It was January 11, 1987 when John Elway drove the Denver Broncos 98 yards in five minutes to tie the AFC Championship Game against the Cleveland Browns. Watch the monumental Broncos series in its entirety as we celebrate new monuments in Broncos playoff history today.

The digitized archives are open to media and fans and can be found here. Media guides, gamebooks, flip cards — all at your perusing pleasure. It is believed to be the first database of its kind in collegiate or professional sports. Go check it out.

Denver Broncos WR Eddie Royal made history Monday Night. (REUTERS/Fred Greaves)

Dressed in the Denver Broncos‘ classic “seal brown” from head to toe, Eddie Royal returned both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown Monday night.

The last Bronco to do that was Al Frazier on December 3, 1961. Frazier was also wearing those seal brown colors — the second-to-last time Denver would wear them, before 2009.

Ryan Clady (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Last week, Ryan Clady tied the record for most games to start an NFL career without giving up a full sack. After Sunday’s performance against the Dallas Cowboys, he broke it.

Clady, the Denver Broncos‘ 12th overall selection in the 2008 NFL Draft, now stands alone, having started 20 games at left tackle in the NFL without giving up a full sack.

Now that Clady has broken the record for a rookie tackle, he can set his sights on the all-time mark. The record number of games without giving up a sack for any player, regardless of experience, is 32 games, currently held by Jason Fabini. Clady is tied for ninth on that list.

Clady’s run is remarkable, and it’s disappointing that it’s not getting more pub. We’ll keep an eye on his streak throughout the season and be among his loudest supporters if and when he reaches the top.

• Ryan Clady: Best in the NFL [BroncoTalk]
• Ryan Clady career stats [STATS]

Marshall over Newman for the game-winner. (REUTERS/Rick Wilking)

Stats, notes, and points of interest after the Denver Broncos‘ 17-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

FINAL SCORE: BRONCOS 17, COWBOYS 10
ATTENDANCE: 76,440

LATE ORTON-MARSHALL TOUCHDOWN FUELS 4-0 START

The Denver Broncos scored 17 unanswered points and improved to 4-0 on the season after beating the Dallas Cowboys (2-2) by a 17-10 margin. This marks the sixth time in Broncos history the club has started a season 4-0.

• WR Brandon Marshall’s 51-yard touchdown reception from QB Kyle Orton with 1:46 remaining and Denver’s fourth-down defensive stand with 0:01 left helped seal the win.
• Orton, who completed 18 of his last 22 passes against Dallas and finished 20-of-29 for 243 yards and two touchdowns (117.5 rating), joined John Hadl (L.A. Rams, 1973) as the only two quarterbacks to throw for at least one touchdown and no interceptions in each of their first four starts with a new team.
• Orton has thrown at least one touchdown in each start this season for the Broncos without recording an interception, improving his career touchdown-interception ratio in the red zone to 25:2. He extended his streak of pass attempts without an interception to 155 dating back to last season.
• Marshall led the club with 91 receiving yards on his four receptions against Dallas and now leads Denver with 16 catches for 219 yards and two touchdowns on the season.
• Head Coach Josh McDaniels joins Red Miller (6-0 in 1977) as the only head coaches in club history to start at least 4-0 in their first season with the Broncos. McDaniels and Indianapolis’ Jim Caldwell are the only 4-0 coaches this season.

DUMERVIL RECORDS THIRD CONSECUTIVE MULTI-SACK GAME

With his two sacks against the Cowboys, OLB/DE Elvis Dumervil moved into a tie with Cincinnati’s Antwan Odom for the NFL sack lead with nine sacks on the season. Dumervil, who registered a career-high 12.5 sacks in 2007, has 10 multi-sack games in his career—including in each of Denver’s last three games—a mark that ties him for second in the NFL since he entered the league in 2006.

