl, compared to just one for the Broncos - running back Sammy Winder. To add insult to injury, the Raiders had eight players selected and the Chiefs had two. So they Broncos were outnumbered on Pro Bowlers 17-1 by teams that they finished a collective 5-1 against in 1984. 

It made me wonder who on the Broncos was "snubbed"

John Elway was the headliner of the 1984 team, and without him the Broncos probably don’t make the playoffs. However, statistically he was not great. Dave Krieg with 32 TD passes got the backup slot behind Dan Marino, who spent 1984 setting NFL records.

Steve Watson had a really good year - 69 catches for 1,170 yards and 7 touchdowns, but he wasn't getting in ahead of Miami's "Marks Brothers" and the Steelers' John Stallworth and Seattle's Steve Largent also had stellar years.

Defensively, hard to say if there were any snubs. Louis Wright made the Pro Bowl in 1983 and 1985 but not 1984, beat out by Seattle’s Dave Brown, who had a career year. Rulon Jones had 11 sacks in 1984 but faced pretty stiff competition at defensive end - Mark Gastineau, Howie Long, and Art Still. Dennis Smith lost out to the Raiders’ Vann McElroy, who had also been voted in the prior season. Karl Mecklenburg was only in his second season. 1984 was just a year where the Broncos lost out in the numbers game possibly because they were a team that wasn’t expected to do much and sort of flew under the radar. But people started paying attention after the stellar season: Rulon, Meck, and Dennis Smith all made the Pro Bowl in both 1985 and 1986.