1996 Denver Broncos season

1996 Denver Broncos season
Owner	Pat Bowlen
President	Pat Bowlen
General manager	John Beake and Mike Shanahan
Head coach	Mike Shanahan
Offensive coordinator	Gary Kubiak
Defensive coordinator	Greg Robinson
Home field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	13–3
Division place	1st AFC West
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Jaguars) 27–30
Pro Bowlers	9 QB John Elway RB Terrell Davis TE Shannon Sharpe T Gary Zimmerman DE Alfred Williams DT Michael Perry OLB Bill Romanowski FS Steve Atwater SS Tyrone Braxton
AP All-Pros	5 RB Terrell Davis (1st team) TE Shannon Sharpe (1st team) T Gary Zimmerman (1st team) DE Alfred Williams (1st team) QB John Elway (2nd team)
Team MVP	Terrell Davis
Uniform

Denver vs. Tampa Bay at Mile High Stadium, September 15, 1996

The 1996 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 27th season in the National Football League, the 37th overall and their 2nd under head coach Mike Shanahan. The Broncos improved on their 8–8 record from 1995 and finished the season with a 13–3 record. They also clinched the AFC West for the first time since 1991, and earning the top seed in the AFC Playoffs.

In the playoffs, the Broncos were upset by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round, 30–27. Prior to their defeat, they were the top-seeded team in the NFL and were heavily favored to go to and win the Super Bowl by many analysts, breaking the AFC losing streak from the 1980s. The loss rendered the 1996 Broncos team as a historic failure, as it was a major Super Bowl or bust year. This was also the final year the Broncos wore their "Orange Crush" uniforms until 2024

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1996 NFL Draft

1996 Denver Broncos draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	15	John Mobley	Linebacker	Kutztown
2	44	Tory James *	Defensive back	LSU
3	65	Detron Smith	Running back	Texas A&M
3	78	Mark Campbell	Defensive tackle	Florida
4	100	Jeff Lewis	Quarterback	Northern Arizona
4	122	Darrius Johnson	Defensive back	Oklahoma
5	159	Patrick Jeffers	Wide receiver	Virginia
6	181	Tony Veland	Defensive back	Nebraska
7	213	Leslie Ratliffe	Offensive tackle	Tennessee
7	226	Chris Banks	Guard	Kansas
7	235	L. T. Levine	Running back	Kansas
7	236	Brian Gragert	Punter	Wyoming
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

The team was also set to pick University of Nebraska quarterback Brook Berringer. Berringer was killed in a plane crash two days before the draft.

Personnel

Staff

1996 Denver Broncos staff

Front office President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen General Manager – John Beake Director of Player Personnel – Neal Dahlen Director of Pro Scouting – Jack Elway Director of College Scouting – Ted Sundquist College Scouting Consultant – Jerry Frei Administrative Assistant/Player Personnel – Harold Richardson Administrative Assistant/Defense – J. D. Brookhart College Scout – Dave Gettleman Head coaches Head Coach – Mike Shanahan Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line – Alex Gibbs Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Gary Kubiak Running Backs – Bobby Turner Wide Receivers – Mike Heimerdinger Tight Ends – Brian Pariani Assistant Offensive Line – Barney Chavous Offensive Assistant – Rick Dennison

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Greg Robinson Defensive Line – George Dyer Linebackers – Frank Bush Defensive Backs/Secondary – Ed Donatell Defensive Assistant – Rick Smith Special teams coaches Special Teams – Richard Smith Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Rich Tuten Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Greg Saporta Strength Assistant – Barney Chavous

