Denver Broncos: 9 players who deserved to win a Super Bowl

Tom Jackson

If Gradishar is going to be on this list, Jackson should be a part of it too.

Jackson played so long ago that most football fans relate to him more due to his broadcasting work for ESPN than his time in Denver, but he spent 14 great seasons with the team. His career began before Gradishar’s and lasted longer. The two linebackers were part of the same defense for a decade together.

Jackson was also part of the Super Bowl XII loss to Dallas but hung around into the 1986 season when the Broncos defeated the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Championship Game thanks to “The Drive” before heading to Super Bowl XXI in Pasadena, California.

That would be the final game of his career and it would not end in storybook fashion as the Giants hammered the Broncos by a final score of 39-20.

Jackson was a consistent contributor for the Broncos and a true field general. He played in 191 games for the team and to this day, only two Broncos (Elway and Jason Elam) played in more.

He finished his career with 20 interceptions, a big number for a linebacker and was able to return three of those for touchdowns. He often doesn’t get the total credit that he deserves, mainly because of the greatness of Gradishar, but he was a key piece of the Denver defense for quite some time.

His career certainly deserved that storybook finish that both Elway and Manning were able to achieve.