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1983 Denver Broncos season

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1983 Denver Broncos season
OwnerEdgar Kaiser
General managerHein Poulus
Head coachDan Reeves
Home fieldMile High Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place3rd AFC West
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Seahawks) 7–31
Uniform

The 1983 Denver Broncos season was its 24th in professional football and 14th in the National Football League (NFL). Led by third-year head coach Dan Reeves, the Broncos were 9–7, third in the AFC West, and made their first playoff appearance in four seasons.

Before the season, the Broncos traded with the Baltimore Colts for the rights to first overall pick in the 1983 draft, quarterback John Elway. He started ten games for the Broncos as a rookie, and the team won four of them.[1] In his first two starts, both road wins, Elway left the game trailing, relieved by veteran Steve DeBerg.[2][3]

After three straight losses, Elway was benched by Reeves in early October;[4] and DeBerg led the team to four consecutive victories and a 6–3 record. A shoulder injury in a loss in Seattle sidelined him and Elway again became the starter.[5][6] In the rematch with Seattle two weeks later in Denver, Elway was out with the flu and third-string rookie Gary Kubiak led the Broncos to a win.[7][8]

Elway's finest game as a rookie came in week 15, the Broncos' second game against Baltimore, the team that drafted him. Denver trailed 19–0 at the start of the fourth quarter, until Elway threw for three touchdowns in the final period to win 21–19 and kept their playoff hopes alive.[9][10] The following week was a lopsided road loss at Kansas City in −30 °F (−34 °C) wind chill, but the Broncos made the playoffs, gaining the final AFC berth over Cleveland, also at 9–7, whom they defeated in week 14.[11]

DeBerg started the wild card playoff loss in Seattle,[8][12] and was relieved by Elway in the fourth quarter.[13]

The Broncos' wild-card playoff loss to the Seahawks marked their only playoff appearance during the three-year ownership of Edgar Kaiser Jr.; Pat Bowlen bought the team the following spring.

NFL Draft

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Main article: 1983 NFL Draft
1983 Denver Broncos draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 4 Chris Hinton  Guard Northwestern traded to the Baltimore Colts along with Quarterback Mark Herrmann and the Broncos' first round pick in the 1984 NFL Draft for John Elway
2 31 Mark Cooper  Tackle Miami (FL) 1983-1987 (5 seasons) then Tampa Bay from 1987-1989
3 60 Clint Sampson  Wide Receiver San Diego State 1983-1986 (4 seasons)
5 116 George "Weedy" Harris  Linebacker Houston
5 125 Bruce Baldwin  Defensive Back Harding
6 143 Victor Heflin  Defensive Back Delaware State not signed by the Broncos, but went on to play for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1983-1984
7 172 Myron Dupree  Defensive Back North Carolina Central 1983
8 197 Gary Kubiak  Quarterback Texas A&M 1983-1991 (9 seasons)
9 228 Brian Hawkins  Defensive Back San Jose State
10 254 Walt Bowyer  Defensive End Arizona State 1983-1984, 1987-1988 (4 seasons)
11 283 Don Bailey  Center Miami (FL) not signed by the Broncos, but went on to play for the Indianapolis Colts from 1984-1985
12 310 Karl Mecklenburg *  Linebacker Minnesota 1983-1994 (12 seasons), 6x Pro Bowl, 4x First Team All-Pro, Denver Broncos Ring of Fame
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[14]

Personnel

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Staff

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1983 Denver Broncos staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Source:[15]

Roster

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1983 Denver Broncos roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Preseason

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 5 Seattle Seahawks W 10–7 1–0 Mile High Stadium 53,887
2 August 13 Atlanta Falcons W 21–10 2–0 Mile High Stadium 73,199
3 August 20 Cleveland Browns W 19–10 3–0 Mile High Stadium 73,244
4 August 26 at Minnesota Vikings L 3–34 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,435

Regular season

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Main article: 1983 NFL season

