| Date | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 9/7 | at philadelphia eagles | 6-27 |
| 9/14 | dallas cowboys | 41-20 |
| 9/21 | san diego chargers | 13-30 |
| 9/29 | at new england patriots | 14-23 |
| 10/5 | at cleveland browns | 19-16 |
| 10/13 | washington redskins | 20-17 |
| 10/19 | kansas city chiefs | 17-23 |
| 10/26 | at new york giants | 14-9 |
| 11/2 | houston oilers | 16-20 |
| 11/9 | at san diego chargers | 20-13 |
| 11/16 | new york jets | 31-24 |
| 11/23 | seattle seahawks | 36-20 |
| 12/1 | at oakland raiders | 3-9 |
| 12/7 | at kansas city chiefs | 14-31 |
| 12/14 | oakland raiders | 21-24 |
| 12/21 | at seattle seahawks | 25-17 |
A middling season followed by massive changes
Moments after the crushing wild-card loss in Houston to close the 1979 season, head coach Red Miller set the tone for 1980, telling reporters, “We must analyze and do something about our offense next year. That’s my first concern at this time.”
The still-elite Orange Crush defense had just one limitation: It couldn’t play more than half the possessions in a game. Miller and general manager Fred Gehrke tried a bold and well-intentioned plan, but the idea did not work.
In the offseason, Broncos sent first- and second-round draft picks and backup quarterback Craig Penrose to the New York Jets for quarterback Matt Robinson. Miller and the Broncos gambled that Robinson would be the quarterback of the near- and long-term future. The Broncos hoped Robinson would end the shuffling between Norris Weese and Craig Morton that defined the frustrating 1979 season.
Robinson finally beat out Morton at the end of training camp, and the collaboration started off well enough. In Robinson’s second start and first at Mile High Stadium — he ran for two touchdowns and led the Broncos to a 41-20 rout of Dallas, as the Broncos piled up more points on the Cowboys’ famed Doomsday Defense than anyone had in a decade.
The sun was shining — literally and figuratively — on the Broncos on that September afternoon. The gambit to mortgage the future on Robinson seemed set to pay massive dividends.
Then the Broncos lost their next two games, scoring 14 fewer points in them than they did against Dallas alone. The second of the defeats, a 23-14 loss at New England, was marred by the conduct of Schaefer Stadium fans, with scores of arrests of drunken, disorderly patrons and dozens of fights throughout the stands.
The New England crowd collectively lived up to the brewer’s longtime slogan: “the one beer to have when you’re having more than one.” Meanwhile, the Broncos staggered and never quite recovered.
“We are not used to losing,” Miller said.
Neither were Broncos fans, but they didn’t react with the vitriol evident nine years earlier after Lou Saban settled for that infamous draw against Miami.
Robinson was yanked late in the second quarter of a Monday night game against Washington two weeks later, having thrown for just 43 yards on 5-of-11 passing with an interception. Denver went on to defeat Washington, 20-17, and Morton remained the starter.
But the 1980 Broncos kept stepping on the banana peels they avoided the previous years, making for one of the most difficult seasons in Broncos history. It didn’t match the early years for hopelessness, but the 8-8 finish was the team’s first non-winning season in five years and first out of the postseason in four.
Denver fans had quickly become accustomed to the playoffs, and their expectations and hopes soared after the Robinson trade. But by December, Robinson was effectively finished as a quarterback. He started the meaningless season finale, completing just nine of 23 passes. The following August, Robinson was waived.
The Broncos beat Seattle, 25-17, to conclude the .500 season on Dec. 21. Within two months, the Phipps brothers would sell the team to Edgar Kaiser, who then jettisoned Miller and Gehrke as part of an organizational youth movement. Amazingly, Miller, who went 42-25 as the Broncos’ head coach, would never stalk an NFL sideline again.
