Denver Broncos Countdown to Kickoff: 67 Days

67 is one of those numbers in Broncos history that has very little to offer. In 1967, our Broncos finished yet another losing season with a record of 3-11. Ho Hum. Their defense allowed 29 points per game yuck. Future HOF RB Floyd Little rushed for just 381 yards, bleh. Add to that the fact that the greatest Bronco to wear #67 was G Doug Widell (meh) and you get yourself a summary of both the 67th win in Broncos history and the 67th loss in Broncos history.

67th loss

The 67th loss in franchise history came at the hands of the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, November 20th, 1966. Broncos kicker Gary Kroner nailed a 45 yard FG in the 2nd quarter to give the Broncos a 3-0 lead. This would be their only score of the game.

Countdown: 68 Days

Rubin Carter

In Tebow-esque fashion, Raiders QB Tom Flores completed just 6-18 passes on the day. Like the former Broncos QB, he made them count hitting Art Powell and Larry Todd for TD passes en route to 141 yards through the air (20.4 yards per completion).

Raider kicker Mike Eischeid concluded the scoring with a 12 yard FG. Incidentally, a 12 yard FG is impossible in the modern era. Back then goal posts were placed at the goalline, not 10 yards back. Given the 7 yards the holder lines up behind the line, the shortest FG today would be an 18 yarder (kicked from the 1 yard line....7 yards plus 10 for the endzone).

Bronco QB Max Choboian completed just 9 of his 30 passes for 93 yards (a pathetic 3 yard per attempt average). The Raiders won 17-3

67th win

While the Broncos 67th loss happened in 1966, it would take them EIGHT MORE YEARS to notch their 67th win as a franchise. On Sunday, December 8th 1974, the Broncos defeated the Houston Oilers 37-14 at home. Otis Armstrong was the star of the game rushing for three TD's and 183 yards on 31 carries. Charlie Johnson finished an uncharacteristically efficient performance (at least for the time) completing 15 of 21 passes for 219 yards and a TD to Jon Keyworth. Haven Moses also caught a 12 yard TD from QB Charley Johnson and Jim Turner added a 43 yard FG to complete the scoring.

It is still amazing to me that it took the Broncos nearly 15 full seasons to compile 67 wins. That averages out to 4.47 wins per season. The fact that this franchise stayed afloat and eventually prospered is a testament to our early fans who cheered and supported their team no matter what. It isn't a coincidence that the Broncos have sold out home games for 43 consecutive seasons (dating back to 1969)--they have the best fans in the NFL, bar none!

Cool 67 Factoids

The Broncos faced off with their AFL rival The Boston Patriots for the 15th time in franchise history. Through 1966 they had been on the Broncos schedule twice a season. In their 15th meeting, the Broncos beat the Pats 26-21. That victory upped their head to head record to 6-9.

Overall, the Broncos hold a 27-19 record all time against the Pats.

John Elway was the Patriots kryptonite during the course of his career:

The Denver Broncos quarterback owned the Patriots during his NFL career. Elway faced the Patriots 10 times during his NFL career and never lost a start. Since the teams weren't division rivals, they didn't play every year. Most of Elway's 10 wins against New England were blowouts. Strangely, Denver lost the last game they played against the Patriots before Elway arrived. They also lost the first game they played against the Patriots without him in 1999.

Notable Broncos to wear #67:

Robert McCullough 1962-1965

Doug Widell 1989-1992

Current Bronco wearing #67:

Dan Koppen

Read More: Denver Broncos by the numbers: #67 (Kaptain Kirk)