Just can't beat professional tackle football of the 60' 70's and early 80's. What always stands out to me is the music that was composed for the NFL by the great Sam Spence. he composed over 300 short songs that were used during NFL highlight films. Of course my favorite is The Autumn Wind. Then the great Ed & Steve Sabo wrote the poem and presented it to Al Davis who loved it! I'm 63 and just glad that I grew up during that time period. Those were the the days!
@@wilnerolivier7971 Jim Kelly 'lost' 4. However, one player does not win or lose a game. But yeah, he got out of that ridiculous rotating QB situation in Dallas
I agree with your comment. It also seems like the vast majority of new uniforms look absolutely horrible! Who is creating the new uni's? God how I miss football from this time! Wish I had a time machine, lol
1977- What a year! The first where, thankfully, many televised games were preserved by fans. End of an era for the 14 game schedule....and the Colts and Cardinals runs at contention... The rise of Broncomania and the Orange Crush D... Good old standbys, SB XII Champion Cowboys, Raiders, Steelers, Vikings, Rams, and Dolphins holding on, holding off the up and coming Chargers, Falcons, Oilers, Browns, and Eagles...
Denver's Jack Dolbin was studying to be a chiropractor back then and he actually worked on Craig Morton's injured hip. He actually had a chiropractor business about 45 minutes away from me here in Pottsville, PA. and sadly passed away not long ago.
I'm sorry to hear he passed. I actually messaged him (lol no kidding) about 2 weeks ago telling him how much I enjoyed watching him play in 1977, even though I didn't even root for Denver. I'm sad he didn't get to see that. God bless him.
One memory of the Broncos that year. I was a midwest college student and had the occasion to travel through Denver, once in the Fall and again during the holidays. During my Fall trip I bought one of the "Orange Crush" tees at the airport. When I got back to campus, everyone thought it was so cool (pre-internet days). I had to buy about 10 for my friends on my return trip.
Haven Moses (25), was a 10 year veteran by this time and a clutch receiver for the Bills and then the Broncos. Moses scored a lot of TDs for the Broncos over the years, probably none bigger than the two he scored against the Raiders in this game. The “Cinderella” season continued for Denver after beating the always tough Steelers and then the defending champs.
Dude that what had 'PORN' Superbowl! and till today!....Manster vs Upshaw....Doomsday vs HOF Quick Strike Big Play Offense...Casper pushing Hollywood (Henderson)....Our Famous Left vs Martin/White...should I say more?
As a Raider fan I was soo disappointed after this game. Obviously the non fumble call hurt but we just committed too many turnovers, add to that the injury to Bilentnikoff and it just wasn’t our day. Another fact about this game is that according to Kenny Stabler John Matuszak partied all night before the game and wasn’t in very good shape by game time. A hotel employee reportedly told the Broncos about it and the Broncos ran out the clock over an exhausted “Tooz” in that high altitude in the 4th quarter.
The sad thing for Denver they finally got themselves a good quarterback at last, but unfortunately Morton was at the end of his career. He had led the Cowboys to Super Bowl 5 after beating out Roger Staubach for the starting spot, but the injuries that he suffered in Dallas and those three years with the terrible Giants about the worst team in the league had taken their toll on him. He still had a great arm but when they made it to the SuperBowl that great Doomsday Defense was too much for the weak Bronco offensive line, they allowed Doomsday to beat up on their one time teammate till he had to be pulled for that useless Norris Weese. They would have been better off to leave Morton in there, all he needed was one or two good plays from his line for him to connect with Moses for a touchdown or two. They would probably still have lost but it would have been a closer game and he would have kept a bit more respect for what he had accomplished. He should have won Super Bowl 5 but a couple of bad calls stole the game for the Colts. By the time he got to Denver and was with a descent team again it was just too late. At least he got to go to good young team again that was grateful to have a player of his quality to make them respectable. Who knows what could have happened if he had gone to Denver in '74 instead of the Giants?
@@r.g.o3879 I'll never understand why they didn't put him in the shotgun to try to buy him some more time. He had Moses wide open in that game but underthrew him and the pass was intercepted. And left guard Tom Glassic had been sick and was only about 220 pounds instead of his normal 255 so that also didn't help.
This was the Oakland Raiders 5th straight AFC Championship Game.. injuries caught up to them.. losing Fred B hurt them severely... Clear fumble by Lyte.. no matter.. they were wearing down in 77. It's amazing they made it this far.. Still.. it was a game Oakland could have or should have won.. I do believe they would have given the Dallas Cowboys a better game.. but don't know if they'd win.. Dallas Cowboys were the Best Team in 77.
This game was played at 11:30 AM local time, in order to get the games in that Sunday. The Vikings at Cowboys was the late game on CBS, and it started at 5PM EST if I remember correctly. This happened again in 1989, when the Broncos hosted the Browns.
Denver also got jobbed for the 2005 AFC Championship, having to start at I think 12 or 1 local vs the Steelers, Seattle was hosting Carolina in the late game. I always liked the 2 or now 2.25 starts because they ended dark.
@Greg Rooker Orange Crush was the shit - but almost '1 yr wonder'...if lil bitch Goodell and PC soccer moms saw that game (Doomsday! Yikes!, Abuela!) they'd would had stopped the game.
People need to remember just how big this game was in Denver. Up until 1977, the Bronco's had never won anything. They spent their entire 10 year existence in the AFL without ever having a single winning season and spent the next 7 years in the NFL having never made the playoffs. Needless to say, 1977 was a banner year with them going 12-2 and winning the AFC West Division, and the week before had beaten the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional playoff game at Mile High. Now, in comes their hated archrival, the Oakland Raiders, for the AFC Title game. The Raiders were the defending Super Bowl champs and had been perennial winners since 1967 (although their record in title games was pretty poor) and were making their 5th straight AFC title game appearance. Not only that, but the Raiders had absolutely owned the Broncos, going 25-3 (with 2 ties) against them since 1963, and the Broncos hadn't beaten the Raiders in Denver since 1962, so long ago, that the Raiders actually had Gold as one of their team colors back then (yes, that's true, they were Black and Gold). The crowd here was absolutely electric, and there's nothing that can replicate a title game being played in the cold afternoon sun in winter (something Goodell and the other greed merchants has practically killed off for nighttime ratings) especially when it has a chance to be a team's very first and in front of their long- suffering fans as well. I feel blessed to have grown up watching 70's NFL football, a still growing time for a league that had just become America's #1 sport and would soon become a behemoth and be something I cherished for 5 decades, until Goodell and other factors slowly killed it off for me, to the point that I won't even watch it anymore. Alas, I hope kids get the same joy out of it today that I did so many years ago as a kid and did for so many years of my life afterwards.
At 10 years old, I was there, section 517... Everyone got an orange 8x11.5" poster at the gate and we held them high on all kickoffs. The stands were shaking, confetti and toilet paper filled the air constantly. The city was electrified and unified. The Raiders were the RAIDERS back then, talented and intimidating!! Denver got a taste of success this year after seasons of futility and became Broncos Country forever after!!!
Agreed. If either the Colts or Steelers had played Dallas, SB 12 would still have been much more competitive. Denver's embarrassingly sloppy performance in that game proves that the best team doesn't always make the Super Bowl. Their exceptional defense was the only thing that kept it from being a complete blowout.
In a 10 year span ending with this game ....... the Oakland Raiders lost the AFC Championship game .... 7 out of 10 years. I lived and died with each one back then. It was traumatizing. A small consolation was winning it all in 1976.
