Welcome back and today’s question comes from Lisa Diedrich:
Q: When was the last time the Broncos beat all three division rivals on the road?
A: Lisa, it hasn’t been that long ago, but it certainly seems like it with all of the drama that has surrounded the team since the Broncos fired Mike Shanahan to close out the 2008 season.
But in 2009, the Broncos won in Oakland (23-3), and won in San Diego (34-23) as part of their 6-0 start under Josh McDaniels. Later in the season, after a dismal four-game losing streak, they defeated the Giants on Thanksgiving night in Denver and followed that with a 44-13 win in Kansas City.
That win in Arrowhead Stadium gave the Broncos the road sweep of their division rivals and it was just the second time in franchise history the team won a December game in Arrowhead overall.
The Broncos rushed for 245 yards that day and it also largely marked the end of the good times under McDaniels. The Broncos lost their last four games in ’09, finished 4-12 in 2010 and you know the rest: McDaniels out, Elway in, John Fox in and the Broncos are still trying to rebuild from what was left behind, a pile of events that included the trade of Jay Cutler.
Before 2009, the Broncos had earned a road sweep against their division rivals just two other times in franchise history and advanced to the Super Bowl on both occasions.
The ’98 team is likely the franchise’s best ever, having outscored its opponents by 192 points with a Hall of Famer at quarterback in Elway and at tight end in Shannon Sharpe.
Terrell Davis, on the Hall’s list of 25 semifinalists for the Class of 2012, rushed for 2,008 yards that season — the single-season franchise record — and Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey each topped 1,000 yards receiving.
Sharpe and McCaffrey each had 10 receiving touchdowns that year as well.
It was, however, the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance and the Broncos were powered by defense that year, holding their opponents to just 148 points that season (12.3 points allowed per game).
The Broncos didn’t have a 500-yard rusher in ’77 as Otis Armstrong finished with 498 yards to lead the team (Lonnie Perrin had 456 and Rob Lytle had 408) and they had just one 500-yard receiver in Haven Moses, whose 539 yards led the team as well.
They surrendered more than 14 points in just one game overall that year — a 24-14 loss to the Raiders in Mile High Stadium.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com.
