1978: Broncos Pull Out Win Over Seahawks in Overtime

The Denver Broncos, defending champions of the American Football Conference, were 5-3 as they traveled to Seattle to take on the up-and-coming Seahawks on October 29, 1978, a team they had beaten handily four weeks earlier at home. A season after reaching the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, Head Coach Red Miller’s team was still heavily dependent on the “Orange Crush” defense. The conservative offense was again directed by QB Craig Morton and he had fine receivers available in WR Haven Moses and TE Riley Odoms. The ground game operated with a six-member running-back-by-committee arrangement.

Seattle, in its third year of existence and coached by the stoical Jack Patera, was at 4-4 and coming off a big win over the Raiders the previous week. The offense was led by the mobile lefthanded QB Jim Zorn and included WR Steve Largent and RB Sherman Smith as other key components. The defense included talented newcomers in LB Keith Butler and FS John Harris.

There were 62,948 fans on hand at the Kingdome. The Broncos took the opening kickoff and drove 70 yards. Craig Morton completed a pass to Riley Odoms for 26 yards to the Seattle 38 and fullbacks Lonnie Perrin (pictured above) and Jon Keyworth and HB Otis Armstrong all ran effectively. Jim Turner kicked a 34-yard field goal to give Denver the early lead.

Seattle responded with a five-play, 66-yard drive of its own, culminating in a pass from Jim Zorn to WR Sam McCullum that resulted in a 44-yard touchdown. Efren Herrera added the extra point and the home team was in front by 7-3.

Denver put together another methodical series, utilizing more members of the running back corps, with FB Larry Canada carrying three times for 22 yards and HB Rob Lytle contributing 15 yards on two attempts. The drive stalled at the Seattle 17 and Turner missed on another 34-yard field goal attempt.

The Seahawks punted following their next possession but got the ball back two plays later when WR Jack Dolbin fumbled after catching a short pass and DE Ernie Price recovered at the Denver 16. In a series that extended into the second quarter, Seattle scored in seven plays, the last a four-yard run by Zorn on a quarterback draw for a TD. Herrera kicked the point after and the Seattle lead grew to 14-3.

The teams traded punts until the Broncos again drove into Seattle territory, but a fake field goal attempt failed. Shortly thereafter, LB Randy Gradishar intercepted a pass to give Denver the ball at the Seattle 34. It took just two plays to score, with Morton rolling out and throwing to WR Rick Upchurch for a 29-yard touchdown. Turner added the PAT and the Broncos had closed to 14-10, which remained the score at halftime.

Heading into the third quarter, both offenses were having difficulty mounting drives, and passing was especially problematic. Midway through the period the Broncos got the ball at the Seattle nine following a fumbled snap by Zorn and Perrin ran for a one-yard touchdown. Turner converted and the visitors were in front by 17-14.

In the fourth quarter, a tipped pass intended for Steve Largent was intercepted by LB Bob Swenson to give the Broncos the ball at the Seattle 45. They picked up 12 yards before having to punt. The teams exchanged punts once more before the Seahawks, with Steve Myer now at quarterback, put together a series that involved an interception that, thanks to a fumbled lateral by Gradishar on the return, ended up giving the ball back to Seattle. Myer completed three passes and ran twice for ten yards and Herrera kicked a 37-yard field goal with 56 seconds remaining to tie the score and send the game into overtime.

The Broncos had first possession in the extra period and punted. A short series by the Seahawks also resulted in a punt, but after HB Dave Preston ran for 16 yards, Perrin fumbled and SS Autry Beamon recovered for Seattle at his 41. Zorn was back behind center, but his first down pass was deflected and picked off by CB Steve Foley (pictured at left), who returned it 30 yards to the Seattle 36. Keeping the ball on the ground, the Broncos reached the Seattle one and Turner came in to kick an 18-yard field goal. The first try was wide to the left after Morton, the holder, barely fielded a bad snap, but the 15-year veteran placekicker got a reprieve when the Seahawks were penalized for having twelve men on the field, and given another shot he was successful. Denver came away with a 20-17 win at 12:59 into overtime.

The Broncos significantly outgained Seattle (423 yards to 258), with the six Denver running backs totaling 278 rushing yards, and had the edge in first downs (25 to 19). The Seahawks turned the ball over five times to three suffered by Denver, while the Broncos committed 12 penalties, at a cost of 103 yards, to 9 flags thrown on Seattle, for 61 yards, although the last penalty on the Seahawks was ultimately the most costly.

