Super Bowl records and numbers the Denver Broncos are still on the wrong side of

The Denver Broncos have played in eight Super Bowls and know what it's like to bring home the Lombardi Trophy, something many teams in the league can't say. But it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows for the team in the big game.
Super Bowl 24
Super Bowl 24 / Owen C. Shaw/GettyImages
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Timmy Smith, Washington Redskins
Super Bowl XXII - Denver Broncos v Washington Redskins / Focus On Sport/GettyImages

Most rushing yards allowed to a single player

To this day, the single-game record for most rushing yards by a player in the Super Bowl happened against the Broncos.

What is most disappointing about it is not just that it happened, but who did it. Timmy Smith is not a recognizable name, but he holds this record.

Of all the great running backs who have ever played in and had great games in the Super Bowl, from Marcus Allen to Emmitt Smith to Terrell Davis and so many others, it is Smith who rushed for a record 204 yards against the Broncos in Super Bowl XXII for Washington.

That season, Smith was a fifth-round pick out of Texas Tech. He was a rookie in the Super Bowl and was a surprise starter for this game. He had only rushed for 126 yards that entire season! But if there were ever a one-hit wonder in the Super Bowl, it's Smith.

He was out of Washington following the 1988 season and after brief stints with the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, he was out of the NFL. He finished his career with 602 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

That entire game against Washington was a complete nightmare for the Broncos. In addition to yielding all of that yardage to Smith, they also allowed 35 points in one quarter, another mark that still stands as a record in the Super Bowl and one that it would be astonishing to ever see broken.

The Broncos have many great Super Bowl memories, but they are still on the wrong side of history in many cases in the league's biggest game of the year.

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