Roster

1996 Denver Broncos roster

	Quarterbacks  7 John Elway  8 Jeff Lewis 14 Bill Musgrave Running backs 29 Aaron Craver FB 30 Terrell Davis 22 Vaughn Hebron KR 38 Reggie Rivers 42 Detron Smith FB Wide receivers 82 Patrick Jeffers 81 Todd Kinchen PR 87 Ed McCaffrey 83 Anthony Miller 88 Mike Sherrard 80 Rod Smith PR Tight ends 89 Dwayne Carswell 86 Byron Chamberlain 84 Shannon Sharpe		Offensive linemen 70 Jamie Brown T 63 David Diaz-Infante G 75 Brian Habib G 68 Reggie McElroy T 66 Tom Nalen C 69 Mark Schlereth G 64 Ralph Tamm G/C 76 Broderick Thompson T 65 Gary Zimmerman T Defensive linemen 67 Mark Campbell DT 79 Jumpy Geathers DT 96 Harald Hasselbach DE 72 Ernest Jones DE/DT 97 Mike Lodish DT 95 Michael Dean Perry DT 94 Jeff Robinson DE/LS 98 Maa Tanuvasa DT 91 Alfred Williams DE 90 Dan Williams DE		Linebackers 57 Allen Aldridge MLB 56 Keith Burns MLB 59 Glenn Cadrez OLB 54 Britt Hager OLB 51 John Mobley OLB 53 Bill Romanowski OLB Defensive backs 27 Steve Atwater FS 34 Tyrone Braxton SS 39 Ray Crockett CB 37 Tim Hauck FS 21 Randy Hilliard CB 20 Tory James CB 25 Darrius Johnson CB 31 Rondell Jones SS 48 Lionel Washington CB Special teams  1 Jason Elam K 16 Tom Rouen P		Reserve lists 77 Jason Childs T (PUPTooltip Physically unable to perform) -- Steve Russ LB (Reserve/Military) Practice squad -- Reggie Green G 60 John Jones G -- Marcus Price T 41 Michael Titley TE 32 Tony Veland RB 53 active, 2 inactive, 5 practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 1	New York Jets	W 31–6	1–0	Mile High Stadium	70,595	Recap
2	September 8	at Seattle Seahawks	W 30–20	2–0	Kingdome	43,671	Recap
3	September 15	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–23	3–0	Mile High Stadium	71,535	Recap
4	September 22	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 14–17	3–1	Arrowhead Stadium	79,439	Recap
5	September 29	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 14–10	4–1	Cinergy Field	51,798	Recap
6	October 6	San Diego Chargers	W 28–17	5–1	Mile High Stadium	75,058	Recap
7	Bye
8	October 20	Baltimore Ravens	W 45–34	6–1	Mile High Stadium	70,453	Recap
9	October 27	Kansas City Chiefs	W 34–7	7–1	Mile High Stadium	75,652	Recap
10	November 4	at Oakland Raiders	W 22–21	8–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	61,179	Recap
11	November 10	Chicago Bears	W 17–12	9–1	Mile High Stadium	75,555	Recap
12	November 17	at New England Patriots	W 34–8	10–1	Foxboro Stadium	59,457	Recap
13	November 24	at Minnesota Vikings	W 21–17	11–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	59,142	Recap
14	December 1	Seattle Seahawks	W 34–7	12–1	Mile High Stadium	74,982	Recap
15	December 8	at Green Bay Packers	L 6–41	12–2	Lambeau Field	60,712	Recap
16	December 15	Oakland Raiders	W 24–19	13–2	Mile High Stadium	75,466	Recap
17	December 22	at San Diego Chargers	L 10–16	13–3	Jack Murphy Stadium	46,801	Recap

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(1) Denver Broncos	13	3	0	.813	391	275	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	9	7	0	.563	297	300	L3
San Diego Chargers	8	8	0	.500	310	376	W1
Oakland Raiders	7	9	0	.438	340	293	L2
Seattle Seahawks	7	9	0	.438	317	376	W1

Postseason

See also: 1996–97 NFL playoffs

Schedule

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
Wild Card	First-round bye
Divisional	January 4, 1997	Jacksonville Jaguars (5)	L 27–30	0–1	Mile High Stadium	75,678	Recap

AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs (5) Jacksonville Jaguars

AFC Divisional Playoffs: (5) Jacksonville Jaguars at (1) Denver Broncos – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	0	13	7	10	30
Broncos	12	0	0	15	27

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO

• Date: January 4, 1997
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. (Mountain Time)
• Game weather: 36 °F (2 °C), sunny
• Game attendance: 75,678

Awards and records

AP Offensive Player of the Year – Terrell Davis

UPI AFL-AFC Offensive MVP – Terrell Davis (1996 was the last year this award was given out)

Terrell Davis set franchise rushing record for most carries (345) in a season and most rushing touchdowns (13) in a season

Milestones

Terrell Davis reached 1,000 yards faster than any Denver Bronco running back in franchise history

External links

• Denver Broncos – 1996 media guide
• Broncos on Pro Football Reference
• Broncos Schedule on jt-sw.com