@@jimstevenson424 You're right. It's easy to watch highlights and come away thinking the guy never threw an incomplete pass or something. He did plus many INT's as well some days.
70s are may favorite NFL. I don't watch new games. Raiders were loaded then, but Stabler was the main face. He leaves, an a journeyman wins 2. Makes you wonder what could have been. Madden liked him but David didn't. I thought history would clear up the strange Madden/Davis relationship. Still, chillin flat footed in the pocket and throwing a perfect spiral left handed.
@@jimstevenson424 Stabler was clearly slipping when Davis traded him to Houston for Dante. I'm not so sure Davis didn't like Stabler. Aside from the idea he couldn't launch it like Lamonica did ......... Stabler was a major upgrade from the "Mad-Bomber" and let's face it ... Davis personally drafted Stabler. I remember we used to laugh at Stabler though. All he did for like for like three years or so after he was drafted would be to place-kick for Blanda. In those days however a QB would sit, learn and shut up until it was their time..... even if that took 5 years. The minute Stabler took over, he performed like a vet. It was amazing.
@@jimstevenson424 To say Plunkett was a journeyman, while technically true is slightly disingenuous. Plunkett had more natural talent than Lamonica and Stabler combined and was one of the greatest prospects ever to come out of college, but busted due to being forced to be the guy on horrible teams. When he finally got to a team whose players' talents equalled his own (to paraphrase Howard Cosell), he flourished. Raiders do not win those SBs (80 and 83) with Stabler at the helm (or Madden coaching).
I LOVE THE BRONCOS COLOR ORANGE IN THE 70s...IT LOOKS MORE RED THAN ORANGE THOUGH, WHY, IS THAT? IT WOULD LOOK GREAT PAIRED WITH THEIR CURRENT SHADE OF BLUE!!
I read somewhere that Rob Lytle (41) said he was knocked unconscious on that controversial fumble at the goal line at 8:34. In the clip you can see he was “out cold” and motionless after the Raiders claimed the ball. It was a helmet-to-helmet hit by Jack Tatum (32). There was some serious hitting in this game.
The Raiders were robbed, and I wasn't a fan of them. I remember the post game in the Broncos locker room. They showed the play to Lytle and asked him what he thought. He said "I guess we lucked out."
Sure would have loved to see a Raiders vs Cowboys in 77 sb. Would have been a smoker. The other 2 epic sb's that would have been epic are 85 bears vs dolphins in a rematch but the dolphins inexplicably lost afc championship to the pats. The 3rd one is the 99 broncos vs the 16-1 vikings who blew it vs the falcons.
He tried a comeback with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL in 1981. Along with Vince Faragammo and Billie WS Johnson. They were a bust. Especially Fred. He was slow and was not allowed to use stickum.
I lived in Denver then and I remember how the entire city would shut down during the playoff games. The Superbowl loss was followed by my live in girlfriend tossing me out after finding someone else that would follow her commands that I wouldn't. Moved to Oregon right after the game and never did find a woman that would stand by me. Oh well, it was still quite a ride.
“Game’s biggest casualty” at 6:42 doesn’t look like a particularly serious hit, but it knocked Fred Biletnikoff out of the game. Last playoff reception of his great career.
@3:00..."One of the game's most crucial plays." That's an understatement. Dr Death (#26) was a good player for years. But he really let the Raiders down on this play.
Short and wide right. The Lytle fumble was arguably a 14-point swing-Raider lineman Mike McCoy was on his way to a certain Six when the play was belatedly whistled dead with-gall & wormwood-Denver maintaining possession and subsequently scoring.
Okay here we go again, YES Rob Lytle DID FUMBLE and he even admitted it back then, said he was knocked out for a few seconds by the hit so YES Oakland did get the shaft on that play. But for those of you who remember the "other" screw job in that game Denver's Jack Dolbin appeared to make a low catch for a touchdown that the refs took away saying that it hit the ground. It looked like a good catch to me back then and still does, looked like he got his hands under it and scooped it up but they said no good, so that also was a play that was very controversial and took points off the board. Those two plays, the Lytle fumble especially, were instrumental in the development of instant replay. Haven Moses was HUGE this game, Jim Turner SUCKED this game missing 3 field goals.
Some great points Les. I remember that '77 Broncos season well. The Lytle fumble was clearly botched by the officials. However, the Broncos were also hosed in the 3rd quarter when Jack Dolbin caught a Craig Morton pass and ran in for a touchdown. The officials said Dolbin trapped the ball but replays showed that it was a clean catch. Denver got nothing out of the drive and had to punt the ball away. Next to nothing was said about it following the game. Only a small blurp in Sports Illustrated the following week (from a fan) gave it mention. coalregioncanary.com/2019/08/03/jack-dolbin-nfl-career-highlights-denver-broncos/amp/
@@RetroRider6689 My point exactly...we have heard about the Lytle fumble all these years yet nothing about the Dolbin catch, he caught it and rolled into the end zone only to have it denied by the officials. BOTH teams got shafted this game, not just Oakland.
@@RetroRider6689 I don't really agree that replays "showed" a "clean" catch. It might have been a catch but it might have also hit the ground at the same time he touched it. The only thing we know is that the Lytle fumble was missed. What we don't know is what would have happened had either the fumble or the "catch," assuming it was one, were called the other way. So its more or less a pointless exercise. Plus, neither team was going to beat the Cowboys anyway. Dallas was much stronger -- they beat Denver twice in about a month and the Doomsday rush would have decimated Stabler and his bad knee. So again, a pointless exercise. Denver and Oakland were both very good teams that year -- probably the second and third best teams in the NFL, better than the Vikings and Rams, and they both beat the Steelers. Call me when the Colts of that era ever win a playoff game.
@@scott1564 Some good observations Scott. When Warner Brothers came out with the Broncos Greatest Games DVD several years ago they included the 1977 AFC Championship Game. NBC replayed the Dolbin catch several times in slow motion. To me it appeared that Dolbin made a clean catch. At no time did I see the ball hit the ground. Dolbin had it all the way, at least that's how it looked to me. The bottom line is that with 3:08 remaining in the game and momentum on their side, Oakland failed to stop the Broncos from picking up 2 key first downs enabling them to run out the clock. I have no doubt that had the Raiders gotten the ball back they would have at least tied the game up. Dave Casper was getting open far too often and Ken Stabler was a master at late game heroics. The 1977 Cowboys were one of the greatest teams in NFL history. I've always felt that the Raiders would have lost Super Bowl XII to Dallas as well, maybe 27-17.
Never ever once considered the matchup until December 2021 I'm an original Orange Crush Circa 1977 I was 11 years old.. never once thought of Raiders versus Cowboys
@@depaola63 My mom let me watch the game in her room 19 inch color TV Every damn time the broncos turned it over I'm running out of the room.. yelling they turned it over again mom they turned it over again they can't hang onto the ball I was 11 years old just freaking devastated 46 years later here we are
Just noticed, this at 13:37 it looks like Tooz is reaching out to help Morton up after he got pancaked and in more pain than what he started the game with!
I grew up with all these guys and they really did come out of nowhere. I remember it felt like Morton was going to break every time they hit him...the original #7! This team sure was fun to watch. Also, Haven Moses gets unfairly overshadowed by the defense...he was Rod Smith before Rod Smith.