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 4 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 14–10 1–0 Three Rivers Stadium 58,233
2 September 11 at Baltimore Colts W 17–10 2–0 Memorial Stadium 52,613
3 September 18 Philadelphia Eagles L 10–13 2–1 Mile High Stadium 74,202
4 September 25 Los Angeles Raiders L 7–22 2–2 Mile High Stadium 74,289
5 October 2 at Chicago Bears L 14–31 2–3 Soldier Field 58,210
6 October 9 at Houston Oilers W 26–14 3–3 Astrodome 44,209
7 October 16 Cincinnati Bengals W 24–17 4–3 Mile High Stadium 74,305
8 October 23 San Diego Chargers W 14–6 5–3 Mile High Stadium 74,581
9 October 30 Kansas City Chiefs W 27–24 6–3 Mile High Stadium 74,640
10 November 6 at Seattle Seahawks L 19–27 6–4 Kingdome 61,189
11 November 13 at Los Angeles Raiders L 20–22 6–5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 51,945
12 November 20 Seattle Seahawks W 38–27 7–5 Mile High Stadium 74,710
13 November 27 at San Diego Chargers L 7–31 7–6 Jack Murphy Stadium 43,650
14 December 4 Cleveland Browns W 27–6 8–6 Mile High Stadium 70,912
15 December 11 Baltimore Colts W 21–19 9–6 Mile High Stadium 74,864
16 December 18 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17–48 9–7 Arrowhead Stadium 11,377
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1 (Sunday, September 4, 1983): at Pittsburgh Steelers

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1 234Total
• Broncos 0 707 14
Steelers 0 730 10
Scoring summary
2DENSammy Winder 1 yard run (Rich Karlis kick)Broncos 7–0
2PITFranco Harris 4 yard run (Gary Anderson kick)Tie 7–7
3PITGary Anderson 31 yard field goalSteelers 10–7
4DENRon Egloff 2 yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Rich Karlis kick)Broncos 14–10

Source:[2][16]

Week 2 (Sunday, September 11, 1983): at Baltimore Colts

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Week 2: Denver Broncos at Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Broncos (2–0) 0 3 01417
Colts (1–1) 3 0 0710

at Memorial Stadium • Baltimore, Maryland

  • Date: September 11
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. MDT
  • Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C), wind 10 mph (16 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 52,613
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert (play–by–play) and John Brodie (color commentator)
  • [17][18]
Team Category Player Statistics
DEN Passing
Rushing
Receiving
BAL Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Broncos Game Statistics Colts
First downs
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passes
Sacked–yards
Net passing yards
Total yards
Return yards
Punts
Fumbles–lost
Penalties–yards
Time of possession

Individual stats

Week 3 (Sunday, September 18, 1983): vs. Philadelphia Eagles

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Week 4 (Sunday, September 25, 1983): vs. Los Angeles Raiders

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Week 5 (Sunday, October 2, 1983): at Chicago Bears

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Week 5: Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Broncos (2–3) 0 0 7714
Bears (2–3) 14 10 0731

at Soldier Field • Chicago, Illinois

Team Category Player Statistics
DEN Passing
Rushing
Receiving
CHI Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Broncos Game Statistics Bears
First downs
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passes
Sacked–yards
Net passing yards
Total yards
Return yards
Punts
Fumbles–lost
Penalties–yards
Time of possession

Individual stats

Week 6 (Sunday, October 9, 1983): at Houston Oilers

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Week 7 (Sunday, October 16, 1983): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

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Week 8 (Sunday, October 23, 1983): vs. San Diego Chargers

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Week 9 (Sunday, October 30, 1983): vs. Kansas City Chiefs

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Week 10 (Sunday, November 6, 1983): at Seattle Seahawks

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Week 11 (Sunday, November 13, 1983): at Los Angeles Raiders

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Week 12 (Sunday, November 20, 1983): vs. Seattle Seahawks

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Week 13 (Sunday, November 27, 1983): at San Diego Chargers

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Week 14 (Sunday, December 4, 1983): vs. Cleveland Browns

