Before the season, the Broncos traded with the Baltimore Colts for the rights to first overall pick in the 1983 draft, quarterback John Elway. He started ten games for the Broncos as a rookie, and the team won four of them.[1] In his first two starts, both road wins, Elway left the game trailing, relieved by veteran Steve DeBerg.[2][3]
After three straight losses, Elway was benched by Reeves in early October;[4] and DeBerg led the team to four consecutive victories and a 6–3 record. A shoulder injury in a loss in Seattle sidelined him and Elway again became the starter.[5][6] In the rematch with Seattle two weeks later in Denver, Elway was out with the flu and third-string rookie Gary Kubiak led the Broncos to a win.[7][8]
Elway's finest game as a rookie came in Week 15, the Broncos' second game against Baltimore, the team that drafted him. Denver trailed 19–0 at the start of the fourth quarter, until Elway threw for three touchdowns in the final period to win 21–19 and kept their playoff hopes alive.[9][10] The following week was a lopsided road loss at Kansas City in −30 °F (−34 °C) wind chill, but the Broncos made the playoffs, gaining the final AFC berth over Cleveland, also at 9–7, whom they defeated in Week 14.[11]
DeBerg started the wild card playoff loss in Seattle,[8][12] and was relieved by Elway in the fourth quarter.[13]
The Broncos' wild-card playoff loss to the Seahawks marked their only playoff appearance during the three-year ownership of Edgar Kaiser Jr.; Pat Bowlen bought the team the following spring.
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The 1983 Denver Broncos season was its 24th in professional football and 14th in the National Football League NFL Led by third year head coach Dan Reeves the Broncos were 9 7 third in the AFC West and made their first playoff appearance in four seasons 1983 Denver Broncos seasonOwnerEdgar KaiserGeneral managerHein PoulusHead coachDan ReevesHome fieldMile High StadiumResultsRecord9 7Division place3rd AFC WestPlayoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs at Seahawks 7 31Uniform 1982 Broncos seasons 1984 Before the season the Broncos traded with the Baltimore Colts for the rights to first overall pick in the 1983 draft quarterback John Elway He started ten games for the Broncos as a rookie and the team won four of them 1 In his first two starts both road wins Elway left the game trailing relieved by veteran Steve DeBerg 2 3 After three straight losses Elway was benched by Reeves in early October 4 and DeBerg led the team to four consecutive victories and a 6 3 record A shoulder injury in a loss in Seattle sidelined him and Elway again became the starter 5 6 In the rematch with Seattle two weeks later in Denver Elway was out with the flu and third string rookie Gary Kubiak led the Broncos to a win 7 8 Elway s finest game as a rookie came in Week 15 the Broncos second game against Baltimore the team that drafted him Denver trailed 19 0 at the start of the fourth quarter until Elway threw for three touchdowns in the final period to win 21 19 and kept their playoff hopes alive 9 10 The following week was a lopsided road loss at Kansas City in 30 F 34 C wind chill but the Broncos made the playoffs gaining the final AFC berth over Cleveland also at 9 7 whom they defeated in Week 14 11 DeBerg started the wild card playoff loss in Seattle 8 12 and was relieved by Elway in the fourth quarter 13 The Broncos wild card playoff loss to the Seahawks marked their only playoff appearance during the three year ownership of Edgar Kaiser Jr Pat Bowlen bought the team the following spring Contents 1 NFL Draft 2 Personnel 2 1 Staff 2 2 Roster 3 Regular season 3 1 Schedule 3 2 Game summaries 3 2 1 Week 1 3 2 2 Week 2 3 2 3 Week 15 vs Colts 3 3 Standings 4 Playoffs 5 References 6 External linksNFL Draft EditMain article 1983 NFL Draft 1983 Denver Broncos draftRound Pick Player Position College Notes1 1 John Elway Quarterback Stanford traded to the Broncos by the Colts 1983 1998 16 seasons HoF 2x Super Bowl Champion Super Bowl MVP NFL MVP 9x Pro Bowl 3x All Pro1 4 Chris Hinton Guard Northwestern traded to the Baltimore Colts along with Quarterback Mark Herrmann and the Broncos first round pick in the 1984 NFL Draft for John Elway2 31 Mark Cooper Tackle Miami FL 1983 1987 5 seasons then Tampa Bay from 1987 19893 60 Clint Sampson Wide Receiver San Diego