Denver was a great defense, so so offense that was prone to turnovers. However the defense caused quite a few to even things out. That formula did not work in the SB when they had like 7 turnovers. One of the Bigger SB meltdowns of all time. Morton was like 5-14 with five interceptions. Dallas had played Denver in week 14 and knew the Broncos would be unable to run. So they just played the pass.
They really were a conservative offense and that was by Red Miller's choice, they really didn't have turnover problems that season (Morton threw only 8 interceptions) until the Super Bowl where they had 8, and Dallas knew Craig Morton so well since he played for them and they knew he wouldn't beat them. But Dallas also had fumble issues that game, 3 in the first half, but unlike the whole season Denver didn't recover any of them, had they done so I'm sure it would've impacted the game especially if they could've gotten that fumbled punt at the Dallas 1 yard line.
I still get sick watching this game. (This is actually the first time I'm watching any replay since the day the game was played.) I don't know why but this playoff loss always stuck with me more than the "Immaculate Reception", "The Tuck Rule", or the 51-3 blowout in Buffalo. I'm probably in the minority but the games against the Steelers and Patriots were up for grabs and played hard between two evenly matched teams; against Buffalo, with Jay Schroeder and without Bo Jackson, we never had a prayer. In this game I just felt that besides the Mike McCoy play, we left a lot on the table.
Yep. 44 years later and watching this 20 clip just now, it was not only the Lytle fumble. Blanda should had came out of retirement by Al and beat Man with his 'old man stick'.
@@smoothoperator7023 I'm a Raiders fan I will tell you number 32 is an idiot and a piece of garbage. the reason Haven isn't in the hall of fame is because he wasn't that good overall. he did have a great season and playoff games for that season? it's like Don Larson is the only pitcher to have a perfect game in world serise but that's it.
As a Raiders fan this painful loss reminds me a lot of the "Tuck" game in New England in the 2001 play-off's....in both cases we were eliminated large in part by a bad call....Also Super Bowl XII would have been so much more interesting if the Raiders and Cowboys had played.
I would say a tie this game was when I was a kid. the other game was because the ref got the call wrong after looking at replay. so they were both painful . for Alice Stearns.
No comparisons. Two different eras. This should had been our back to back year and should had been Super Bowl 'PORN' with Raiders vs Cowboys. Tuck Game came 22 years later since a last Infamous Name game and 24 years from our Championship years. Till the Tuck game - we were chop liver for some time.
I was 10 at the time and was really felt like the Raiders got robbed but this video brings back great times. Funny seeing Lyle Alzado not in silver and black...
@@marksantucci4230 Moses was a beast in the 70s but I guess part of it ebing your year is having the ball bounce your way, I.E; the emaculate reception, so yeah I recon it was just their year. It is weird though that from the fore mentioned game with the steelers to Tom Brady getting the break he needed to get his career off to a good start, it was the Raiders who were on the short end of so many contreversial playoff moments inspite of their successful record in those days.
@@aaronblaylock2092 your right about that I, understand the immaculate reception but when you have replays like we did in 2001 how does a ref botch the call? Chris even said the ball came out of tommy boys hand it was knocked out by Woodson not the cold weather so how does a ref get the call wrong when looking at replay?
That was a great Raiders team. That Denver was able to beat them in a close game speaks volumes about that "Orange Crush" defense. They punished people more than any team til the early 2000's Ravens. Legendary stuff.
That denver run defense was ridiculously good. Randy gradishar making all this tackles, and lyle alzado making it hell for o-line men made it tough for teams to run the ball against the broncos
@@DavidSmith-fs6pi No he came from the Redskins. Houston traded him many years prior to KC for the aging Curly Culp who actually prolonged his HOF career while the Tooz fizzled in KC before going to the SKins and then to the Raiders.
Almost better was the week before when the Broncos beat the Steelers. We were in Steamboat Springs and got to the bar in plenty of time to get a good table in front of the tv. The bartender went to turn it on and the tv didnt work. So, they called the owner of the local store that sold tv's, and was closed on Sunday and it was Christmas Eve, and he delivered a new tv just in time for the game. We sweated that one out because everyplace was packed.😅
That had to be embarrassing for the Raiders. You hadn't lost in Denver since 1962 and this was one of the days that you lost for the first time since 1962 for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.
NBC played John Denver's Rocky Mountain High as fans began to storm the field at Mile High Stadium when time ran out. Some of the post-game show was conducted down on the field and it was a wild scene. I'll never forget NBC announcer Lee Leonard saying, "Down go the goalposts!"
In Super Bowl XI Errol Mann was so bad if I were him I would have held a press conference stating I was kicking with a broken foot🦶 . I’m glad to see he got better a year later 5:30. 🤦🏻♂️
I was a 12 year kid and a Raider fan!! This was the first time I cried over a football game!! The Raiders were robbed!! Rob Lytle fumble on the goal line!! The refs cheated like dogs!! Raiders vs.Cowboys would have been an epic Super Bowl!!
Broncos/Raiders split 2-game reg. season series with visiting Broncos on road cominng out as winners in mid-October, 1977, 30-7, while Raiders on road beat Broncs, 24-14 just 2 wks. later
Outrageous offensive stats, outrageous (halftime) basketball scores, lol. Most of todays players wouldn't last very long back then, it was such a different game, especially physically!
Old Mile High was a noisy sun of bitch It would compare to that of Seattle Seahawks of today Just watching those games on TV and to see how the camera would shake when it got loud
John Matuszak spent New Year's Eve partying until wee hours of the morning. A hotel worker tipped the Broncos off to this fact and when Denver needed 2 first downs to run out the clock they ran right at the Tooz, knowing he was gassed (18:47): "Momentum had shifted. You could feel it. Another Raider miracle finish was more than in the cards -- all we had to do was stop them. But we couldn't do it. Repeatedly, the Broncos gobbled up yardage by running off-tackle, straight at Tooz. Barely able to breathe in Denver's rarefied air, Tooz was more than sluggish. He seemed a count behind in every move. He could barely get out of his stance, much less shed a block. It was painful to watch him. Later, it came out that a hotel employee had tipped the Broncos about Tooz's all night pregame "party." Evidently, the Broncos were exploiting that information now. As the Denver drive continued, our players started getting on Tooz to try to wake him up, but to no avail. Finally, during one timeout, our captain begged our coordinator to get Tooz out. The coordinator, while more than sympathetic, shook his head and nodded toward the press box where Al Davis was sitting. "It ain't gonna happen," he said. And it didn't. Denver ran out the clock. We straggled into the locker room." www.espn.com/page2/s/toomay/021021.html
Ha! As a Broncos fan I thank him for foolishly putting himself above the team and the importance of the game! And if the Raiders felt that way why didn't they give him some help from a linebacker if they knew they were running right at him? I think even if he was sober they still would've made that third down play, running behind the blocking of 280 pound right tackle Claudie Minor, that weight was huge back then for a lineman, not now but back then most lineman were around 260 or a bit more.
Stabler called out tooz on this in his book. Stabler said he was hung over and sick before the game. Snake all but blamed the loss on him thinking if they got the ball back, Denver could not cover Casper.
@@Biggdoom344 I've read that Matuszak was a BIG partier, coke, booze, women, pills...you name it. At 6'8" and 280 lbs, he must have felt like he was king of the world. But indestructible on the outside doesn't mean indestructible on the inside, and he died at age 38.
@@Biggdoom344 Stabler calling out Tooz for partying, that's really funny as he also liked to have a good time lol! BUT he obviously was wise enough not to do it the night before this game.
