The 1967 Denver Broncos season was the eighth season for the team in the American Football League (AFL). Led by first-year head coach and general manager Lou Saban, the Broncos posted a record of three wins and eleven losses, last in the AFL's Western division. Running back Floyd Little, a first round draft choice (sixth overall), was team captain in his rookie season.[1] After an opening win at home, the Broncos lost nine straight games, then split the last four.
| 1967 Denver Broncos season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Gerald Phipps |
| General manager | Lou Saban |
| Head coach | Lou Saban |
| Home field | Bears Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–11 |
| Division place | 4th AFL Western |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Inter-league play between the AFL and NFL in the exhibition season began this year. In the first matchup on August 5, the Broncos defeated the Detroit Lions 13–7 and became the first AFL team to beat an NFL team.[2][3][4]
Before the season, the Broncos changed from orange helmets to blue helmets.[5]
This was the first season that the Broncos wore their now famous "Orange Crush" uniforms, but the famous D logo on the helmets would not appear until the next season. The team would make slight modifications to the uniforms throughout the years until they were retired 30 years later after the 1996 season. In 2024, the Orange Crush uniforms will return albeit in a slightly different design, retaining the helmet design from the 1997 uniforms (but retiring the 97 uniforms all together), along with the 1977 uniforms as a throwback.
Hired in December 1966, Saban left the University of Maryland after just one season; he had previously been an AFL head coach at Boston and Buffalo, where he won consecutive AFL titles.[6][7][8]
Personnel
editStaff
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Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
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Roster
editQuarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
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Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
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Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB) {{{defensive_back}}}
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Regular season
editSchedule
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | Boston Patriots | W 26–21 | 1–0 | Bears Stadium | 35,488 | Recap |
| 2 | September 10 | at Oakland Raiders | L 0–51 | 1–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 25,423 | Recap |
| 3 | September 17 | at Miami Dolphins | L 21–35 | 1–2 | Orange Bowl | 29,381 | Recap |
| 4 | September 24 | New York Jets | L 24–38 | 1–3 | Bears Stadium | 35,365 | Recap |
| 5 | October 1 | at Houston Oilers | L 6–10 | 1–4 | Rice Stadium | 21,798 | Recap |
| 6 | October 8 | Buffalo Bills | L 16–17 | 1–5 | Bears Stadium | 35,188 | Recap |
| 7 | Bye | ||||||
| 8 | October 22 | San Diego Chargers | L 21–38 | 1–6 | Bears Stadium | 34,464 | Recap |
| 9 | October 29 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 9–52 | 1–7 | Municipal Stadium | 44,002 | Recap |
| 10 | November 5 | Oakland Raiders | L 17–21 | 1–8 | Bears Stadium | 29,043 | Recap |
| 11 | November 12 | Houston Oilers | L 18–20 | 1–9 | Bears Stadium | 30,392 | Recap |
| 12 | November 19 | at Buffalo Bills | W 21–20 | 2–9 | War Memorial Stadium | 30,891 | Recap |
| 13 | November 23 | at San Diego Chargers | L 20–24 | 2–10 | San Diego Stadium | 34,586 | Recap |
| 14 | December 3 | at New York Jets | W 33–24 | 3–10 | Shea Stadium | 61,615 | Recap |
| 15 | Bye | ||||||
| 16 | December 17 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 24–38 | 3–11 | Bears Stadium | 31,660 | Recap |
| 17 | Bye | ||||||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
- Thursday (November 23: Thanksgiving)[9]
- With the expansion Miami Dolphins joining the AFL in 1966, there were an odd-number (9)
of teams for two seasons, resulting in multiple bye weeks for each team.
Game summaries
editWeek 14
edit
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Standings
edit| AFL Western Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Oakland Raiders | 13 | 1 | 0 | .929 | 6–0 | 468 | 233 | W10 | |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 2–4 | 408 | 254 | W3 | |
| San Diego Chargers | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 4–2 | 360 | 352 | L4 | |
| Denver Broncos | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 0–6 | 256 | 409 | L1 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.
References
edit- ^ Sports Illustrated, July 26, 2010, The Unexpected Hero by Gary Smith, p.60, Published by Time Inc.
- ^ "Broncs stun NFL's Lions in exhibition". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). August 6, 1967. p. 2, sports.
- ^ "AFL's Broncos shock Lions, 13-7". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. August 6, 1967. p. 2B.
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p.283
- ^ Saccomano, Jim (August 7, 2022). "Sacco Sez: How the orange and blue began". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
- ^ "Denver Broncos offer Lou Saban 10-year contract to coach AFL club". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 16, 1966. p. 23.
- ^ "Saban leaves Md. for Denver". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 17, 1966. p. 11.
- ^ Chass, Murray (December 17, 1966). "Lou Saban returning to bottom". Free Lance-Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. p. 6.
- ^ "Oakland holds lead; Cowboys, Rams win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 24, 1967. p. 35.
External links
edit- Denver Broncos – 1967 media guide
- 1967 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com
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