Broncos without a QB? Remember when Chuck Noll had to turn to DB Tony Dungy in 1977 after Bradshaw and Kruczek were hurt?

Tony Dungy as DB with Steelers in 1977: Photo ESPN/Getty

 … and it did not turn out very well

The story that broke on Saturday, Nov. 28 was amazing, though perhaps not so much so because of the crazy 2020 Covid-19 NFL season.

The Denver Broncos had four quarterbacks on their roster, but all of them were declared ineligible because they had to enter the Covid protocol on Saturday. 

It was an unbelievable story, but the Denver Broncos are not a Super Bowl team in 2020.

In 1977, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the winners of two Super Bowls in 1974 and 1975 and had arguably a great season in 1976 that did not lead there. 

So, they had a Super Bowl pedigree, unlike the Denver Broncos who have not been a Super Bowl team since Peyton Manning retired. 

Yet, the two teams did have on similarity.

1977 mistake by Chuck Noll

Chuck Noll was one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, winning four Super Bowls in six years during the 1970s. However, he made a major mistake in 1977, a season that was bizarre for him and for the team. 

Noll was sued for defamation by a player for the Oakland Raiders who alleged that he was defamed by the coach for calling him part of the “criminal element” in the NFL. Noll won the suit, but he had to admit that Mel Blount could be considered to be part of that criminal element, too, outraging his eventual Hall of Fame corner. 

There were many distractions that year, but he also made a major coaching blunder. He kept only two quarterbacks on his roster, Terry Bradshaw and Mike Kruczek. 

And on October 9, 1977, it came back to bite him when he ran out of quarterbacks and had to insert a defensive back for the fourth quarter,

Terry Bradshaw broke his wrist in the first quarter. Backup Mike Kruczek separated a shoulder on the final play of the third quarter. And suddenly, on a fall afternoon in October 1977, the Pittsburgh Steelers were all out of quarterbacks.

Tony Dungy, a rookie safety for the Steelers at the time, was sitting on the bench at that moment.

"And I'm wondering, 'What is coach going to do now?'" Dungy said by phone this week. "Then I feel a tap on my shoulder. It's Chuck Noll."

And so it came to be that Dungy quarterbacked the Steelers through the fourth quarter of a 27-10 loss to the Houston Oilers. As ESPN.com explores the likelihood of an emergency quarterback playing this season, it's worth remembering that Dungy -- long before he became a Super Bowl-winning coach himself -- carved out a unique niche of NFL history. His rocky one-quarter stint behind center left him as the only modern-era player to both throw and make an interception in the same game.

Kevin Seifert, “Tony Dungy: The most memorable emergency 

QB of all time,” ESPN, Nov 24, 2015

Dungy was QB at University of Minnesota

One of the heartbreaking aspects of Tony Dungy’s playing career was that after playing for the Minnesota Gophers in college and throwing for 3,515 yards and 25 touchdowns, no NFL team thought enough of him to draft him in 1977. 

Part of his difficulty at quarterback was that he threw 35 interceptions, ten more than his number of TDs. 

So, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Steelers, and he was just starting to do well as a DB, recording his first interception of his career in the first quarter,

Dungy had played quarterback at the University of Minnesota and was disappointed to learn that NFL scouts didn't see a future for him at the position. After going undrafted, he signed with the Steelers and spent his first week of practice as a receiver before he was moved to safety.

The Steelers released their third quarterback, Neil Graff, in training camp and it took only four weeks before that decision backfired. As Dungy earned playing time on defense, no one broached the idea of playing quarterback in a pinch. In fact, his career as a safety was just taking off. He intercepted the first pass of his career on that fateful day at the Astrodome.

About an hour later, Noll was asking him if he remembered anything about the Steelers' offense from that one-week stint as a receiver.

"I knew eight plays," Dungy said. "And so that's all we used."

Kevin Seifert, ESPN, November 24, 2015

Distinguished coach, not so much as QB

The Steelers really needed a win on that early October day. They led 10-7 at halftime despite Bradshaw’s leaving the game, but when Kruczek went down with the shoulder injury, they were behind 14-10.

It was rather an inauspicious start for Dungy, but what could be expected from a player who had never taken a snap as an NFL QB?

The Steelers tried to give Dungy a crash course in quarterbacking and the team’s offensive playbook, but it was for naught as they lost, 27-10,

So Dungy retreated to the bench for an emergency strategy session. He finished the game with three completions in eight attempts for 43 yards. He threw two interceptions and fumbled a snap …

Kevin Seifert, ESPN, November 24, 2015

Dungy later became the first black NFL coach to win a Super Bowl, and he has been a good commentator for NBC Sports in football season.  

But, if his experience as a QB in 1977 could be indicative of what will happen with the Denver Broncos tomorrow, then it could be a long day for the quarterback-less team.