For as beat up as Morton was before and during this game, Raiders couldn't beat Denver! Morton took several shots and still outperformed Snake, who also played injured. In the end, Broncos ran out clock on ground and Raiders never got the ball back. Just wasn't the Raiders year. Dallas was unbeatable no matter if Raiders got by Denver, anyways. Dallas Doomsday Defense was not gonna be denied and I don't like Dallas, either. Just a football purist for 50 years.
Totally agree. Oakland never overcame their slow start in this game. Had they come back and won, that would have been it for them. They were spent.. No way do they beat a great Dallas team in Super Bowl 12. The Cowboys were never seriously challenged in their 3 playoff games.
Raiders messed up. They should've beat the Broncos handily. But the Raider D didn't play their best and the O missed scoring TDs on 2 drives in the 1st quarter. Can you imagine a Raider-Cowboy SB instead of Broncos-Cowboys? I would've been one for the ages.
Great music and just production , announcing, editing. NFL films in the 70s and 80s was outstanding
Makes GMF Network look like Wimps.
70s and 80s the greatest times in the nfl!! I was lucky to grow up at this time!! My word how I miss it!!
Absolutely ✌️I’m 58 soon and loved The Minnesota Vikes 😳 classic era indeed 🏈
You're not alone..
Without a doubt
It was before my time but I enjoy watching the weekly recaps of the late 60s too.
You are so right Chris!!
This deserves a like for the music alone! Let alone the great voice over and footage! They sure don’t make ‘em like this anymore!
The Late Great Harry Kalas with the narration. He narrated a ton of NFL Films highlight packages.
And never will. As Don Henley put it, Those days are gone forever, I should just let em go, but...
@@joshuakline1435 Harry Kalas was good. John Facenda was great.
You should watch the NFL Films highlights of Super Bowls V, VIII and XI with John Facenda narrating and incredible music.
Just can't beat professional tackle football of the 60' 70's and early 80's. What always stands out to me is the music that was composed for the NFL by the great Sam Spence. he composed over 300 short songs that were used during NFL highlight films. Of course my favorite is The Autumn Wind. Then the great Ed & Steve Sabo wrote the poem and presented it to Al Davis who loved it! I'm 63 and just glad that I grew up during that time period. Those were the the days!
I agree ,you put that really good . 63 here too and remember those games very well .
@@cheaplaughkennedy2318 another fresh 63 ringin in.
I love the music in this video.
Craig Morton was a better qb than most people give him credit for as a player.
He took two teams to Super bowls
@@mr.majestic2667 He lost 2 Super Bowls!!
@@wilnerolivier7971 Jim Kelly 'lost' 4. However, one player does not win or lose a game. But yeah, he got out of that ridiculous rotating QB situation in Dallas
@@wilnerolivier7971But he got there
Lost 2 as a starter but won SB 6 as backup to Staubach so he got his ring
Nothing like hearing a Harry Kalas NFL Films voice over.
I really miss this era of when NFL Films would show game highlights with just music and a narrator. It gave it a mystique. Now it's all sound bytes.
I could not agree with you more. Guys are mugging for the cameras and mikes. So self-aggrandizing and self-absorbed.
I agree. It's much easier for NFL films to do it with sound bites instead of music
Agreed. It sucks now, like night and day.
Wow. The late afternoon sunshine creating a beautiful color along with the visually pleasing uniforms makes this look so wonderful. Is this heaven?
I agree with your comment. It also seems like the vast majority of new uniforms look absolutely horrible! Who is creating the new uni's? God how I miss football from this time! Wish I had a time machine, lol
Uniforms became shitty after the 90s
@@alspencer3826 Could not agree more.
1977- What a year! The first where, thankfully, many televised games were preserved by fans. End of an era for the 14 game schedule....and the Colts and Cardinals runs at contention... The rise of Broncomania and the Orange Crush D... Good old standbys, SB XII Champion Cowboys, Raiders, Steelers, Vikings, Rams, and Dolphins holding on, holding off the up and coming Chargers, Falcons, Oilers, Browns, and Eagles...
Well Said, and i miss the hell out of it, 70's NFL still my all time favorite era!
@@davidbanner9344 Same here.
Denver's Jack Dolbin was studying to be a chiropractor back then and he actually worked on Craig Morton's injured hip. He actually had a chiropractor business about 45 minutes away from me here in Pottsville, PA. and sadly passed away not long ago.
I'm sorry to hear he passed. I actually messaged him (lol no kidding) about 2 weeks ago telling him how much I enjoyed watching him play in 1977, even though I didn't even root for Denver. I'm sad he didn't get to see that. God bless him.
One memory of the Broncos that year. I was a midwest college student and had the occasion to travel through Denver, once in the Fall and again during the holidays. During my Fall trip I bought one of the "Orange Crush" tees at the airport. When I got back to campus, everyone thought it was so cool (pre-internet days). I had to buy about 10 for my friends on my return trip.
Haven Moses (25), was a 10 year veteran by this time and a clutch receiver for the Bills and then the Broncos. Moses scored a lot of TDs for the Broncos over the years, probably none bigger than the two he scored against the Raiders in this game. The “Cinderella” season continued for Denver after beating the always tough Steelers and then the defending champs.
Moses had a HUGE game that day!
Skip Thomas' last game.
I had his card, one of the few fball cards I had.
Guess the NFL wasn’t ready for a Raiders v. Cowboys Super Bowl. ☹️
THAT WUDDA BEEN THE SHIZZLE.
Looks like the Raiders weren't ready for a Cowboys Raiders Super Bowl.
Dude that what had 'PORN' Superbowl! and till today!....Manster vs Upshaw....Doomsday vs HOF Quick Strike Big Play Offense...Casper pushing Hollywood (Henderson)....Our Famous Left vs Martin/White...should I say more?
Those were my favorite two teams back in the day. I was soo looking forward to that. Raiders got fucked as usual.
There has never been a Raiders vs. Cowboys Super Bowl
Man, this entire thing is the epitome of the best days of football. I miss football. THIS football
As a Raider fan I was soo disappointed after this game. Obviously the non fumble call hurt but we just committed too many turnovers, add to that the injury to Bilentnikoff and it just wasn’t our day. Another fact about this game is that according to Kenny Stabler John Matuszak partied all night before the game and wasn’t in very good shape by game time. A hotel employee reportedly told the Broncos about it and the Broncos ran out the clock over an exhausted “Tooz” in that high altitude in the 4th quarter.
Really must've been tough coming off the Superbowl victory the year before. Great times rega6.
So it was the altitude? Pretty sure others partied too, and they did all right. Maybe it was just good blocking all day, eh?
@@jeph33 Thise aren’t my words, those are the words of Ken Stabler in his book ‘Snake’ take it up with him and John Matuszak in the afterlife.
@@neneshubby funny, I spoke my own words, rather than qouting...
@@jeph33 Well, good for you. It was 40 years ago so doesn’t really much matter. ✌🏾 and out.
Broncomania was a breath of fresh air in the AFC for anyone that was bored of the Raiders/Steelers
Nobody was bored of the Raiders and Steelers.
