1988 Denver Broncos season

1988 Denver Broncos season
Owner	Pat Bowlen
General manager	John Beake
Head coach	Dan Reeves
Home stadium	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	2nd AFC West
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Uniform
←  1987 Broncos seasons 1989  →

The 1988 season was the Denver Broncos' 29th year in professional football and its 19th with the National Football League (NFL). The Broncos entered the season as two-time defending AFC champions and looked to advance to the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season. The Broncos were led by Dan Reeves, their Head Coach, in his eighth season at this position as well as for the team. Future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway came into the season as the reigning MVP, the only time he won this award in his career. After losing back-to-back Super Bowls, the Broncos added future Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett through a trade in the offseason. There was hope that he would contribute to the ground game and help them cross the threshold to win a Super Bowl. The trade brought the 34-year-old running back to Denver for a conditional 5th-round pick (WFAA).

Despite the upgrade, having the reigning MVP, and having gone to two straight Super Bowls, the Broncos missed the playoffs and finished with an 8-8 record, second to the Seattle Seahawks in their division. Injuries, a bad run game, and a poor defense all contributed to the disappointing season (LATimes). John Elway had a down year after his MVP win, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns. The trade for Tony Dorsett did not work out as both he and Sammy Winder, the second-string running back, finished with inefficient running at under four yards per carry.

After the season, the last remaining Bronco from their Super Bowl XII team, offensive lineman Billy Bryan, retired, ending a 12-year era for the team. The lackluster defense, which included ranking 28th against the run, ended in the firing of defensive coordinator Joe Collier at the same time. Joe Collier spent sixteen seasons with the team, being the mastermind behind the famed 'Orange Crush Defense' of the late 1970s and early 1980s (Deardo).

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Off season

NFL draft

Main article: 1988 NFL draft

1988 Denver Broncos draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	26	Ted Gregory	NT	Syracuse
2	45	Gerald Perry	Tackle	Southern University
3	79	Kevin Guidry	Cornerback	LSU
5	136	Corris Ervin	DB	Central Florida
7	174	Pat Kelly	TE	Syracuse
7	192	Garry Frank	Guard	Mississippi State
9	248	Mel Farr Jr.	Running back	UCLA
10	268	Channing Williams	RB	Arizona State
11	304	Shaun Grady	RB	Duke
12	332	Michael Rhyan	QB	Cal State Fullerton
Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1988 Denver Broncos staff

Front office President and chief executive officer – Pat Bowlen General manager – John Beake Director of player personnel – Reed Johnson Director of pro personnel – Lide Huggins Head coaches Vice president/head coach – Dan Reeves Assistant head coach/defense – Joe Collier Special assistant – Marvin Bass Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Chan Gailey Running backs – Mo Forte Wide receivers – Larry Kennan Tight ends/assistant offensive line – Pete Mangurian Offensive line – George Henshaw

Defensive coaches Defensive line – Stan Jones Assistant defensive line – Rubin Carter Linebackers – Myrel Moore Defensive backs – Charlie West Special teams coaches Special teams/assistant linebackers – Mike Nolan Special teams/assistant defensive backs – Charlie Waters Strength and conditioning Strength/conditioning – Al Miller

Roster

1988 Denver Broncos roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  7 John Elway 12 Ken Karcher  8 Gary Kubiak Running backs (RB) 35 Ken Bell KR 33 Tony Dorsett 30 Steve Sewell 23 Sammy Winder FB Wide receivers (WR) 80 Mark Jackson 87 Jason Johnson KR 82 Vance Johnson 84 Ricky Nattiel Tight ends (TE) 88 Clarence Kay 86 Pat Kelly 89 Orson Mobley

Offensive linemen (OL) 54 Keith Bishop 64 Billy Bryan C 78 Winford Hood T 66 Jim Juriga G/T 72 Keith Kartz G 76 Ken Lanier T 60 Gerald Perry G 57 Mike Ruether C 70 Dave Studdard T Defensive linemen (DL) 65 Walt Bowyer DE 90 Freddie Gilbert DE 75 Rulon Jones DE 99 Shawn Knight NT 71 Greg Kragen NT 61 Andre Townsend DE

Linebackers (LB) 56 Michael Brooks OLB 95 Steve Bryan ILB 55 Rick Dennison ILB 73 Simon Fletcher OLB 59 Tim Lucas OLB 77 Karl Mecklenburg ILB 51 Marc Munford ILB 50 Jim Ryan LB Defensive backs (DB) 34 Tyrone Braxton CB 28 Jeremiah Castille CB 37 Kevin Guidry CB 31 Mike Harden FS 36 Mark Haynes CB 48 Randy Robbins SS 49 Dennis Smith SS 45 Steve Wilson CB Special teams (ST)  2 Mike Horan P  3 Rich Karlis K

Practice squad none 47 active, 10 inactiveReserve 40 Jeff Alexander FB (IR) 25 Kip Corrington S (IR) 83 Sam Graddy WR (IR) 79 Stefan Humphries G (IR) 97 Bruce Klosterman LB (IR) 85 Rick Massie WR (IR) 74 Andrew Provence DT (IR) 94 Randy Thornton LB (IR) 81 Steve Watson WR (IR) 47 Gerald Willhite (IR) Rookies in italics

