1977 Season — Broncos Beat Raiders in AFC Championship (20–17)

The 1977 AFC Championship Game, played January 1, 1978, featured the Denver Broncos and the defending AFC champion Oakland Raiders. Denver prevailed 20–17, earning its first trip to the Super Bowl. The Broncos' path to the championship game included regular-season and playoff plays in which their defense pressured and intercepted Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler, setting a narrative of Denver's ability to contain Oakland's offense [6][7]. In the championship matchup, Denver's balanced play and timely defense were decisive: the final score, 20–17, reflected a close, physically contested playoff game. Key performances included Denver’s defensive stands and offensively sufficient production to outscore Oakland in a one-possession game. Contemporary and later accounts single out the matchup as one of the significant conference championship games of the era, highlighting Denver's emergence as a postseason-caliber team after years of AFL and early NFL struggles [6][7]. The victory gave the Broncos franchise a milestone achievement and shifted the competitive dynamic between the clubs in the late 1970s by demonstrating Denver's ability to win big playoff games against Oakland [6][7].

This game matters because it is the rivalry's most consequential playoff meeting in the 1970s: Denver's 20–17 victory denied Oakland a repeat run as AFC champions and delivered Denver its first Super Bowl appearance. The outcome reframed perceptions of the teams' relative strengths, proving Denver could beat Oakland in a high-stakes postseason environment and altering the rivalry’s competitive hierarchy in that period [6][7].

The Broncos' victory propelled them to Super Bowl XII, while Oakland's season ended in a narrow defeat that reinforced the Raiders' reputation as a perennial contender despite that loss. The game entered both franchises' postseason histories and is frequently cited in retrospectives of the rivalry's key moments; it also contributed to the long-term narrative of playoff stakes separating the clubs in critical seasons [6][7].