# 1988 Denver Broncos season

The 1988 season was the Denver Broncos' 29th year in professional football and its 19th with the National Football League (NFL). The Broncos entered the season as two-time defending AFC champions and looked to advance to the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season, but went 8–8 and missed the playoffs for the second time in six seasons.
After the season, the last remaining Bronco from their Super Bowl XII team, offensive lineman Billy Bryan, retired, ending a 12-year era for the team. Additionally; defensive coordinator Joe Collier was fired after the season after 20 years with the Broncos.

## Off season
### NFL draft

1988 Denver Broncos draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 26 | Ted Gregory | NT | Syracuse |
| 2 | 45 | Gerald Perry | Tackle | Southern University |
| 3 | 79 | Kevin Guidry | Cornerback | LSU |
| 5 | 136 | Corris Ervin | DB | Central Florida |
| 7 | 174 | Pat Kelly | TE | Syracuse |
| 7 | 192 | Garry Frank | Guard | Mississippi State |
| 9 | 248 | Mel Farr Jr. | Running back | UCLA |
| 10 | 268 | Channing Williams | RB | Arizona State |
| 11 | 304 | Shaun Grady | RB | Duke |
| 12 | 332 | Michael Rhyan | QB | Cal State Fullerton |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 4 | Seattle Seahawks | L 14–21 | 0–1 | Mile High Stadium | 75,986 |
| 2 | September 11 | San Diego Chargers | W 34–3 | 1–1 | Mile High Stadium | 75,359 |
| 3 | September 18 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 13–20 | 1–2 | Arrowhead Stadium | 63,268 |
| 4 | September 26 | Los Angeles Raiders | L 27–30 (OT) | 1–3 | Mile High Stadium | 75,964 |
| 5 | October 2 | at San Diego Chargers | W 12–0 | 2–3 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 55,763 |
| 6 | October 9 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 16–13 (OT) | 3–3 | Candlestick Park | 61,711 |
| 7 | October 16 | Atlanta Falcons | W 30–14 | 4–3 | Mile High Stadium | 75,287 |
| 8 | October 23 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 21–39 | 4–4 | Three Rivers Stadium | 49,811 |
| 9 | October 31 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 23–55 | 4–5 | Hoosier Dome | 60,544 |
| 10 | November 6 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 17–11 | 5–5 | Mile High Stadium | 74,227 |
| 11 | November 13 | Cleveland Browns | W 30–7 | 6–5 | Mile High Stadium | 75,806 |
| 12 | November 20 | at New Orleans Saints | L 0–42 | 6–6 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,075 |
| 13 | November 27 | Los Angeles Rams | W 35–24 | 7–6 | Mile High Stadium | 74,141 |
| 14 | December 4 | at Los Angeles Raiders | L 20–21 | 7–7 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 65,561 |
| 15 | December 11 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 14–42 | 7–8 | Kingdome | 62,838 |
| 16 | December 17 | New England Patriots | W 21–10 | 8–8 | Mile High Stadium | 70,910 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Game summaries
### Week 9 at Colts

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Broncos | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 23 |
| Colts | 21 | 24 | 3 | 7 | 55 |
at Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana
* Date: October 31
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Indoors (dome)
* Game attendance: 60,544
* TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels
* Box Score, Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
IND – Eric Dickerson 12-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 9:41. Colts 7–0.
IND – Eric Dickerson 11-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 5:39. Colts 14–0.
IND – Eric Dickerson 1-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 0:16. Colts 21–0.
Second quarter
IND – Dean Biasucci 31-yard field goal, 13:22. Colts 24–0.
IND – Eric Dickerson 41-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 11:47. Colts 31–0.
DEN – Steve Sewell 2-yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick, 9:54. Colts 31–7.
IND – Bill Brooks 53-yard pass from Gary Hogeboom (Dean Biasucci kick), 7:08. Colts 38–7.
DEN – Rich Karlis 27-yard field goal, 1:00. Colts 38–10.
IND – Clarence Verdin 40-yard pass from Chris Chandler (Dean Biasucci kick), 0:22. Colts 45–10.
Third quarter
IND – Dean Biasucci 27-yard field goal, 6:34. Colts 48–10.
Fourth quarter
IND – Albert Bentley 4-yard run (Dean Biasucci kick), 11:49. Colts 55–10.
DEN – Vance Johnson 7-yard pass from Gary Kubiak (kick failed), 6:07. Colts 55–17.
DEN – Steve Sewell 48-yard pass from Gary Kubiak (Rich Karlis kick), 5:39. Colts 55–23.
Top passers
DEN – John Elway – 15/27, 158 yards, TD
IND – Chris Chandler – 10/13, 167 yards, TD
Top rushers
DEN – Ricky Nattiel – 1 rush, 29 yards
IND – Eric Dickerson – 21 rushes, 159 yards, 4 TD
Top receivers
DEN – Steve Sewell – 6 receptions, 82 yards, 2 TD
IND – Bill Brooks – 3 receptions, 108 yards, TD :

### Week 16

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Patriots | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| • Broncos | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

## Standings

AFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Seattle Seahawks$^{(3)}$ | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 339 | 329 | W2 |
| Denver Broncos | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 5–7 | 327 | 352 | W1 |
| Los Angeles Raiders | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 6–2 | 6–6 | 325 | 369 | L2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3–5 | 4–8 | 231 | 332 | W2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 4 | 11 | 1 | .281 | 2–6 | 4–9–1 | 254 | 320 | L2 |