Age: 27
5th season in pro football & with Broncos
College: Stanford
Height: 6’3” Weight: 210
Prelude:
The top-rated quarterback prospect among a strong crop, Elway was the first overall choice in the 1983 NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts. Balking at playing under the head coach of the Colts, Frank Kush, his rights were traded to the Broncos. An immensely talented athlete, Elway had an outstanding passing arm and mobility, but struggled during a rookie season in which he was put in the starting lineup too quickly. Improvement came steadily and he threw for 3891 yards with a league-leading 605 pass attempts in 1985 (although he also tossed a career-high 23 interceptions). He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time following the 1986 season, as he led the Broncos to an AFC Championship, although they lost the Super Bowl convincingly to the Giants.
1987 Season Summary
Appeared and started in 12 of 15 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 410 [6]
Most attempts, game – 48 at Green Bay 9/20
Completions – 224 [9]
Most completions, game – 30 at Green Bay 9/20
Yards – 3198 [4]
Most yards, game – 347 at San Diego 11/29
Completion percentage – 54.6
Yards per attempt – 7.8 [3]
TD passes – 19 [8, tied with Jim Kelly]
Most TD passes, game – 4 vs. Seattle 9/13
Interceptions – 12 [13, tied with Neil Lomax & Randall Cunningham]
Most interceptions, game – 3 at Green Bay 9/20
Passer rating – 83.4 [13]
300-yard passing games – 4
200-yard passing games – 10
Rushing
Attempts – 66
Most attempts, game - 11 (for 20 yds.) vs. Kansas City 12/19
Yards – 304
Most yards, game – 42 yards (on 4 carries) vs. Detroit 11/1
Yards per attempt – 4.6
TDs – 4
Punting
Punts – 1
Yards – 31
Average – 31.0
Punts blocked – 0
Scoring
TDs – 4
Points - 24
Postseason: 3 G
Pass attempts – 89
Most attempts, game - 38 vs. Washington, Super Bowl
Pass completions – 42
Most completions, game - 14 vs. Houston, AFC Divisional playoff, vs. Cleveland, AFC Championship, vs. Washington, Super Bowl
Passing yardage – 797
Most yards, game - 281 vs. Cleveland, AFC Championship
TD passes – 6
Most TD passes, game - 3 vs. Cleveland, AFC Championship
Interceptions – 5
Most interceptions, game - 3 vs. Washington, Super Bowl
Rushing attempts – 18
Most rushing attempts, game - 11 vs. Cleveland, AFC Championship
Rushing yards – 76
Most rushing yards, game - 36 vs. Cleveland, AFC Championship
Average gain rushing – 4.2
Rushing TDs – 1
Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: AP
1st team All-NFL: NEA, Sporting News
2nd team All-NFL: AP
1st team All-AFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Broncos went 10-4-1 to finish first in the AFC West and as the top playoff seed in the conference while also leading the AFC in total yardage (5624) and passing yards (3654) in the strike-shortened season. Won AFC Divisional playoff over Houston Oilers (34-10) and AFC Championship over Cleveland Browns (38-33). Lost Super Bowl to Washington Redskins (42-10).
Aftermath:
The Broncos made a third trip to the Super Bowl in 1989, and Elway again was selected for the Pro Bowl, but it ended in another defeat. He and the Broncos finally achieved back-to-back NFL Championships in 1997 and ’98, his last two seasons. Along the way, he was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times (including each of his last three years). His most impressive statistical season was in 1993, as he led the NFL in pass attempts (551), completions (348), and yards (4030) – the last two were career highs – and had a passer rating of 92.8 (his best until a 93.0 achieved in his final year). Upon his retirement, Elway ranked second in career completions (4123) and yards (51,475) and third in TD passes (300). He also rushed for 3407 yards. His #7 was retired by the Broncos and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2004.
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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).
[Updated 2/13/14]