Rewatch: Broncos @ Chiefs 10/27/85

The Broncos are heading into Arrowhead, where they haven’t won since 1979. And Sammy Winder, who was on a pace for another 1,000 yard season and was leading the team with 6 touchdowns on the year, is sidelined with a touch of the flu. 

No Sammy? No problem. After a Chiefs punt, the Broncos drive 52 yards in 10 plays and Gerald Willhite dives into the end zone from a yard out to put the Broncos in the lead.

Gerald Willhite going over the top

The Chiefs punt again, and this time it is blocked by Randy Robbins who also recovers it at the Kansas City 9, and the Broncos get a field goal to make it 10-0.

The Broncos completely dominate the first quarter, with 96 yards of offense compared to 7 for Kansas City.

Things don’t improve much for the Chiefs when they switch ends of the field. Gene Lang bulldozes in from a yard out on the second play of the second quarter to extend the Denver lead to 17-0. Randy Robbins then blocks his second punt of the day, setting up Willhite’s second touchdown of the day. 

Willhite heading for another six

The rushing attack seems to be doing just fine in the absence of Winder, and will end up breaking the 200-yard mark on the day.

The Chiefs finally show some life and answer with a long drive to momentarily get the home crowd back in it, with Ethan Horton scoring from a yard out to get Kansas City on the scoreboard.

Willhite is injured late in the first half and carted off the field with a concussion. 

Denver gets a field goal with the clock ticking down to end the half, pushing their lead to 27-7. Audible boos are heard as the teams head into the locker room. 

This game was almost entirely drama-free. If there ever was a time the outcome was vaguely in question it came in the third quarter. The Chiefs kicked a field goal to make it 27-10 and then they drove deep into Denver territory. If they can get it in the end zone, they are only down 10 with plenty of time on the clock. They decided to go for it on 4th-and-3 from the 10-yard line, but Bill Kenney is sacked by Rulon Jones to end the threat with three and a half minutes left in the third. 

The Broncos are now alternating Gene Lang with rookie Steve Sewell in the run game. We’ve seen a lot of Vance Johnson so far in the 1985 season, but this is the first extended look at Sewell, who was picked 5 spots ahead of Vance in the draft. He finishes the game with 64 yards on 20 carries.

Following a 12-yard pass to Butch Johnson for a first down, Lang breaks a 26-yard run on the last play of the third quarter. They get the ball to the one, but Sewell can’t punch it in on 3rd and goal. Karlis kicks a 19-yard field goal to go up 30-10. The drive consumed seven minutes of game clock and that's pretty much the ballgame.

This a dark stretch for the Chiefs. They beat the Raiders and Seahawks early in the season to start 3-1, but this is their fourth consecutive loss. The fans are not happy. Boos and jeers are heard from what sounds like a near-empty stadium. However, the Royals are next door preparing to play game 7 of the World Series in a few hours. Bret Saberhagen will pitch a complete-game shutout and the Royals will win 11-0 to claim the title. So the KC sports fan will wake up Monday morning having forgotten all about this lackluster midseason performance by their NFL team.

Marv Albert and Bob Griese were on the broadcast for this one. They mention that Jessica Elway, the first child of John and Janet, was born a week earlier. Marv also mentions that 14 Chiefs had children during the offseason and that coach John Mackovic had commented that if they did as well on the field as they did in the maternity ward they should have a great season.

And in response, Bob says, "the way they are playing, he may have a baby."

Weird comment, but maybe it should have been the title of the Chiefs' 1985 highlight video: So Bad, Our Coach had a Baby...

This win gets the Broncos to 6-2 and keeps them tied atop the AFC West with the Raiders.

Rewatch: Seahawks at Broncos 10/20/85

Denver and Seattle both come into this one riding two-game win streaks. This game begins a crucial stretch of the schedule in which the Broncos will play 8 of 10 against AFC West opponents.

The Broncos take the ball right down the field on their opening drive. 80 yards in nine plays, concluding with a nifty 36-yard run by Sammy Winder to put the Broncos in the lead 7-0. It's pretty rare to see Winder rip off a long gain like that.

The Raiders wind up scoring late to beat the Browns 21-20 in Cleveland, moving their record on the season to 5-2 and temporarily putting them in a half-game lead over the Broncos and Seahawks for first place in the AFC West. Dick Enberg has a feeling the AFC West won't be decided until the final week of the season...not much of a stretch considering that's how it went in 1984 and that all five teams were separated by a single game going into Week 7.

A rookie named Eugene Robinson is flagged for an illegal block on a punt return. It is in fact the same Eugene Robinson who will be beaten by the Broncos in consecutive Super Bowls 12 and 13 years later.

Seattle has sack nullified by an offsides penalty, giving Elway another shot at third down which he converts with a pass to Vance Johnson. Dick has fun telling us about all of Elway's sons: Vance JohnSON, Butch JohnSON, Steve WatSON, Clint SampSON.

The Broncos have a 16-play drive that includes a 4th-and-inches conversion by Winder at the Seattle 15, but ultimately Rich Karlis has to come out for a field goal try, which is blocked, leaving them with no points on the clock-chewing drive. 