Jon Keyworth led the strong Denver running attack with 70 yards on eight carries, followed by Larry Canada’s 68 yards on 15 attempts and Lonnie Perrin gaining 57 yards on 15 tries that included a touchdown. Craig Morton completed just 11 of 28 passes for 155 yards and a TD, although he had none intercepted. Haven Moses caught three of those passes for 60 yards while Rick Upchurch added 42 yards and a score on two receptions and also returned three punts for 61 yards.

For the Seahawks, Jim Zorn also had a rough passing performance as he was successful on only 9 of 29 throws for 110 yards and a touchdown while giving up three interceptions. In his relief stint, Steve Myer was 6 of 11 for 38 yards and was picked off once. Sherman Smith ran for 73 yards on 17 carries and caught four passes for another 21 yards. Sam McCullum (pictured at right) gained 57 yards on his three pass receptions that included a TD.

“On the first attempt, the snap was high,” explained Jim Turner of the miss on the first try for the winning field goal in overtime. “I don’t know how Craig (Morton) caught the ball.”

The overtime win for the Broncos marked the third (and last) time they went into OT during the season, and was the second time they came out on top. They lost to the Jets the following week but then won four of five on the way to finishing with a 10-6 record and topping the AFC West for the second straight year. They did not get deep into the playoffs this time, however, losing to Pittsburgh in the Divisional round. Seattle recovered to win five of its last seven contests and post the first winning record in the young franchise’s history at 9-7, which ranked third in the highly-competitive division.

1975: Turner’s Game-Ending Field Goal Lifts Broncos Over Browns

The Denver Broncos were struggling at 2-2, having lost two straight after opening the season with two victories, as they hosted the winless Cleveland Browns on October 19, 1975. Under Head Coach John Ralston, the Broncos were coming off the first two winning records in franchise history in 1973 and ’74, but HB Otis Armstrong, the league’s rushing leader the previous year, was sidelined with a rib injury and veteran QB Charley Johnson, a month shy of his 37^th birthday, was beginning to show his age.

The Browns, under first-year Head Coach Forrest Gregg, were having trouble on both sides of the ball in achieving a 0-4 record, having difficulty scoring points on offense while the defense had given up over 40 in each of the previous three contests. QB Mike Phipps had yet to live up to his first-round draft billing in 1970 and was feeling heat from backup Brian Sipe, but there was talent to throw to in WR Reggie Rucker and TE Oscar Roan, and HB Greg Pruitt, once a spot player, was proving to be valuable in carrying a heavier workload.

One thing both teams had going for them was placekickers. Denver’s 34-year-old Jim Turner (pictured above), who was in his twelfth year and had originally found notoriety with the Jets,  was a perfect seven-for-seven in field goal attempts thus far and Don Cockroft of the Browns, an eight-year veteran who also handled the punting, had made good on 12 straight field goal tries going back to 1974.

It was a bright, clear day with 52,590 fans in attendance at Mile High Stadium. The Browns had the first possession and moved well down the field. Greg Pruitt ran four times for 23 yards and caught a pass for another 15. The drive stalled at the Denver seven and Don Cockroft kicked a 24-yard field goal.

Following a short series that ended with a punt, the Broncos got the ball back at the Cleveland 25 thanks to a fumble. Charley Johnson threw to WR Haven Moses for 17 yards, but after two carries by FB Jon Keyworth advanced the ball to the Cleveland three, an illegal procedure penalty moved Denver back and they, too, settled for a field goal of 25 yards by Jim Turner.

The teams traded turnovers, with CB Earlie Thomas intercepting a Mike Phipps pass for the Broncos that he returned to the Cleveland five, but HB Oliver Ross fumbled at the two to end the scoring opportunity. The Browns, with Brian Sipe now at quarterback, advanced to their 20 during the remainder of the opening period and were forced to punt. Two plays later, in the early moments of the second quarter, Johnson was stripped while attempting to lateral and DT Walter Johnson recovered for Cleveland at his 47. Helped along by a roughing-the-passer penalty in a third-and-11 situation, the Browns reached the Denver 32 and Cockroft kicked another field goal, from 49 yards, to go back in front by 6-3.

The Broncos approached midfield on their next possession as Charley Johnson completed a pass to WR Bill Van Heusen for 12 yards and ran the ball himself for a 13-yard gain in a second-and-14 situation. The drive stalled at the Denver 46, but Van Heusen, back to punt, faked and threw to Ross for a gain of 30 yards, although he again fumbled and LB Dave Graf recovered for the Browns.