State 1983 1986 4 seasons 5 116 George Weedy Harris Linebacker Houston5 125 Bruce Baldwin Defensive Back Harding6 143 Victor Heflin Defensive Back Delaware State not signed by the Broncos but went on to play for the St Louis Cardinals from 1983 19847 172 Myron Dupree Defensive Back North Carolina Central 19838 197 Gary Kubiak Quarterback Texas A amp M 1983 1991 9 seasons 9 228 Brian Hawkins Defensive Back San Jose State10 254 Walt Bowyer Defensive End Arizona State 1983 1984 1987 1988 4 seasons 11 283 Don Bailey Center Miami FL not signed by the Broncos but went on to play for the Indianapolis Colts from 1984 198512 310 Karl Mecklenburg Linebacker Minnesota 1983 1994 12 seasons 6x Pro Bowl 4x First Team All Pro Denver Broncos Ring of Fame Made roster Pro Football Hall of Fame Made at least one Pro Bowl during career 14 Personnel EditStaff Edit 1983 Denver Broncos staff Front office Owner Edgar Kaiser Vice President General Manager Hein Poulus Director of Football Operations John Beake Coordinator of College Scouting Reed JohnsonHead coaches Head Coach Dan Reeves Assistant Head Coach Defense Joe Collier Special Assistant Marvin BassOffensive coaches Quarterbacks Wide Receivers John Hadl Running Backs Nick Nicolau Offensive Line Dan Radakovich Defensive coaches Defensive Line Stan Jones Linebackers Myrel Moore Defensive Backs Charlie WestSpecial teams coaches Special Teams Tight Ends Fran PolsfootStrength and conditioning Strength Conditioning IJ GormanSource 15 Roster Edit 1983 Denver Broncos roster Quarterbacks 7 John Elway 17 Steve DeBerg 8 Gary KubiakRunning backs 23 Sammy Winder RB 34 Nathan Poole FB 46 Dave Preston RB 47 Gerald Willhite RB 41 Rob Lytle RB 39 Jesse Myles RB 24 Rick Parros FBWide receivers 80 Rick Upchurch 81 Steve Watson 84 Clint Sampson 82 Zach ThomasTight ends 85 Ron Egloff 87 James Wright 83 John Sawyer 88 Riley Odoms 89 Clay Brown 86 Dean Barnett Offensive linemen 70 Dave Studdard LT 54 Keith Bishop LG 64 Billy Bryan C 60 Paul Howard RG 63 Ken Lanier RT 62 Tom Glassic G 67 Keith Uecker G T 63 Mark Cooper G T 73 Shawn Hollingsworth TDefensive linemen 79 Barney Chavous LDE 68 Rubin Carter NT 75 Rulon Jones RDE 66 Brison Manor DE 65 Walt Bowyer DE 72 Don Latimer NT 78 Rich Stachowski NT 74 Jerry Baker NT Linebackers 50 Jim Ryan LOLB 53 Randy Gradishar LILB 58 Steve Busick RILB 57 Tom Jackson ROLB 52 Ken Woodard 55 Rick Dennison 51 Bob Swenson 59 Darren Comeaux 77 Karl MecklenburgDefensive backs 20 Louis Wright LCB 49 Dennis Smith SS 43 Steve Foley FS 31 Mike Harden RCB 28 Roger Jackson 45 Steve Wilson 37 Steve Trimble 21 Myron Dupree 29 Wilbur MyersSpecial teams 3 Rich Karlis K 11 Luke Prestridge P Reserve lists Practice squadRookies in italicsRegular season EditMain article 1983 NFL season Schedule Edit Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance1 September 4 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 14 10 1 0 Three Rivers Stadium 58 2332 September 11 at Baltimore Colts W 17 10 2 0 Memorial Stadium 52 6133 September 18 Philadelphia Eagles L 10 13 2 1 Mile High Stadium 74 2024 September 25 Los Angeles Raiders L 7 22 2 2 Mile High Stadium 74 2895 October 2 at Chicago Bears L 14 31 2 3 Soldier Field 58 2106 October 9 at Houston Oilers W 26 14 3 3 Astrodome 44 2097 October 16 Cincinnati Bengals W 24 17 4 3 Mile High Stadium 74 3058 October 23 San Diego Chargers W 14 6 5 3 Mile High Stadium 74 5819 October 30 Kansas City Chiefs W 27 24 6 3 Mile High Stadium 74 64010 November 6 at Seattle Seahawks L 19 27 6 4 Kingdome 61 18911 November 13 at Los Angeles Raiders L 20 22 6 5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 51 94512 November 20 Seattle Seahawks W 38 27 7 5 Mile High Stadium 74 71013 November 27 at San Diego Chargers L 7 31 7 6 Jack Murphy Stadium 43 65014 December 4 Cleveland Browns W 27 6 8 6 Mile High Stadium 70 91215 December 11 Baltimore Colts W 21 19 9 6 Mile High Stadium 74 86416 December 18 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17 48 9 7 Arrowhead Stadium 11 377Note Intra division opponents are in bold text Game summaries Edit Week 1 Edit 1 234Total Broncos 0 707 14Steelers 0 730 10Date September 4Location Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh PennsylvaniaGame start 1 00 p m ESTGame weather 73 F 23 C wind 5 mph 8 km h Referee Jerry SeemanTV announcers NBC Bob Costas and Bob TrumpyScoring summary2DENSammy Winder 1 