The Broncos get the ball back and have another shot at a field goal from 52, but this time Karlis is wide right.

Krieg connects with Paul Skansi for a first down at the Broncos 38. It’s their deepest penetration of the first half, but Skansi is injured on the hit by Dennis Smith and won’t return to the game. On third-and-10, Dave Krieg loses the snap and the Broncos recover with a few seconds left in the second quarter. They get close enough for Karlis to try again from 56 on the last play of the half, but he is again wide right. Neither team has managed a score since the opening drive of the game. 

The Seahawks receive the kickoff to start the second half and on the first play Curt Warner is stripped of the ball with the Broncos recovering at the 30. But they can't move the ball and after three first half misses by Karlis, decide to punt. Chris Norman pins the Seahawks back on their 4-yard line, but the Broncos’ third takeaway of the game soon follows. An interception by Tony Lilly sets them up at the Seattle 30 once again. They stall, but Karlis boots a 45-yarder to extend the Denver lead to 10 points.

Denver's defense has been stout, but with the offense unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities, a Krieg to Steve Largent touchdown pass cuts their lead to 3 with 1:46 left in the third quarter. The pass extended a couple of streaks - Krieg now has 25 straight games with a TD pass and Largent has 114 consecutive games with a reception. 

The Broncos offense goes three-and-out to end the quarter. Seahawks All-Pro safety Kenny Easley is returning punts for the injured Paul Skansi. He doesn't call for a fair catch and gets leveled by Daniel Hunter before he can catch the ball. The Broncos are flagged, but the Seahawks star is down for several minutes.

Curt Warner goes down with an injury and Merlin takes the opportunity to talk about Broncos defensive coordinator Joe Collier’s use of Polaroid pictures sent down from the coaches booth to get a look at how the Seahawks are attacking his defense. Cutting edge for 1985!

Joe Collier studying photos on sideline

The Broncos don't manage a first down in the second half until there are five minutes left in the fourth quarter. The game is now tied at 10, but the Broncos might be ready to make their move. But on a third-and-5 at the Denver 43, Bill Bryan snaps it over Elway's head. It's a 22-yard loss and they have to punt with three and a half minutes remaining.

Seattle takes over at their own 34. Curt Warner rips off a 12-yard run for a first down near midfield. The Seahawks have been able to run the ball on the Broncos (Warner winds up well over 100 yards) but they haven't been able to get a passing game going. So it seems like the best thing to do would be to just run the ball and the clock, get in position to score, and leave the Broncos as little time as possible. But for some reason Krieg launches a deep ball in the direction of Daryl Turner, who doesn’t have a catch in the game. Mike Harden intercepts and gets a 28-yard return to the Denver 34. 

There's been a lot of talking up of Dave Krieg on the broadcast and oh, wow, look how his stats are better than Elway's! But it's okay, the next few years will reveal who the vastly superior player is. 

However, the Broncos again can’t get a first down and faced with a fourth-and-1 decision elect to punt it away and play for overtime. Chris Norman is getting a lot of work in this one and making the most of his opportunities - the ball rolls out of bounds on the 2-yard line with 0:03 on the clock.

The Seahawks win the toss and elect to receive, but the stalemate continues. Karl Mecklenburg gets his second sack of the day on third down and forces a punt. He’s up to 8 1/2 sacks on the year. 

The Broncos can't do anything with their first two overtime possessions and each time Chris Norman pins them inside their 20. 

We're nearly halfway through the overtime period when Seattle begins their third possession. Dennis Smith forces a fumble on a sack, but Seattle recovers at their 10. However, on the very next play, Krieg misses Largent and is picked off by Daniel Hunter, who returns it 19 yards to the Seattle 16. 

Fortunately for the Broncos, the ball is already in field goal range, so they aren’t going to have to get a first down in order to win it. They still run three plays before bringing on Karlis. The 24-yard attempt is not much more than an extra point, but as Dick and Merlin point out, the Broncos have missed three extra points on the year. Also, this hasn’t exactly been a stellar day for Karlis with the three missed field goals. He barely squeezes it inside the left upright, but it’s good for a Broncos 13-10 victory. 

The Seahawks led the NFL in takeaways in 1984 with 64 and the Broncos were second with 56. However, in this one, Denver won the turnover battle 5-0.

Dan Reeves’ pregame prediction

Even with the wide disparity in turnovers, failures with the offense and special teams kept it close. The Broncos missed three field goals and managed only a single first down after halftime. Nearly a third of the Broncos' offensive production on the day came on the first drive of the game. 

Clearly, the Broncos weren't going to let Seattle throw the ball on them. Steve Largent was held to a single reception. Daryl Turner had no catches on the day. Krieg completed 9 of 32 passes for 115 yards and 3 interceptions. He was also sacked five times leaving Seattle with just 77 net passing yards in 69 minutes of play.

Chris Norman had probably the best game of his career. He punted 11 times for 517 yards, a 47 yard average, and pinned the Seahawks in their own end numerous times. He's in the midst of the best stretch of his career. Unfortunately, it doesn't last, and he's replaced the following season.