DEFENSIVE IMPROVES TURNOVER RATIO

• The Broncos finished with two takeaways (1 INT, 1 FUM) against just one giveaway (FUM) for a +1 turnover differential (10 takeaways, 3 giveaways). Denver is second in the NFL with a +7 turnover differential on the season.
• Denver’s first score resulted from Denver’s ninth takeaway of the season—a sack and forced fumble by S Renaldo Hill that was recovered by ILB D.J. Williams. The Broncos have now scored 30 points off 10 opponent turnovers in 2009 (3 TD, 3 FG; 38.0% of Denver’s total points (79)).

CHAMP BAILEY TIES FOR SEVENTH ON BRONCOS INTERCEPTION LIST

With his third-quarter interception of QB Tony Romo, CB Champ Bailey tied CB Louis Wright for seventh place on Denver’s all-time interceptions list with 26. Bailey also moved into a tie with Baltimore S Ed Reed for the second-most interceptions (44) since he entered the league in 1999 with the Washington Redskins.

MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES

• OL Russ Hochstein started at left guard in place of G Ben Hamilton. It marked Hochstein’s second start of the season as he opened at right guard in Week 1 at Cin. (9/13) in place of G Chris Kuper…
• RB Correll Buckhalter led all Broncos with five receptions (55 yds.)… RB Knowshon Moreno (14-65, 4.6 avg.) led the team in rushing for the first time this season…
• ILB D.J. Williams tied for the club lead with nine tackles (all solo), a sack (1 yd.) and two passes defensed to go along with his second-quarter fumble recovery…
• ILB Andra Davis also recorded nine tackles (7 solo) for the Broncos… Denver extended its scoring streak to 265 games. The streak, which began on Nov. 30, 1992, is the longest active streak in the NFL and the third-longest all-time…
• OLB/DE Darrell Reid lined up at fullback and blocked for Denver’s fourth-down rushing attempt in the third quarter…
• Denver’s defense held Dallas to 3-of-14 on third downs, including 0-of-7 in the second half. The Broncos allowed just 21 net yards on those 14 third-down plays…
• The Broncos’ 10 points allowed was the fewest against an NFC opponent in 24 games (since 37-7 win vs. Arizona, 12/29/02)…
• P Brett Kern finished with six punts for a 50.8 average, including four punts for a 55.3 average when kicking in Denver territory.

Big thanks to the Broncos PR Staff!

Denver Broncos offensive tackle Ryan Clady has plowed his way into the NFL record books. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Ryan Clady did it.

He probably wasn’t trying to do it. He probably wasn’t even aware of it. No, it’s much more likely that the 23-year-old Clady saw September 27, 2009 as just another Sunday — another instance of the task at hand, and another job to do.

If he could have towed a lunch pail along with him, he probably would have. “Just doing my job,” Clady probably thought.

On this Sunday, Clady was to face recent Oakland Raiders trade trophy Richard Seymour. Like any other Sunday, Clady rendered the opposing defensive lineman helpless and hopeless. He shut Seymour down, and then shut him up.

In doing so, not only did Clady exorcise the only demon of his young career (a half-sack surrendered to Seymour in 2008), Clady made his mark in the NFL record books. The second-year player is now tied with former Jets tackle Ryan Young for the most games to start an NFL career without giving up a full sack.

That’s 19 straight games of pure domination at his position. Clady has never suffered a misstep from his first snap in the National Football League to Kyle Orton‘s coffin-nailing kneel down late Sunday afternoon.

A Mile High Salute to Ryan Clady, a pleasure to watch, and bearer of the proud tradition of Rocky Mountain linemen for years to come.

The Denver Broncos celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2009, and never in those 50 years have they had a start quite like this.

Through three games (capped with a glorious 23-3 butt-whooping of the Raiders), the Broncos defense has held opponents to a total of 16 points (5.3 points per game), breaking a franchise record that has stood for over 30 years.

FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED THROUGH FIRST THREE REGULAR-SEASON GAMES, BRONCOS HISTORY

They’re also the #1 defense in the NFL as of Sunday night, in both yards and points.