yard run Rich Karlis kick Broncos 7 0 2PITFranco Harris 4 yard run Gary Anderson kick Tie 7 7 3PITGary Anderson 31 yard field goalSteelers 10 7 4DENRon Egloff 2 yard pass from Steve DeBerg Rich Karlis kick Broncos 14 10Source 2 16 Week 2 Edit Denver Broncos 1 0 at Baltimore Colts 0 1 1 234Total Broncos 0 3014 17Colts 3 007 10Date September 11Location Memorial Stadium Baltimore MarylandGame start 3 00 p m ESTGame weather 84 F 29 C wind 10 mph 16 km h Referee Gene BarthTV announcers NBC Marv Albert and John BrodieSource Pro Football Reference comScoring summary1ColtsRaul Allegre 32 yard field goalColts 3 0 2BroncosRich Karlis 42 yard field goalTie 3 3 4ColtsLarry Anderson 41 yard fumble return Raul Allegre kick Colts 10 3 4BroncosSteve Watson 24 yard pass from Steve DeBerg Rich Karlis kick Tie 10 10 4BroncosSteve Watson 2 yard run Rich Karlis kick Broncos 17 10Source 3 Week 15 vs Colts Edit Week Fifteen Baltimore Colts 6 8 at Denver Broncos 8 6 1 2 34TotalColts 3 13 3019Broncos 0 0 02121at Mile High Stadium Denver Colorado Date December 11 1983Game time 4 00 p m ESTGame weather 40 F 4 C Game attendance 74 864Referee Fred SilvaTV announcers NBC Jay Randolph and Bob ChandlerPro Football Reference com The Football Database Game informationFirst quarter BAL Raul Allegre 42 yard field goal 1 20 Colts 3 0 Drive Second quarter BAL Raul Allegre 55 yard field goal 10 55 Colts 6 0 Drive BAL Raul Allegre 41 yard field goal 7 23 Colts 9 0 Drive BAL Bernard Henry 40 yard pass from Mike Pagel Raul Allegre kick 5 55 Colts 16 0 Drive Third quarter BAL Raul Allegre 26 yard field goal 7 50 Colts 19 0 Drive Fourth quarter DEN Clint Sampson 21 yard pass from John Elway Rich Karlis kick 10 52 Colts 19 7 Drive DEN Jesse Myles 26 yard pass from John Elway Rich Karlis kick 4 54 Colts 19 14 Drive DEN Gerald Willhite 26 yard pass from John Elway Rich Karlis kick 0 44 Broncos 21 19 Drive Top passersBAL Mike Pagel 13 27 217 yards TD INT DEN John Elway 23 44 345 yards 3 TDTop rushersBAL Curtis Dickey 19 rushes 92 yards DEN John Elway 3 rushes 23 yardsTop receiversBAL Bernard Henry 8 receptions 169 yards TD DEN Steve Watson 4 receptions 98 yards Standings Edit AFC Westviewtalkedit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STKLos Angeles Raiders 1 12 4 0 750 6 2 10 2 442 338 W1Seattle Seahawks 4 9 7 0 563 5 3 8 4 403 397 W2Denver Broncos 5 9 7 0 563 3 5 9 5 302 327 L1San Diego Chargers 6 10 0 375 4 4 4 8 358 462 L1Kansas City Chiefs 6 10 0 375 2 6 4 8 386 367 W1Playoffs EditMain article 1983 84 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent seed Result Record Venue AttendanceWild Card December 24 at Seattle Seahawks 4 L 7 31 0 1 Kingdome 60 752Source 8 12 13 References Edit Pro Football Reference com 1983 Denver Broncos a b Elway hurt DeBerg directs Broncos win Gadsden Times Alabama Associated Press September 5 1983 p B4 a b Denver s DeBerg keeps rescuing 5 million man Palm Beach Post wire services September 13 1983 p D6 Struggling Broncos bench Elway DeBerg starter for rest of season Montreal Gazette UPI October 6 1983 p D 14 Harris John November 7 1983 Warner shows off for grandfather Spokane Chronicle p 21 Elway back as starter after Broncos lose DeBerg Montreal Gazette news services November 8 1983 p D10 Mossman John November 21 1983 Broncos romp behind reserve QB Spokane Chronicle Associated Press p C1 a b c Broncos center ball to DeBerg for playoff against Seahawks Pittsburgh Press Associated Press December 23 1983 p C2 Pro Football Reference com Baltimore Colts 19 at Denver Broncos 21 Sunday December 11 1983 NFL roundup Spokane Chronicle Associated Press December 12 1983 p 15 NFL roundup Spokane Chronicle Associated Press December 19 1983 p 28 a b Cour Jim December 23 1983 Broncos to bench Elway start DeBerg Evening News Newburgh Beacon New York Associated Press p 2B a b Hewitt Brian December 26 1983 The laughing stops Spokane Chronicle Washington Chicago Sun Times p 21 1983 Denver Broncos Draftees Pro Football Reference com 2010 Denver Broncos Media Guide p 361 Retrieved March 6 2011 Pro Football Reference comExternal links EditDenver Broncos 1983 media guide 1983 Denver Broncos at Pro Football Reference com This article relating to an American football season is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1983 Denver Broncos season amp oldid 1107015619, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
