1991 Denver Broncos season

1991 Denver Broncos season
Head Coach	Dan Reeves
General Manager	John Beake
Home Field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	12–4
Place	1st AFC West
Playoff Finish	Lost AFC Championship Game
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1990	1992

The 1991 Denver Broncos season was the team's 32nd year in professional football and its 22nd with the National Football League.

Personnel

Staff

1991 Denver Broncos staff
	Front office President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen General Manager – John Beake Director of Football Operations – Lide Huggins Director of Player Personnel – Reed Johnson Head coaches Vice President/Head Coach – Dan Reeves Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Mike Shanahan Running Backs – Mo Forte Wide Receivers – George Henshaw Tight Ends – Harold Richardson Offensive Line – Pete Mangurian Special Assistant – Marvin Bass			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Wade Phillips Defensive Line – Ernie Stautner Linebackers – Mike Nolan Defensive Backs – Charlie Waters Defensive Assistant – Barney Chavous Defensive Quality Control – Joe DeCamillis Special teams coaches Special Teams – Harold Richardson Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Al Miller

Roster

1991 Denver Broncos roster
	Quarterbacks  7 John Elway  8 Gary Kubiak Running backs 28 Gaston Green 41 Greg Lewis 30 Steve Sewell 26 Bobby Humphrey 33 Bob Perryman FB 38 Reggie Lewis FB Wide receivers 82 Vance Johnson PR 84 Ricky Nattiel 85 Derek Russell 80 Mark Jackson 83 Michael Young 86 Barry Johnson Tight ends 89 Reggie Johnson 81 Shannon Sharpe 88 Clarence Kay		Offensive linemen 69 Darrell Hamilton T 74 Harvey Salem T 62 Jeff Davidson T 68 Crawford Ker G 79 Dave Widell G/T/C 72 Keith Kartz C/T 60 Nick Subis C/T 67 Doug Widell G 63 Sean Farrell G 76 Ken Lanier T Defensive linemen 92 Alphonso Carreker DE 91 Warren Powers DE 90 Ron Holmes DE 96 Kenny Walker DE 71 Greg Kragen DT 70 Brian Sochia DT		Linebackers 73 Simon Fletcher DE/OLB 59 Tim Lucas OLB/ST 51 Mike Croel ILB 77 Karl Mecklenburg DL/ILB 54 Keith Traylor ILB/DT 56 Michael Brooks OLB 52 Jeff Mills OLB 96 Ronnie Haliburton OLB 57 Mark Murray OLB Defensive backs 34 Tyrone Braxton CB/S 24 Wymon Henderson CB 21 Le-Lo Lang CB 29 Charles Dimry CB 20 Kevin Clark CB/S/PR 27 Steve Atwater FS 22 Alton Montgomery FS/KR 49 Dennis Smith SS 48 Randy Robbins SS Special teams 9 David Treadwell K 2 Mike Horan P		Reserve lists 66 Jim Juriga G/T (IR) Practice squad 12 Shawn Moore QB Rookies in italics Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 1, 1991	Cincinnati Bengals	W 45–14	72,855
2	September 8, 1991	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 16–13	48,569
3	September 15, 1991	Seattle Seahawks	W 16–10	74,152
4	September 22, 1991	San Diego Chargers	W 27–19	73,258
5	September 29, 1991	at Minnesota Vikings	W 13–6	55,031
6	October 6, 1991	at Houston Oilers	L 42–14	59,145
7	Bye
8	October 20, 1991	Kansas City Chiefs	W 19–16	75,866
9	October 27, 1991	at New England Patriots	W 9–6	43,994
10	November 3, 1991	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 20–13	70,973
11	November 10, 1991	Los Angeles Raiders	L 17–16	75,896
12	November 17, 1991	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 24–20	74,661
13	November 24, 1991	at Seattle Seahawks	L 13–10	60,430
14	December 1, 1991	New England Patriots	W 20–3	67,116
15	December 8, 1991	at Cleveland Browns	W 17–7	73,539
16	December 15, 1991	Phoenix Cardinals	W 24–19	74,098
17	December 22, 1991	at San Diego Chargers	W 17–14	51,449

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Denver Broncos	12	4	0	.750	304	235
Kansas City Chiefs	10	6	0	.625	322	252
Los Angeles Raiders	9	7	0	.563	298	297
Seattle Seahawks	7	9	0	.438	276	261
San Diego Chargers	4	12	0	.250	274	342

Playoffs

AFC Championship Game

Buffalo Bills 10, Denver Broncos 7 1 2 3 4 Total Broncos 0 0 0 7 7 Bills 0 0 7 3 10 at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C), clear Game attendance: 80,272 Referee: Dale Hamer TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bill Walsh

Buffalo relied on missed field goals by Denver and some key plays from their defense to narrowly defeat the Broncos in a tough defensive struggle. Although the first half was scoreless, the Broncos advanced into Buffalo territory on all five of their possessions in the first half. However, Denver kicker David Treadwell missed 3 field goals, hitting the goal posts twice and driving the other attempt wide right.

Late in the third quarter, the Broncos faced second down and 10 at their own 19-yard line. Quarterback John Elway threw a shovel pass intended for running back Steve Sewell, but it was tipped by Bills defensive lineman Jeff Wright into the arms of linebacker Carlton Bailey, who returned the ball 11 yards for Buffalo's only touchdown of the game. Elway was then knocked out of the game after suffering a deep thigh bruise, and was replaced by backup Gary Kubiak. With 4:18 left in the game, Buffalo kicker Scott Norwood made a 44-yard field goal to increase the lead, 10–0. Kubiak, who was playing in his last NFL game before retiring, led the Broncos 85 yards in eight plays and scored a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:43 left. Denver then recovered the ensuing onside kick, but the Bills clinched the victory after defensive back Kirby Jackson forced and recovered a fumble from running back Steve Sewell.

Broncos receiver Vance Johnson finished the game with 8 receptions for 104 yards. Kubiak completed 11 of 12 passes for 136 yards and rushed for 22.

Scoring BUF – Bailey 11 interception return (Norwood kick) BUF 7–0 BUF – field goal Norwood 44 BUF 10–0 DEN – Kubiak 3 run (Treadwell kick) BUF 10–7

External links

• Broncos on Pro Football Reference
• Broncos Schedule on jt-sw.com