@@osaji922 fans of other AFC teams were
The sad thing for Denver they finally got themselves a good quarterback at last, but unfortunately Morton was at the end of his career. He had led the Cowboys to Super Bowl 5 after beating out Roger Staubach for the starting spot, but the injuries that he suffered in Dallas and those three years with the terrible Giants about the worst team in the league had taken their toll on him. He still had a great arm but when they made it to the SuperBowl that great Doomsday Defense was too much for the weak Bronco offensive line, they allowed Doomsday to beat up on their one time teammate till he had to be pulled for that useless Norris Weese. They would have been better off to leave Morton in there, all he needed was one or two good plays from his line for him to connect with Moses for a touchdown or two. They would probably still have lost but it would have been a closer game and he would have kept a bit more respect for what he had accomplished. He should have won Super Bowl 5 but a couple of bad calls stole the game for the Colts. By the time he got to Denver and was with a descent team again it was just too late. At least he got to go to good young team again that was grateful to have a player of his quality to make them respectable. Who knows what could have happened if he had gone to Denver in '74 instead of the Giants?
@@r.g.o3879 I'll never understand why they didn't put him in the shotgun to try to buy him some more time. He had Moses wide open in that game but underthrew him and the pass was intercepted. And left guard Tom Glassic had been sick and was only about 220 pounds instead of his normal 255 so that also didn't help.
The Steel Curtain was never boring.
Binge watching the 1977 season. Thanks so much mate!
Electro Combat once again leads off the video - that song was everywhere in NFL Films during the 1970's.
This was the Oakland Raiders 5th straight AFC Championship Game.. injuries caught up to them.. losing Fred B hurt them severely... Clear fumble by Lyte.. no matter.. they were wearing down in 77. It's amazing they made it this far.. Still.. it was a game Oakland could have or should have won.. I do believe they would have given the Dallas Cowboys a better game.. but don't know if they'd win.. Dallas Cowboys were the Best Team in 77.
This game was played at 11:30 AM local time, in order to get the games in that Sunday. The Vikings at Cowboys was the late game on CBS, and it started at 5PM EST if I remember correctly. This happened again in 1989, when the Broncos hosted the Browns.
1130 am Mountain time, wow.
@Christopher Hagee right but 1130 mt time which is very unusual. Earliest game I've ever went to in Denver was 130 local time believe.
Denver also got jobbed for the 2005 AFC Championship, having to start at I think 12 or 1 local vs the Steelers, Seattle was hosting Carolina in the late game. I always liked the 2 or now 2.25 starts because they ended dark.
The 77 Broncos beat the Bradshaw Steelers and the Madden Raiders...1977 the year of Star Wars and alternate reality! We entered the Matrix!!!!!
But 'Doomsday' beat the Matrix (Rock, Scissors, Paper). (Doomsday, Manster, Harvey Martin, Too-Tall, Hollywood Henderson, Waters, Harris etc)
@Greg Rooker Orange Crush was the shit - but almost '1 yr wonder'...if lil bitch Goodell and PC soccer moms saw that game (Doomsday! Yikes!, Abuela!) they'd would had stopped the game.
Yup! One of the best Achievements from the Broncos! Fk those bandwagon teams! Lol!
Steelers were on the way down until the linemen all started juicing. They either admitted it or are dead.
Randy gradishar should be in the hall of fame
@ 17:23... Random fan in Orange allowed to run into end zone after TD and continuously grab the player. WTF! 😆
Yes there were many fans on the field in the end zones in Denver back then, running around and going crazy!
It's hilarious that YT shoved four commercials into this video, and I couldn't tell you what any of them were selling.
Man what a awesome year and I will never forget it
Moses showed up ready to play. Morton was as tough as they come. Great game.
People need to remember just how big this game was in Denver. Up until 1977, the Bronco's had never won anything. They spent their entire 10 year existence in the AFL without ever having a single winning season and spent the next 7 years in the NFL having never made the playoffs. Needless to say, 1977 was a banner year with them going 12-2 and winning the AFC West Division, and the week before had beaten the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional playoff game at Mile High. Now, in comes their hated archrival, the Oakland Raiders, for the AFC Title game. The Raiders were the defending Super Bowl champs and had been perennial winners since 1967 (although their record in title games was pretty poor) and were making their 5th straight AFC title game appearance. Not only that, but the Raiders had absolutely owned the Broncos, going 25-3 (with 2 ties) against them since 1963, and the Broncos hadn't beaten the Raiders in Denver since 1962, so long ago, that the Raiders actually had Gold as one of their team colors back then (yes, that's true, they were Black and Gold). The crowd here was absolutely electric, and there's nothing that can replicate a title game being played in the cold afternoon sun in winter (something Goodell and the other greed merchants has practically killed off for nighttime ratings) especially when it has a chance to be a team's very first and in front of their long- suffering fans as well. I feel blessed to have grown up watching 70's NFL football, a still growing time for a league that had just become America's #1 sport and would soon become a behemoth and be something I cherished for 5 decades, until Goodell and other factors slowly killed it off for me, to the point that I won't even watch it anymore. Alas, I hope kids get the same joy out of it today that I did so many years ago as a kid and did for so many years of my life afterwards.
At 10 years old, I was there, section 517... Everyone got an orange 8x11.5" poster at the gate and we held them high on all kickoffs. The stands were shaking, confetti and toilet paper filled the air constantly. The city was electrified and unified. The Raiders were the RAIDERS back then, talented and intimidating!! Denver got a taste of success this year after seasons of futility and became Broncos Country forever after!!!
This is the game that 'pulled me in', Broncos for life. Anyone else?
Nope Raiders Fan here.
ha ha me too! Been hooked ever since!
Was already there in 1973!
Nah! Should had been our back to back year - 'lets take it outside!' 😠....🤣
@@latkagravas986 It would be nice if we were 4-2, 2-1 at that time. Had we won that game who wins the superbowl us or Dallas?
Go Raiders.
Classic never gets old
Should have been a Raiders vs Cowboys in the Super Bowl and what a Super Bowl it would have been. We were deprived on non fumble call on Lytle
Agreed. If either the Colts or Steelers had played Dallas, SB 12 would still have been much more competitive. Denver's embarrassingly sloppy performance in that game proves that the best team doesn't always make the Super Bowl. Their exceptional defense was the only thing that kept it from being a complete blowout.
Shut up! They lost! The so called greatest team! The Broncos stopped their asses from any chance at a repeat! Lol!
Raiders would have whooped that ass!!
@@SingleTax Defense wins championships though
@@chrisuncleahmad No they don't; teams do.
In a 10 year span ending with this game ....... the Oakland Raiders lost the AFC Championship game .... 7 out of 10 years. I lived and died with each one back then. It was traumatizing. A small consolation was winning it all in 1976.
Stabler was cool but I have to think he was the problem at times. One problem was not being able to keep up with Branch in his prime.
@@jimstevenson424 You're right. It's easy to watch highlights and come away thinking the guy never threw an incomplete pass or something. He did plus many INT's as well some days.
70s are may favorite NFL. I don't watch new games. Raiders were loaded then, but Stabler was the main face. He leaves, an a journeyman wins 2. Makes you wonder what could have been. Madden liked him but David didn't. I thought history would clear up the strange Madden/Davis relationship. Still, chillin flat footed in the pocket and throwing a perfect spiral left handed.
@@jimstevenson424 Stabler was clearly slipping when Davis traded him to Houston for Dante. I'm not so sure Davis didn't like Stabler. Aside from the idea he couldn't launch it like Lamonica did ......... Stabler was a major upgrade from the "Mad-Bomber" and let's face it ... Davis personally drafted Stabler. I remember we used to laugh at Stabler though. All he did for like for like three years or so after he was drafted would be to place-kick for Blanda. In those days however a QB would sit, learn and shut up until it was their time..... even if that took 5 years. The minute Stabler took over, he performed like a vet. It was amazing.
