1966 Denver Broncos season

Last updated

1966 Denver Broncos season
Owner Gerald Phipps
General managerJames Burris
Head coach Mac Speedie (0–2)
Ray Malavasi (4–8)
Home field Bears Stadium
Results
Record4–10
Division place4th AFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1966 Denver Broncos season was the seventh season for the team in the American Football League (AFL). For the second straight season the Broncos posted a record of four wins, and ten losses, ranking last again for the fourth time in the AFL's Western Division. Following the second game of the season, head coach Mac Speedie abruptly resigned, [1] and offensive line coach Ray Malavasi was the interim head coach for the remaining twelve games. [2]

Contents

Denver's offense set a dubious all-time AFL record in 1966 with the fewest total points scored in a season, with 196, or 14 per game. [3] The Broncos are the last team in major professional football (AFL or NFL) to go an entire game without picking up a first down, [4] which they did in Week One at Houston. [5]

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1966 Denver Broncos staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches




Roster

1966 Denver Broncos roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)
  • 70Don SmithG

Defensive linemen (DL)

  • 66Larry Cox
 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 3at Houston Oilers L 7–450–1 Rice Stadium 30,156 Recap
2Bye
3September 18 Boston Patriots L 10–240–2 Bears Stadium 25,337 Recap
4September 25 New York Jets L 7–160–3Bears Stadium29,878 Recap
5October 2 Houston Oilers W 40–381–3Bears Stadium27,203 Recap
6October 8at Kansas City Chiefs L 10–371–4 Municipal Stadium 33,929 Recap
7October 16at Miami Dolphins L 7–241–5 Miami Orange Bowl 23,393 Recap
8October 23 Kansas City Chiefs L 10–561–6Bears Stadium26,196 Recap
9October 30at San Diego Chargers L 17–241–7 Balboa Stadium 25,819 Recap
10November 6at Boston Patriots W 17–102–7 Fenway Park 18,154 Recap
11Bye
12November 20 Oakland Raiders L 3–172–8Bears Stadium26,703 Recap
13November 27 San Diego Chargers W 20–173–8Bears Stadium24,860 Recap
14December 4 Miami Dolphins W 17–74–8Bears Stadium32,592 Recap
15December 11at Oakland Raiders L 10–284–9 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 31,765 Recap
16December 18at Buffalo Bills L 21–384–10 War Memorial Stadium 40,538 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

[5] [6]

Standings

AFL Western Division
WLTPCTDIVPFPASTK
Kansas City Chiefs 1121.8465–1448276W3
Oakland Raiders 851.6154–2315288W1
San Diego Chargers 761.5382–4335284L1
Denver Broncos 4100.2861–5196381L2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL. [7] [8]

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References

  1. ↑ "Speedie quits AFL's Denver". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. September 19, 1966. p. 4C.
  2. ↑ "Denver: Malavasi gets job". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire reports. September 20, 1966. p. 3B.
  3. ↑ Pro Football Reference ; Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1960 to 1969, in the AFL, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Points For
  4. ↑ Pro Football Reference; In a single game, from 1961 to 2018, requiring 1st Downs ≤1, sorted by ascending Date
  5. 1 2 "Oilers bomb Denver, 45-7". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. September 4, 1966. p. 12A.
  6. ↑ "Chiefs crush Broncs". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 9, 1966. p. 4B.
  7. ↑ "Chargers' tie jolt to Raiders". Oakland Tribune. November 26, 1965. p. 51 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "AFL standings". Lompoc Records. December 19, 1966. p. 2-B – via newspapers.com.
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