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Week 15 (Sunday, December 11, 1983): vs. Baltimore Colts

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Week 15: Baltimore Colts at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Colts (6–9) 3 13 3019
Broncos (9–6) 0 0 02121

at Mile High Stadium • Denver, Colorado

Team Category Player Statistics
BAL Passing Mike Pagel 13/27, 217 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Curtis Dickey 19 CAR, 92 YDS
Receiving Bernard Henry 8 REC, 169 YDS, 1 TD
DEN Passing John Elway 23/44, 345 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing John Elway 3 CAR, 23 YDS
Receiving Steve Watson 4 REC, 98 YDS
Colts Game Statistics Broncos
First downs
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passes
Sacked–yards
Net passing yards
Total yards
Return yards
Punts
Fumbles–lost
Penalties–yards
Time of possession

Individual stats

Week 16 (Sunday, December 18, 1983): at Kansas City Chiefs

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Standings

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AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Raiders(1) 12 4 0 .750 6–2 10–2 442 338 W1
Seattle Seahawks(4) 9 7 0 .563 5–3 8–4 403 397 W2
Denver Broncos(5) 9 7 0 .563 3–5 9–5 302 327 L1
San Diego Chargers 6 10 0 .375 4–4 4–8 358 462 L1
Kansas City Chiefs 6 10 0 .375 2–6 4–8 386 367 W1

Playoffs

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Main article: 1983–84 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance
AFC Wild Card Playoff December 24 at Seattle Seahawks (4) L 7–31 0–1 Kingdome 60,752
Source:[8][12][13]

Playoff game summaries

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AFC Wild Card Playoffs (Saturday, December 24, 1983): at (4) Seattle Seahawks

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References

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  1. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1983 Denver Broncos
  2. ^ a b "Elway hurt; DeBerg directs Broncos win". Gadsden Times. Alabama. Associated Press. September 5, 1983. p. B4.
  3. ^ "Denver's DeBerg keeps rescuing $5 million man". Palm Beach Post. wire services. September 13, 1983. p. D6.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Struggling Broncos bench Elway, DeBerg starter for rest of season". Montreal Gazette. UPI. October 6, 1983. p. D-14.
  5. ^ Harris, John (November 7, 1983). "Warner shows off for grandfather". Spokane Chronicle. p. 21.
  6. ^ "Elway back as starter after Broncos lose DeBerg". Montreal Gazette. news services. November 8, 1983. p. D10.
  7. ^ Mossman, John (November 21, 1983). "Broncos romp behind reserve QB". Spokane Chronicle. Associated Press. p. C1.
  8. ^ a b c "Broncos center ball to DeBerg for playoff against Seahawks". Pittsburgh Press. Associated Press. December 23, 1983. p. C2.
  9. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: Baltimore Colts 19 at Denver Broncos 21; Sunday, December 11, 1983
  10. ^ "NFL roundup". Spokane Chronicle. Associated Press. December 12, 1983. p. 15.
  11. ^ "NFL roundup". Spokane Chronicle. Associated Press. December 19, 1983. p. 28.
  12. ^ a b Cour, Jim (December 23, 1983). "Broncos to bench Elway, start DeBerg". Evening News. Newburgh-Beacon, New York. Associated Press. p. 2B.
  13. ^ a b Hewitt, Brian (December 26, 1983). "The laughing stops". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). (Chicago Sun-Times). p. 21.
  14. ^ "1983 Denver Broncos Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  15. ^ 2010 Denver Broncos Media Guide. p. 361. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  16. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  17. ^ Pro Football Reference; Denver Broncos at Baltimore Colts – September 11, 1983
  18. ^ The Football Database; Denver Broncos at Baltimore Colts – September 11, 1983
  19. ^ Pro Football Reference; Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears – October 2, 1983
  20. ^ The Football Database; Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears – October 2, 1983
  21. ^ Pro Football Reference; Baltimore Colts at Denver Broncos – December 11, 1983
  22. ^ The Football Database; Baltimore Colts at Denver Broncos – December 11, 1983
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