@@jimstevenson424 To say Plunkett was a journeyman, while technically true is slightly disingenuous. Plunkett had more natural talent than Lamonica and Stabler combined and was one of the greatest prospects ever to come out of college, but busted due to being forced to be the guy on horrible teams. When he finally got to a team whose players' talents equalled his own (to paraphrase Howard Cosell), he flourished. Raiders do not win those SBs (80 and 83) with Stabler at the helm (or Madden coaching).
Stabler was a great passer, but also an interception machine.
@Christopher Hagee He had SEVEN picks against Denver at home earlier in the season when Denver won 30-7, yikes!!
My clearest memories of Stabler are of him walking dejectedly off the field.
Morton was garbage
Like the Reggie Jackson of QBs, eh?
I LOVE THE BRONCOS COLOR ORANGE IN THE 70s...IT LOOKS MORE RED THAN ORANGE THOUGH, WHY, IS THAT?
IT WOULD LOOK GREAT PAIRED WITH THEIR CURRENT SHADE OF BLUE!!
I read somewhere that Rob Lytle (41) said he was knocked unconscious on that controversial fumble at the goal line at 8:34. In the clip you can see he was “out cold” and motionless after the Raiders claimed the ball. It was a helmet-to-helmet hit by Jack Tatum (32). There was some serious hitting in this game.
The Raiders were robbed, and I wasn't a fan of them. I remember the post game in the Broncos locker room. They showed the play to Lytle and asked him what he thought. He said "I guess we lucked out."
Tatum did a helmet-to-helmet hit on WR Darryl Stingley that paralyzed Stingley for life
@@gregorypollard5908 Fan or a fan of a different team this is not a good guy .
Gregory Pollard; In an exhibition game. That was taking it too far.
@@denisceballos9745 Everybody agrees with you even if you asked the players that are still with us
they would say your right.
Sure would have loved to see a Raiders vs Cowboys in 77 sb. Would have been a smoker. The other 2 epic sb's that would have been epic are 85 bears vs dolphins in a rematch but the dolphins inexplicably lost afc championship to the pats. The 3rd one is the 99 broncos vs the 16-1 vikings who blew it vs the falcons.
Fred getting hurt ended the Raiders chances. He tried rehabing after this but was forced to retire. He was 34 anyway.
Tough years for the tough little guy. He did alright, tho; fun to watch his moves tho
He tried a comeback with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL in 1981. Along with Vince Faragammo and Billie WS Johnson. They were a bust. Especially Fred. He was slow and was not allowed to use stickum.
I lived in Denver then and I remember how the entire city would shut down during the playoff games. The Superbowl loss was followed by my live in girlfriend tossing me out after finding someone else that would follow her commands that I wouldn't. Moved to Oregon right after the game and never did find a woman that would stand by me. Oh well, it was still quite a ride.
Watching this because of Vic Lombardi's Top 5 Bronco moments recommendation. Been a Bronco fan all my life, but this happened before my time.
'another routine TD for Casper'. And he just tosses the ball to the ref. Class, man 🏈😎
“Game’s biggest casualty” at 6:42 doesn’t look like a particularly serious hit, but it knocked Fred Biletnikoff out of the game. Last playoff reception of his great career.
Caught a hip check. Tough for the little tough guy
@3:00..."One of the game's most crucial plays." That's an understatement. Dr Death (#26) was a good player for years. But he really let the Raiders down on this play.
Dude Thank you!. Been wanting to see this whole game, but this 20 minute clip I dont need too AND! I saw that of Dr. Death througout!
Great footage
It really didn't matter who won this game either the Raiders or the Broncos were going to get stomped on by America's Team in SB XII
Dallas crushed the orange crush
You have to wonder how this game would have turned out if replay would have been in effect at that time.
This game was very much responsible for the "birth" of instant replay with the Lytle fumble and the Dolbin so called non catch.
Well, you could wonder that about a lot of games...
If I had a dollar for everytime someone talked about the Lytle fumble but NOT about the Dolbin touchdown catch I'd be retired easily.
Short and wide right. The Lytle fumble was arguably a 14-point swing-Raider lineman Mike McCoy was on his way to a certain Six when the play was belatedly whistled dead with-gall & wormwood-Denver maintaining possession and subsequently scoring.
Love that fusion Jazz music
That whole team should be in hall of fame I do agree that haven should definitely be there
Okay here we go again, YES Rob Lytle DID FUMBLE and he even admitted it back then, said he was knocked out for a few seconds by the hit so YES Oakland did get the shaft on that play. But for those of you who remember the "other" screw job in that game Denver's Jack Dolbin appeared to make a low catch for a touchdown that the refs took away saying that it hit the ground. It looked like a good catch to me back then and still does, looked like he got his hands under it and scooped it up but they said no good, so that also was a play that was very controversial and took points off the board.
Those two plays, the Lytle fumble especially, were instrumental in the development of instant replay.
Haven Moses was HUGE this game, Jim Turner SUCKED this game missing 3 field goals.
Turner also misses the PAT on the last touchdown.
Some great points Les. I remember that '77 Broncos season well. The Lytle fumble was clearly botched by the officials. However, the Broncos were also hosed in the 3rd quarter when Jack Dolbin caught a Craig Morton pass and ran in for a touchdown. The officials said Dolbin trapped the ball but replays showed that it was a clean catch. Denver got nothing out of the drive and had to punt the ball away. Next to nothing was said about it following the game. Only a small blurp in Sports Illustrated the following week (from a fan) gave it mention.
coalregioncanary.com/2019/08/03/jack-dolbin-nfl-career-highlights-denver-broncos/amp/
@@RetroRider6689 My point exactly...we have heard about the Lytle fumble all these years yet nothing about the Dolbin catch, he caught it and rolled into the end zone only to have it denied by the officials.
BOTH teams got shafted this game, not just Oakland.
@@RetroRider6689 I don't really agree that replays "showed" a "clean" catch. It might have been a catch but it might have also hit the ground at the same time he touched it. The only thing we know is that the Lytle fumble was missed. What we don't know is what would have happened had either the fumble or the "catch," assuming it was one, were called the other way. So its more or less a pointless exercise. Plus, neither team was going to beat the Cowboys anyway. Dallas was much stronger -- they beat Denver twice in about a month and the Doomsday rush would have decimated Stabler and his bad knee. So again, a pointless exercise. Denver and Oakland were both very good teams that year -- probably the second and third best teams in the NFL, better than the Vikings and Rams, and they both beat the Steelers. Call me when the Colts of that era ever win a playoff game.
@@scott1564 Some good observations Scott. When Warner Brothers came out with the Broncos Greatest Games DVD several years ago they included the 1977 AFC Championship Game. NBC replayed the Dolbin catch several times in slow motion. To me it appeared that Dolbin made a clean catch. At no time did I see the ball hit the ground. Dolbin had it all the way, at least that's how it looked to me. The bottom line is that with 3:08 remaining in the game and momentum on their side, Oakland failed to stop the Broncos from picking up 2 key first downs enabling them to run out the clock. I have no doubt that had the Raiders gotten the ball back they would have at least tied the game up. Dave Casper was getting open far too often and Ken Stabler was a master at late game heroics.
The 1977 Cowboys were one of the greatest teams in NFL history. I've always felt that the Raiders would have lost Super Bowl XII to Dallas as well, maybe 27-17.
On with the '78 season
Yes!!!