I really miss the Denver-Seattle divisional rivalry. Why did the Seahawks have to go to the NFC? Couldn't we have send the Chargers instead?

Rewatch: Oilers at Broncos 10/6/85

Compared to last week’s Freeze Bowl, this is ideal fall football weather - 70 degrees at kickoff. 

The Oilers and the Broncos actually swung a trade of draft picks for the 1985 draft. Denver moved up from the 36th overall pick to the 31st selection by sending their fifth round choice to Houston. 

With that 31st pick, the Broncos grabbed Vance Johnson from the University of Arizona, who according to the broadcast was the fastest player in the draft with blazing 4.3 speed. He’s already had an impact in the young season, and that trend continues early on in this game. He has a 30-yard punt return to set up a field goal, and minutes later nearly scores on a reverse. He’s brought down short of the goal line after a gain of 14, but Sammy Winder scores to give Denver an early 10-0 lead. 

The Broncos have a short field on their next possession, but can’t take advantage. Rich Karlis misses a 52-yard attempt, breaking his streak of 13 consecutive regular-season makes. His last regular season miss was hitting the upright on the game-tying attempt in Kansas City last December. 

The Oilers were bad in 1984 - losing their first 10 en route to a 3-13 finish. But talent reinforcements have arrived. They had the 3rd and 11th overall picks which garnered DT Ray Childress and CB Richard Johnson, as well as DE Richard Byrd with the 36th pick swapped from the Broncos. Also coming on board is former Heisman winner Mike Rozier, although he’s already played a full season in 1985 by compiling 1,727 combined rushing/receiving yards for the USFL’s Jacksonville Bulls. 

They mention that Phil Niekro won his 300th game. He's the fourth of five pitchers to reach the milestone during the 80s, although only five have joined the 300 club since 1990. I'm in the middle of a book on sabermetrics that talks about what a misleading pitching stat wins are, but it's a remarkable achievement nonetheless.

The Broncos execute a nifty 4-play, 82-yard drive. Elway picks up a 3rd-and-5 with a 36-yard pass to Clint Sampson that gets them to the Houston 41. On the next play, Elway pitches to Winder, who hands it to Butch Johnson on a reverse, who flips it to Elway. The defense is not completely fooled, but Elway still manages to hit Steve Watson for the touchdown on a pass that travels 50 yards in the air.

The Oilers have to punt on the first drive of the second half. With their fifth-round draft pick acquired from the Broncos, they selected BYU punter Lee Johnson. This is his sixth of seven punts in the game, but is showing the ability that will earn him a two-decade career in the NFL, averaging 45 yards on the day. The Broncos convert a third-and-10 on a pass interference penalty, and an Elway to Clarence Kay TD pass gives them a 24-3 lead. 

Houston gets their first touchdown of the day on a 67-yard pass from Warren Moon to Butch Woolfolk, who uses a combination of speed, elusiveness, and lot of missed tackles by Broncos to find the end zone. Mile High Stadium is filled with boos, although maybe they were saying Boooooooouuutch.

Another pass interference penalty on the Oilers combined with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike for kicking the flag gets Denver back in scoring range. Elway tosses to Vance Johnson, who uses nifty footwork along the sideline to sprint for a 29-yard touchdown to restore the Broncos three-touchdown margin. It’s Elway’s third touchdown pass of the game, which gets him to 12 on the season. 

Vance tiptoes the sideline on the way to end zone

After Elway is intercepted by Keith Bostic for the second time in the game, Mike Moroski comes on in relief of Moon. Today, Moon is in the Hall of Fame, but perhaps we forget that it was not a slam dunk that his 1984 move from the CFL to the NFL would be a successful one. He had a very rough start with the Oilers, entering this game with a 4-16 record as a starter and now he’s benched trailing by 21 points. 

Creative fans

But the change seems to give the Oilers a boost. A field goal cuts it to 31-13, and as the fourth quarter begins the Broncos have a 4th and 1 at the Houston 40. The ball is snapped to Elway before he’s expecting it and for a brief moment it appears the Oilers have stopped them. But a flag was thrown because  center Bill Bryan saw Houston jump offsides and snapped it early. The Oilers are upset by the call and are penalized an additional 15.

The Oilers were good in the 70s and will be good again in the 90s, but were not particularly good in the mid-80s. From 1982-1986 they went 16-57, a winning percentage of just .219. Their offense is not good and the defense is aggressive but stupid. At this point they have been penalized 14 times for 173 yards. 

However, Elway is intercepted for the third time so the Broncos come away with no points. Avon Riley, who had taken off his helmet to yell at referees just a few minutes ago, comes up with the ball and aggressively plows into Gerald Willhite on the return, lowering his shoulder and landing an uppercut under Willhite’s chin. Another 15 yard penalty for Houston. The Oilers do get a touchdown to cut it to 31-20 but get no closer. 

On this same day, the Raiders beat the Chiefs and the Seahawks beat the Chargers. The four-way tie for second in the AFC West is now a four-team logjam atop the division, with the Broncos, Raiders, Seahawks, and Chiefs all holding 3-2 records.