The Denver Broncos season was the team's 30th year in professional football and its 20th with the National Football League (NFL). The head coach was Dan Reeves while Chan Gailey was the offensive coordinator and Wade Phillips was the defensive coordinator. In the postseason Denver won a nail biter over the Pittsburgh Steelers 24–23 then cruised over the Cleveland Browns 37–21 in the AFC Championship Game.
The season ended with the Broncos being blown out 55–10 in Super Bowl XXIV by the San Francisco 49ers.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1989 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegePat HegartyQuarterbackUTEPChris RuleQuarterbackColorado State
Personnel
Roster
Regular season One of Denver's new major additions was rookie running back Bobby Humphrey, who rushed for 1,151 yards, caught 22 passes for 156 yards, and scored 8 touchdowns. Humphrey gave the Broncos a powerful running attack that they lacked in their previous Super Bowl seasons. The defense had a new weapon as well: rookie free safety Steve Atwater. Together with veteran defensive backs Dennis Smith, Wymon Henderson and Tyrone Braxton, the Broncos secondary combined for 14 interceptions. Braxton lead the team with 6, which he returned for 103 yards and a touchdown, while also recovering 2 fumbles. Another new addition was defensive end Ron Holmes, who recorded 9 sacks. Holmes, along with veteran linebackers Karl Mecklenburg (7.5 sacks and 4 fumble recoveries) and Simon Fletcher (12 sacks) gave Denver one of the top defensive lines in the AFC.
Veteran receiver Vance Johnson had the best season of his career, catching 76 passes for 1,095 yards and 7 touchdowns, while also returning 12 punts for 118 yards. However, quarterback John Elway played inconsistently during the regular season, throwing just as many interceptions as touchdowns (18) and recording only a 73.7 passer rating.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 10 Kansas City Chiefs W 34–20 1–0 Mile High Stadium 74,284 Recap 2 at Buffalo Bills W 28–14 2–0 Rich Stadium 78,176 Recap 3 September 24 Los Angeles Raiders W 31–21 3–0 Mile High Stadium 75,754 Recap 4 October 1 at Cleveland Browns L 13–16 3–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,637 Recap 5 October 8 San Diego Chargers W 16–10 4–1 Mile High Stadium 75,222 Recap 6 October 15 Indianapolis Colts W 14–3 5–1 Mile High Stadium 74,680 Recap 7 October 22 at Seattle Seahawks W 24–21 (OT) 6–1 Kingdome 62,353 Recap 8 October 29 Philadelphia Eagles L 24–28 6–2 Mile High Stadium 75,065 Recap 9 November 5 Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–7 7–2 Mile High Stadium 74,739 Recap 10 November 12 at Kansas City Chiefs W 16–13 8–2 Arrowhead Stadium 76,245 Recap 11 at Washington Redskins W 14–10 9–2 RFK Stadium 52,975 Recap 12 November 26 Seattle Seahawks W 41–14 10–2 Mile High Stadium 75,117 Recap 13 December 3 at Los Angeles Raiders L 13–16 (OT) 10–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 87,560 Recap 14 December 10 New York Giants L 7–14 10–4 Mile High Stadium 63,283 Recap 15 at Phoenix Cardinals W 37–0 11–4 Sun Devil Stadium 56,071 Recap 16 December 24 at San Diego Chargers L 16–19 11–5 Jack Murphy Stadium 50,524 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 2
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-26.
Week 3
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 14
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Playoffs
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Divisional January 7, 1990 Pittsburgh Steelers (5) W 24–23 1–0 Mile High Stadium 75,868 Recap AFC Championship January 14, 1990 Cleveland Browns (2) W 37–21 2–0 Mile High Stadium 76,005 Recap Super Bowl XXIV January 28, 1990 San Francisco 49ers (N1) L 10–55 2–1 Louisiana Superdome 72,919 Recap
Standings NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p. 292
References
External links Denver Broncos – 1989 media guide 1989 Denver Broncos season at jt-sw.com 1989 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com