And the new 16 game schedule
I hated BOTH teams 🏈 however, Oakland Raiders vs. Dallas Cowboys would have been an absolute barn burner of a Super Bowl 💎
Stabler versus Staubach, the one to get the ball last wins!
Never ever once considered the matchup until December 2021 I'm an original Orange Crush Circa 1977 I was 11 years old..
never once thought of Raiders versus Cowboys
@@depaola63
My mom let me watch the game in her room 19 inch color TV
Every damn time the broncos turned it over
I'm running out of the room.. yelling they turned it over again mom they turned it over again they can't hang onto the ball I was 11 years old just freaking devastated
46 years later here we are
Just noticed, this at 13:37 it looks like Tooz is reaching out to help Morton up after he got pancaked and in more pain than what he started the game with!
I grew up with all these guys and they really did come out of nowhere. I remember it felt like Morton was going to break every time they hit him...the original #7! This team sure was fun to watch. Also, Haven Moses gets unfairly overshadowed by the defense...he was Rod Smith before Rod Smith.
Yea, what foreshadowing for the Broncos with the #7, Morton even looks similar in stature to Elway
@@a-train3503 please! No comparison in any way
@@jeph33 LoL
@@a-train3503 yah, and I was a Elway hater
@@jeph33 lol can't tell
Denver was a great defense, so so offense that was prone to turnovers. However the defense caused quite a few to even things out. That formula did not work in the SB when they had like 7 turnovers. One of the Bigger SB meltdowns of all time. Morton was like 5-14 with five interceptions. Dallas had played Denver in week 14 and knew the Broncos would be unable to run. So they just played the pass.
They really were a conservative offense and that was by Red Miller's choice, they really didn't have turnover problems that season (Morton threw only 8 interceptions) until the Super Bowl where they had 8, and Dallas knew Craig Morton so well since he played for them and they knew he wouldn't beat them. But Dallas also had fumble issues that game, 3 in the first half, but unlike the whole season Denver didn't recover any of them, had they done so I'm sure it would've impacted the game especially if they could've gotten that fumbled punt at the Dallas 1 yard line.
Didn't watch it: other interests @ age 17..
I still get sick watching this game. (This is actually the first time I'm watching any replay since the day the game was played.) I don't know why but this playoff loss always stuck with me more than the "Immaculate Reception", "The Tuck Rule", or the 51-3 blowout in Buffalo. I'm probably in the minority but the games against the Steelers and Patriots were up for grabs and played hard between two evenly matched teams; against Buffalo, with Jay Schroeder and without Bo Jackson, we never had a prayer. In this game I just felt that besides the Mike McCoy play, we left a lot on the table.
5:30 - That missed field goal (which was well within Errol Mann's range) is what cost Oakland the game.
The Raiders didnt have a solid kicker after Blanda retired until 1980 when they got Matt Bahr, his brother Chris was kicking for the Steelers.
Denver's Jim Turner missed 3 FG'S that day too!
Yep. 44 years later and watching this 20 clip just now, it was not only the Lytle fumble. Blanda should had came out of retirement by Al and beat Man with his 'old man stick'.
DID YOU NOT PAY ATTENTION TO HOW MANY FG AND EXTRA POINTS DENVER MISSED? STFU
@@aaronblaylock2092 Other way around. Chris kicked for the Raiders and Matt for the Steelers.
I miss watching the NFL...
Yeah the Good Ole Days when players respected Old Glory 🇺🇸
How is Haven Moses not in the HoF? What a talent.
If he's a HOF'er Jack Tatum sure as hell is.
@@smoothoperator7023 I'm a Raiders fan I will tell you number 32 is an idiot and a piece of garbage. the reason Haven isn't in the hall of fame is because he wasn't that good overall.
he did have a great season and playoff games for that season?
it's like Don Larson is the only pitcher to have a perfect game in world serise but that's it.
Moses doesn't have anywhere near the numbers to justify HOF.
@@joegriego3091 I think he has just that 1 great season plus playoffs.
That’s a tough one. I’d actually say Rick Upchurch was better than Moses and more HOF worthy. As a Raiders fan, Moses was phenomenal in this game.
As a Raiders fan this painful loss reminds me a lot of the "Tuck" game in New England in the 2001 play-off's....in both cases we were eliminated large in part by a bad call....Also Super Bowl XII would have been so much more interesting if the Raiders and Cowboys had played.
Definitely.
ya gotta earn your way in.
I would say a tie this game was when I was a kid. the other game was because the ref
got the call wrong after looking at replay. so they were both painful . for Alice Stearns.
No comparisons. Two different eras. This should had been our back to back year and should had been Super Bowl 'PORN' with Raiders vs Cowboys. Tuck Game came 22 years later since a last Infamous Name game and 24 years from our Championship years. Till the Tuck game - we were chop liver for some time.
Just shoulda coulda woulda, baby.
What a Voice
Harry Kalas
King 👑
@Le Stain Du Poop, Esq Both were great ✌
John Facenda was *way* better.
I was 10 at the time and was really felt like the Raiders got robbed but this video brings back great times. Funny seeing Lyle Alzado not in silver and black...
Haven Moses made some incredible catches , Bieltnikoff was hurt and didn't play
This was Denver's year?
@@marksantucci4230 Moses was a beast in the 70s but I guess part of it ebing your year is having the ball bounce your way, I.E; the emaculate reception, so yeah I recon it was just their year. It is weird though that from the fore mentioned game with the steelers to Tom Brady getting the break he needed to get his career off to a good start, it was the Raiders who were on the short end of so many contreversial playoff moments inspite of their successful record in those days.
What I meant to say is he didn't play in the 2nd half Bieltnikoff.
@@aaronblaylock2092 your right about that I, understand the immaculate reception
but when you have replays like we did in 2001 how does a ref botch the call?
Chris even said the ball came out of tommy boys hand it was knocked out by Woodson
not the cold weather so how does a ref get the call wrong when looking at replay?
HE JUMPED SHIP THE NEXT YEAR.
Funny, the Broncos missed 3 field goals and still won.
Yeah but they fumbled on the one yd line and the refs gave it back to them
@@louroca2850 But the refs also took an apparent Jack Dolbin touchdown catch away too.
That was a great Raiders team. That Denver was able to beat them in a close game speaks volumes about that "Orange Crush" defense. They punished people more than any team til the early 2000's Ravens. Legendary stuff.
Steelers the year before had best defense ever. 28 points surrendered in final 9 regular season games
That denver run defense was ridiculously good. Randy gradishar making all this tackles, and lyle alzado making it hell for o-line men made it tough for teams to run the ball against the broncos
No one cooler under pressure than Snake! Too bad we didn't get SB XII with a Raiders-Cowboys Super Bowl - would have been a memorable one!
16:55 Denver's Barney Chavous leans over to check on Ken Stabler after he got flattened by the rush and Lyle Alzado pushes Chavous away lol!
You can tell the ones that were destined to be Raiders one day.
Alzado from Denver and Matuzak from Cleveland.
@@aaronblaylock2092 Tooz never played in Cleveland. Just Houston and KC. Lyle was Den>Clev>Oak. This is without googling, memory.
@@aaronblaylock2092 Matuzak from Houston
@@DavidSmith-fs6pi No he came from the Redskins. Houston traded him many years prior to KC for the aging Curly Culp who actually prolonged his HOF career while the Tooz fizzled in KC before going to the SKins and then to the Raiders.
You can feel the stadium (and the camera) shaking as Moses breaks away.