And lest you start pointing out the quality of opponent (which is a fair counter, to be certain), we defer to David Ramsey of the Colorado Springs Gazette:

Denver is holding opponents to 5.3 points per game. When playing other defenses, the Bengals, Browns and Raiders average 18.3 points.

Can it be? Are these Broncos… for real? It certainly appears so. (Many thanks to the Broncos PR department for the numbers, and go Broncos!)

Fans have been able to vote for the greatest players in Denver Broncos history position-by-position since June 6th, and today, the team announced the results. Scroll below to see the full Denver Broncos 50th Anniversary Team.

As you’ll see, there’s a heavy skew on the 90′s teams that won two Super Bowls, especially on offense. And deservedly so; the 1997 and 1998 teams weren’t just the greatest squad in Broncos history, they were two of the most talented rosters from top to bottom in NFL history.

This list is fairly solid, and closely mirrors my own roster. I would have liked to see Al Wilson at linebacker; he was the heart and soul of the Broncos defense for 8 years, but it’s hard to take any of those names off at the same time. Lionel Taylor makes more sense than Eddie Mac at WR to me.

What do you think Broncos fans? How does this team match your roster? Who was left off? Who doesn’t deserve to be on it? Dish it out in the comments. Press release (including the 2nd teamers) after the jump.

BRONCOS ANNOUNCE 50th ANNIVERSARY TEAM

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The 2009 NFL season marks the 50th anniversary of the Denver Broncos. To commemorate the past while embracing the future, the franchise has allowed its community of fans, an integral part of Broncos Country during the first 50 seasons, the chance to vote for their 50th Anniversary Denver Broncos Team.

From June 6 – Sept. 4, fans had the chance to make their voices heard by casting their votes online at www.DenverBroncos.com. The results are in, and here are the choices:

The first team will be honored in person during halftime of the team’s Legacy Game on Oct. 11 when the New England Patriots visit INVESCO Field at Mile High. In addition, one lucky voter will have the opportunity to join the 50th Anniversary Team during this ceremony. That winner will be announced at a later date.

The voting process was made possible by the Broncos’ online marketing partner, Akavit – the principle digital agency behind DenverBroncos.com and BroncosCountry.com. The interactive voting tool featured the Broncos’ history and highlights spanning the past 50 seasons through the use of video and additional multimedia. Each player was represented by their respective biography, statistics and photographs.

Along with the first team, the Broncos are also announcing a 50th Anniversary second team.

The second team-offense has Craig Morton lining up at quarterback, with Otis Armstrong and Sammy Winder at running back, Haven Moses and Lionel Taylor at wide receiver, and Riley Odoms at tight end. Rounding out the unit is the offensive line of Ken Lanier and Dave Studdard at offensive tackle, Ben Hamilton and Paul Howard at guard and Billy Bryan at center.

The second-team defense has a line of Rulon Jones and Alfred Williams at defensive end, and Greg Kragen and Paul Smith at defensive tackle. Al Wilson, Bill Romanowski and D.J. Williams are at linebacker. Ray Crockett and Willie Brown are the second-team cornerbacks, while Steve Foley and Goose Gonsoulin round out the defense at safety.

The second-team specialists are Jim Turner at kicker, Mike Horan at punter, and Billy Thompson at returner.

There are plenty of Broncos who are unjustly absent from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Randy Gradishar, Louis Wright, and more recently Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe have all been denied induction into Canton’s hallowed halls. But in my humble opinion, Floyd Little has always been the grossest error of them all.

Today, a major, major first step was taken toward Little’s enshrinement – #44 has been named by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Seniors Committee as one of their two senior candidates. Along with current Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, Little will be among the finalists on which the committee will vote in Jan/Feb 2010.

For more on Little, who was nicknamed “The Franchise” and saved the Broncos from certain relocation, please refer to this piece: Floyd Little Belongs in the Hall of Fame. We’ll have much, much more on Little in the weeks and months ahead, and we’ll be doing our part to encourage the Hall of Fame voters to get Little, and all these Broncos, in the Hall.