Cleveland went three-and-out and punted, and the Broncos again moved effectively. Johnson threw to WR Jack Dolbin for a 22-yard gain that converted a third-and-20 situation and had completions to Keyworth for 16 and 13 yards to reach the Cleveland 31. The drive again was halted and Turner kicked a 48-yard field goal to knot the score at 6-6 with less than two minutes remaining in the first half.

Now the Browns moved well on offense. Sipe completed passes for 10 and 13 yards to Oscar Roan that converted third downs and, with the clock down to eight seconds, Cockroft kicked a 43-yard field goal to put the visitors in front once more by 9-6 at halftime.

Neither team was able to move effectively to start the third quarter until the Browns, getting good field position at the Denver 44 following a 16-yard punt return by DB Pete Athas, advanced 40 yards. Pruitt gained a yard up the middle to convert a fourth down play and he and FB Billy Pritchett carried the load before the drive halted at the four. Cockroft booted a 20-yard field goal and Cleveland was in front by six.

A fumble by HB Floyd Little gave the Browns the ball at the Denver 26 and an opportunity to build upon their lead, but they came up empty when Cockroft was wide to the left on a 27-yard field goal attempt, his first miss after hitting on 16 straight. Early in the fourth quarter, another Cleveland possession concluded with Cockroft successfully kicking a 42-yard field goal, and the visitors were ahead by 15-6.

WR Rick Upchurch returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards to the Denver 43 and the Broncos proceeded to drive 57 yards in nine plays. Steve Ramsey (pictured at right) was now at quarterback, but it was Keyworth running the ball and a pass interference penalty gaining 20 yards that moved Denver along to the Cleveland 25. Following another short gain of one yard by Keyworth, Ramsey threw to the fullback for 10 yards and then to TE Riley Odoms for 13. Keyworth fittingly completed the series by plowing a yard into the end zone and, with Turner’s conversion, the Cleveland lead was cut to 15-13.

The Browns got a good kickoff return of their own as WR Billy LeFear ran 38 yards to the 50 and Sipe immediately followed with a pass to Reggie Rucker for 20 yards. But after getting to the Denver ten, Cockroft nicked the right upright with a field goal attempt that bounced away unsuccessfully.

Ramsey quickly passed the Broncos down the field, hitting on passes of 11 yards to Odoms and 25 to Upchurch, and Keyworth ran around end for a 34-yard gain to the Cleveland 11. But three plays later Ross fumbled once more and the Browns recovered in the end zone to blunt the threat.

A short Cleveland series ended with a punt and Denver took over possession with 1:43 remaining to play. Two passes to Little and a throw to Dolbin got the ball into Cleveland territory at the 46, but two more throws were incomplete. Facing fourth-and-four, Ramsey kept the ball and ran around end for 10 yards for a first down and, on the game’s final play, Turner kicked a dramatic 53-yard field goal, which was the longest of his career. The Broncos came away winners by a final score of 16-15.

Denver led in total yards (325 to 271) and first downs (18 to 17). However, the Broncos also turned the ball over six times, to two by Cleveland. Ultimately, the game came down to Don Cockroft (pictured below), who hit on a team-record five field goals (since broken by Phil Dawson), missing two of his attempts, while Jim Turner was successful on all three of his for the Broncos, with the eight three-pointers in all tying the then-NFL record (the record moved up to nine in 1996).

Charley Johnson completed 9 of 22 passes for 110 yards with one interception before he gave way to Steve Ramsey, who was successful on 10 of 12 throws for 94 yards with no TDs or interceptions. Jon Keyworth ran for 62 yards on 11 carries that included the game’s only touchdown and caught 6 passes for 45 yards. Rick Upchurch averaged 32.8 yards on six kickoff returns to go along with 21 yards on two catches and seven yards on one running play.

For the Browns, Mike Phipps was two-of-eight for 28 yards and gave up an interception and Brian Sipe was 12-of-25 for 111 yards and had none picked off. Greg Pruitt gained 64 yards on 19 carries in addition to catching three passes for 20 yards. Oscar Roan was the top receiver with 5 receptions for 52 yards.

The stirring win for the Broncos, which nevertheless highlighted their problems on offense, was followed by three straight losses as they went on to a disappointing 6-8 record, which placed them second in the AFC West. Cleveland reached 0-9 before winning three of its last five games to finish with a 3-11 tally that ranked at the bottom of the highly-competitive AFC Central.

Jim Turner went on to achieve a career high for field goal percentage at 75.0 (21 of 28) and, adding in 23 PATs, he scored 86 points. Don Cockroft finished 17-for-23 in field goal kicking (73.9 %) and also averaged 40.5 yards on his 82 punts.