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Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 4	Seattle Seahawks	L 14–21	0–1	Mile High Stadium	75,986
2	September 11	San Diego Chargers	W 34–3	1–1	Mile High Stadium	75,359
3	September 18	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 13–20	1–2	Arrowhead Stadium	63,268
4	September 26	Los Angeles Raiders	L 27–30 (OT)	1–3	Mile High Stadium	75,964
5	October 2	at San Diego Chargers	W 12–0	2–3	Jack Murphy Stadium	55,763
6	October 9	at San Francisco 49ers	W 16–13 (OT)	3–3	Candlestick Park	61,711
7	October 16	Atlanta Falcons	W 30–14	4–3	Mile High Stadium	75,287
8	October 23	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 21–39	4–4	Three Rivers Stadium	49,811
9	October 31	at Indianapolis Colts	L 23–55	4–5	Hoosier Dome	60,544
10	November 6	Kansas City Chiefs	W 17–11	5–5	Mile High Stadium	74,227
11	November 13	Cleveland Browns	W 30–7	6–5	Mile High Stadium	75,806
12	November 20	at New Orleans Saints	L 0–42	6–6	Louisiana Superdome	68,075
13	November 27	Los Angeles Rams	W 35–24	7–6	Mile High Stadium	74,141
14	December 4	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 20–21	7–7	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	65,561
15	December 11	at Seattle Seahawks	L 14–42	7–8	Kingdome	62,838
16	December 17	New England Patriots	W 21–10	8–8	Mile High Stadium	70,910
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 9 at Colts

Week Nine: Denver Broncos (4–4) at Indianapolis Colts (3–5)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	10	0	13	23
Colts	21	24	3	7	55

at Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

• Date: October 31
• Game time: 8:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Indoors (dome)
• Game attendance: 60,544
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels
• Box Score, Box Score

Game information

First quarter IND – Eric Dickerson 12-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 9:41. Colts 7–0. IND – Eric Dickerson 11-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 5:39. Colts 14–0. IND – Eric Dickerson 1-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 0:16. Colts 21–0. Second quarter IND – Dean Biasucci 31-yard field goal, 13:22. Colts 24–0. IND – Eric Dickerson 41-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 11:47. Colts 31–0. DEN – Steve Sewell 2-yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick, 9:54. Colts 31–7. IND – Bill Brooks 53-yard pass from Gary Hogeboom (Dean Biasucci kick), 7:08. Colts 38–7. DEN – Rich Karlis 27-yard field goal, 1:00. Colts 38–10. IND – Clarence Verdin 40-yard pass from Chris Chandler (Dean Biasucci kick), 0:22. Colts 45–10. Third quarter IND – Dean Biasucci 27-yard field goal, 6:34. Colts 48–10. Fourth quarter IND – Albert Bentley 4-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 11:49. Colts 55–10. DEN – Vance Johnson 7-yard pass from Gary Kubiak (kick failed), 6:07. Colts 55–17. DEN – Steve Sewell 48-yard pass from Gary Kubiak (Rich Karlis kick), 5:39. Colts 55–23. Top passers DEN – John Elway – 15/27, 158 yards, TD IND – Chris Chandler – 10/13, 167 yards, TD Top rushers DEN – Ricky Nattiel – 1 rush, 29 yards IND – Eric Dickerson – 21 rushes, 159 yards, 4 TD Top receivers DEN – Steve Sewell – 6 receptions, 82 yards, 2 TD IND – Bill Brooks – 3 receptions, 108 yards, TD

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 7 3 0 0 10 • Broncos 7 7 0 7 21 Date: December 17 Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C); wind 9 mph (14 km/h)

Scoring summary Q1 NE Stephens 23 yard run (Staurovsky kick) NE 7–0 Q1 DEN Winder 1 yard run (Karlis kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 DEN Dorsett 5 yard run (Karlis kick) DEN 14–7 Q2 NE Staurovsky 32 yard field goal DEN 14–10 Q4 DEN Winder 4 yard run (Karlis kick) DEN 21–10

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Standings

AFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Seattle Seahawks (3)	9	7	0	.563	6–2	8–4	339	329	W2
Denver Broncos	8	8	0	.500	3–5	5–7	327	352	W1
Los Angeles Raiders	7	9	0	.438	6–2	6–6	325	369	L2
San Diego Chargers	6	10	0	.375	3–5	4–8	231	332	W2
Kansas City Chiefs	4	11	1	.281	2–6	4–9–1	254	320	L2

References

1. Tony Dorsett Trade wfaa.com. Retrieved 2025-May-18.
2. 1988 Season Recap latimes.com. Retrieved 2025-May-18.
3. Joe Collier cbssports.com. Retrieved 2025-May-18.
4. "1988 Denver Broncos starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
5. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-19.

External links

• 1988 Denver Broncos season at jt-sw.com
• 1988 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com
• 1988 Season Reflection- LA times archives
• Denver Broncos – 1988 media guide
• Joe Collier at cbssports.com
• Tony Dorsett trade at wfaa.com
• Tony Dorsett trade hopes at sports illustrated vault