In his nine NFL seasons, Upchurch excelled as a receiver and a kick returner on special teams. In his rookie season, he rushed for 97 yards, caught eighteen passes for 436 yards, returned 27 punts for 312 yards, and added another 1,014 yards returning kickoffs. In his second season, he set an NFL record by returning four punts for touchdowns and made the
Pro Bowl. In the 1977 season, he led the NFL with 653 punt return yards and assisted his team to their first ever
Super Bowl appearance. The Broncos lost
Super Bowl XII to the
Dallas Cowboys 27–10, but he had a good performance in the game. Upchurch amassed 125 total offensive yards (94 kickoff return, 22 punt return, nine receiving), including a Super Bowl record 67-yard kickoff return in the third quarter that set up Denver's only touchdown of the game. Upchurch stayed with the Broncos until the 1983 season. He led the NFL in punt return average twice (1978 and 1982) and was selected to the Pro Bowl three more times (1978, 1979, 1982). He finished his nine-season career with 49 carries for 349 rushing yards, 267 receptions for 4,369 yards, 248 punt returns for 3,008 yards, and 95 kickoff returns for 2,355 yards. Overall, Upchurch gained 10,081 total yards and scored 35 touchdowns: eight returning punts, 24 receiving, and three rushing. He was also selected All-Pro five times. At the time of his retirement, he was the NFL's career leader in punt return yards, and his eight punt returns for touchdowns tied the NFL record shared by
Jack Christiansen. With his 12.1 yards per punt return, he is one of five players to record a career average of over twelve yards per punt return. ==NFL career statistics==