Almost better was the week before when the Broncos beat the Steelers. We were in Steamboat Springs and got to the bar in plenty of time to get a good table in front of the tv. The bartender went to turn it on and the tv didnt work. So, they called the owner of the local store that sold tv's, and was closed on Sunday and it was Christmas Eve, and he delivered a new tv just in time for the game. We sweated that one out because everyplace was packed.😅
That had to be embarrassing for the Raiders. You hadn't lost in Denver since 1962 and this was one of the days that you lost for the first time since 1962 for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.
This seems like yesterday.
I remember them playing John Denver Music before the game pre game show that sort of thing.
Love John Denver - Hated the Loss (Should had been our Back to Back year)
@@latkagravas986 I'm with you it would have been nice if we were 4-2 at that time 2-1. but you can't win them all.
Go Raiders.
@@marksantucci4230 Football GODS said otherwise.
NBC played John Denver's Rocky Mountain High as fans began to storm the field at Mile High Stadium when time ran out. Some of the post-game show was conducted down on the field and it was a wild scene. I'll never forget NBC announcer Lee Leonard saying, "Down go the goalposts!"
Both of these team should go back to the team's they once where and play tough like that again.
Real Football!
Absolutely!
Casper reminds of Kittle (or the other way around I guess).
In Super Bowl XI Errol Mann was so bad if I were him I would have held a press conference stating I was kicking with a broken foot🦶 . I’m glad to see he got better a year later 5:30. 🤦🏻♂️
Blanda should had came out of Retirement and beat him with 'old man can stick' - so that Rozelle would not get on Davis for 'elder abuse'🤣
First super bowl I remember being on in the house. My older brother had orange crush fever.Sb12
9:06, this was the great John Madden's last playoff game. And that was a horrible call! A clear fumble.
Absolutely!!!
Orange Crush crushed Oakland....but a week later Doomsday struck!
The refs gift wrapped this game for Denver. Litle fumbled!
@@mjoven1975 Well you got that right....another terrible call by the zebras in a big spot....Things never change in the NFL!!!!!
I was a 12 year kid and a Raider fan!! This was the first time I cried over a football game!!
The Raiders were robbed!!
Rob Lytle fumble on the goal line!! The refs cheated like dogs!! Raiders vs.Cowboys would have been an epic Super Bowl!!
John Madden passed away today at 85
Broncos/Raiders split 2-game reg. season series with visiting Broncos on road cominng out as winners in mid-October, 1977, 30-7, while Raiders on road beat Broncs, 24-14 just 2 wks. later
Horrible Raider loss!
8:37 - That was clearly a fumble.
Rob Lytle RIP even said so
Rozelle called it (fumble) to the field - Id bet.
@Christopher Hagee Makeup call, lol. No way.
And Sugar Bear Hamilton never roughed stabler the year before
Its sickining to watch the nfl in 2020 watered down not even close to back when! Big 10 is way more better to watch.
Your correct those games blow away today's games? Even if our team loses?
Outrageous offensive stats, outrageous (halftime) basketball scores, lol. Most of todays players wouldn't last very long back then, it was such a different game, especially physically!
@@davidbanner9344 I agree with you Hulk?
Old Mile High was a noisy sun of bitch It would compare to that of Seattle Seahawks of today Just watching those games on TV and to see how the camera would shake when it got loud
Lytle lucky 52 didn't knock his head off in the beginning 🤣🤣
Madden is on the field. He wants to know if it's real. They say it is. Get your big butt outta here. He does.
John Matuszak spent New Year's Eve partying until wee hours of the morning. A hotel worker tipped the Broncos off to this fact and when Denver needed 2 first downs to run out the clock they ran right at the Tooz, knowing he was gassed (18:47):
"Momentum had shifted. You could feel it. Another Raider miracle finish was more than in the cards -- all we had to do was stop them. But we couldn't do it. Repeatedly, the Broncos gobbled up yardage by running off-tackle, straight at Tooz. Barely able to breathe in Denver's rarefied air, Tooz was more than sluggish. He seemed a count behind in every move. He could barely get out of his stance, much less shed a block. It was painful to watch him. Later, it came out that a hotel employee had tipped the Broncos about Tooz's all night pregame "party." Evidently, the Broncos were exploiting that information now. As the Denver drive continued, our players started getting on Tooz to try to wake him up, but to no avail. Finally, during one timeout, our captain begged our coordinator to get Tooz out. The coordinator, while more than sympathetic, shook his head and nodded toward the press box where Al Davis was sitting. "It ain't gonna happen," he said. And it didn't. Denver ran out the clock. We straggled into the locker room."
www.espn.com/page2/s/toomay/021021.html
Ha! As a Broncos fan I thank him for foolishly putting himself above the team and the importance of the game! And if the Raiders felt that way why didn't they give him some help from a linebacker if they knew they were running right at him? I think even if he was sober they still would've made that third down play, running behind the blocking of 280 pound right tackle Claudie Minor, that weight was huge back then for a lineman, not now but back then most lineman were around 260 or a bit more.
Mork and Mindy News! (Fake News!)....just jiving you - I believe it. Sincerely Raiderhead.
Stabler called out tooz on this in his book. Stabler said he was hung over and sick before the game. Snake all but blamed the loss on him thinking if they got the ball back, Denver could not cover Casper.
@@Biggdoom344 I've read that Matuszak was a BIG partier, coke, booze, women, pills...you name it. At 6'8" and 280 lbs, he must have felt like he was king of the world. But indestructible on the outside doesn't mean indestructible on the inside, and he died at age 38.
@@Biggdoom344 Stabler calling out Tooz for partying, that's really funny as he also liked to have a good time lol! BUT he obviously was wise enough not to do it the night before this game.
Raiders are still very good
But there getting old real fast the last couple weeks and that day
Brown Thomas bannerzack Blitankoff Davis
What a dirty play by number 52 on that false start penalty
🤣 (You cant change History)
these kickers blow
Crazy to think most of players in this game are in their mid 70s now
A lot aren't even with us anymore!
For as beat up as Morton was before and during this game, Raiders couldn't beat Denver! Morton took several shots and still outperformed Snake, who also played injured. In the end, Broncos ran out clock on ground and Raiders never got the ball back. Just wasn't the Raiders year. Dallas was unbeatable no matter if Raiders got by Denver, anyways. Dallas Doomsday Defense was not gonna be denied and I don't like Dallas, either. Just a football purist for 50 years.
Totally agree. Oakland never overcame their slow start in this game. Had they come back and won, that would have been it for them. They were spent.. No way do they beat a great Dallas team in Super Bowl 12. The Cowboys were never seriously challenged in their 3 playoff games.
Missed FGs in a big game. These teams were late getting sidewinders
Denver had a soccer style kicker in Bobby Howfield and they traded him to the Jets for Turner!
@@lesschoenberger3070 I get it tho. The guy held the record for longest FG. Rich Karlis was a helluva pick up tho..
Raiders messed up. They should've beat the Broncos handily. But the Raider D didn't play their best and the O missed scoring TDs on 2 drives in the 1st quarter. Can you imagine a Raider-Cowboy SB instead of Broncos-Cowboys? I would've been one for the ages.
Such a gratifying win. I HATED those Raider teams, full of low-life cheaters and cheap shot artists. Richly deserved to lose.
Too bad they dont do game highlights in slow motion & narrated like this anymore.....
And just show the game not 2,000 distracting things jammed on the screen as the game is going on like now!