1977 Broncos paved road to Super Bowl
That team gave Denver its first AFC title
Nearly 40 years ago, coach Red Miller, quarterback Craig Morton and the 1977 Broncoswere etching the details of a historic season that put Denver on the NFL map.
The Broncos advanced to their first appearance in the AFC championship game, and none other than the hated Oakland Raiders were standing in the way of a first trip to the Super Bowl. Oakland handed Denver its only home loss of that season, 24-14, atMile High Stadium.
Theweek leading up to the AFC championship game was far from normal. Morton spent the entire week in a Denver hospital for treatment on a hip pointer and to rest his battered knees and didn’t practice. Backup quarterback NorrisWeese ran the Broncos’ offense at practice all week.
“Red got the gameplan tomeonWednesday, but there wasn’t much new,” Morton said last week from his home in the San Francisco area. “I literally went from the hospital room to the stadium. If there was anything new, I worked on it in pregame warm-ups. We couldn’tworry if the Raiders were watching what we were doing. It was the only chancewe had to go through some things.”
Whether Morton would play in the AFC title game had everyone guessing throughout the week about his status. Miller believedMorton would at least give it a try.
“Hewas pretty much black and blue from his waist to his toe, but I knew he was a tough guy,” Miller said. “When I asked him if he could go, he said if someone tied his shoes for him, he’d give it a try.”
Morton not only played, he helped lead the Broncos to a 20-17 victory and a berth in Super Bowl XII.
The Raiders took a 3-0 lead, but Morton fired touchdown strikes of 74 yards and 12 yards to wide receiver HavenMoses. Running back Jon Keyworth also scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run.
“We rode our defense all year,” Morton said.
And it wasn’t any different in the AFC championship game.
An interception by linebacker Bob Swenson and fumble recoveries by defensive end Brison Manor and linebacker Larry Evans helped limit Oakland’s running game to 94 yards and offset twoTDpasses fromKenny Stabler to tight end Dave Casper. The Broncos are 7-2 in AFC championship games: Season W/L Score 1977 W at Denver 20, Oakland 17 1986 W Denver 23, at Cleveland 20 (OT) 1987 W at Denver 38, Cleveland 33 1989 W at Denver 37, Cleveland 21 1991 L at Buffalo 10, Denver 7 1997 W Denver 24, at Pittsburgh 21 1998 W at Denver 23, N.Y. Jets 10 2005 L Pittsburgh 34, at Denver 17 2013 W at Denver 26, New England 16
“We had a lot of confidence evenwith the question at quarterback,” Moses said last week. “Craig’s arm still was intact, and therewasn’t a lot of magic involved inwhat we wanted to do offensively.”
BillyThompson, a safetywho had a teamleading five interceptions during the regular season, remembers a lot of concern in the Broncos’ locker room before the game.
“We knewthat Craigwas pretty beat up,” Thompson said. “Our defense had to be really stout. We couldn’t give up anything.”
There are some striking similarities between the Broncos of 1977 and the Broncos of 2015.
Strong defense connects both Denver teams. Miller and GaryKubiak coached the Broncos to the AFC championship game in their first year at the helm in Denver. Quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski are the dynamic duo for New England, much the same as Stabler and Casper were for Oakland in 1977. And health at quarterback with Morton in 1977 and Peyton Manning this season fostered similar concerns heading into the big game.
Mortonwent on to play four-plus seasons with the Broncos, but there is speculation this could be Manning’s last season, at least with the Broncos.
“I’m not even going to try to predictwhat Peyton is going to do,” Morton said. “But I believe he knows right nowwhat he’s going to do.”
Morton enjoys reliving one of the highlights of his career.
“It’s the most gratifying victory ofmy career,” he said of beating the Raiders. IrvMoss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or @irvmoss