A football game in the snow is my favorite form of sports entertainment, bringing back memories of games slogging around in the snow as both a child and college student.
On Oct. 15, 1984, 41 years ago tonight, an NFL Monday night game between the host Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers was played during a classic Front Range blizzard.
The three-day snowstorm from Oct. 14-16 would drop just shy of a foot of snow on the Mile High City, with 3 feet or more in the foothills. During the game itself, about 4 inches of snow piled up on the field at Mile High Stadium. According to denverbroncos.com, it was the most snow to fall on a game played in Denver.
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As is almost always the case, the game was sold out. But only 62,546 fans braved the elements to show up. Some fans, and even the TV and radio announcers, had difficulty seeing the players on the field.
The snowy conditions produced one oddity never before or since repeated. The Packers fumbled on each of their first two snaps from scrimmage. And each was returned by the Broncos for touchdowns. It remains the only time in NFL history in which the first two offensive snaps resulted in touchdowns by the defense. Just 37 seconds into the game, the Broncos led 14-0.
That’s all the Broncos needed for a 17-14 victory.
That’s not the only amazing thing that happened on the field. In the 1980s, there were a few NFL kickers who kicked barefoot. One of those was Broncos kicker Rich Karlis, who nailed a 30-yard field goal and the two extra points in those conditions.
No wonder this 200th Monday Night football game pulled in record TV ratings, according to denverbroncos.com.
Broncos safety Steve Foley, who returned the first Packers fumble for a touchdown, told the Denver Post, “Whenever anybody asks me about the Broncos, they always bring up that game. And I always tell them that it was the most fun I have ever had playing football in the pros.”
(MORE: Top 10 Weather Games In NFL History)
Denver Bronco Louie Wright scoops up a fumble and rambles into the end zone for Denver’s second touchdown against Green Bay on Oct. 15, 1984.
(Jim Preston/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.