Rob Lytle was the best player to wear jersey No. 41 for the Denver Broncos.
Lytle played college football at Michigan and was picked by the Broncos in the second round of the 1977 NFL draft. The running back went on to spend his entire seven-year career in Denver.
Lytle rushed 376 times for 1,451 yards and 12 touchdowns in 87 games with the Broncos while adding 61 receptions for 562 yards and two scores. Denver reached the Super Bowl in Lytle’s rookie season and he became the first player to score a Super Bowl touchdown in franchise history.
Lytle’s one-yard score was the Broncos’ only touchdown in an eventual 27-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XII.
#MINvsDEN WEEK — Nov. 2, 1981 — When the Broncos and Vikings last played in primetime against each other at Denver, which they will do again on Sunday, the Broncos withstood a furious 4th quarter Vikings’ rally to win 19–17!
TDs: Rob Lytle and Steve Watson
Aaron Kyle: 40-yard INT pic.twitter.com/05EjBec3AZ— Mile High Moments (@MileHighMoments) November 16, 2023
Before going pro, Lytle was named a Consensus All-American in 1976 after rushing for 1,402 yards and 13 touchdowns, helping the Wolverines reach the Rose Bowl. Lytle scored in the bowl game but Michigan fell to USC 14-6.
Following his death in 2010, Lytle was posthumously elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
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