2004 Denver Broncos season

The 2004 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 35th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 45th overall. Under head coach Mike Shanahan the Broncos equalled their 10–6 record from 2003, and again finished second in the AFC West. In a repeat of 2003, the Broncos’ season ended in defeat to the Indianapolis Colts 49–24 in the AFC Wild Card playoffs.

2004 Denver Broncos season
OwnerPat Bowlen
PresidentPat Bowlen
General managerTed Sundquist and Mike Shanahan
Head coachMike Shanahan
Offensive coordinatorGary Kubiak
Defensive coordinatorLarry Coyer
Home fieldInvesco Field at Mile High
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd AFC West
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Colts) 24–49
Pro BowlersFS John Lynch
CB Champ Bailey

Starting quarterback Jake Plummer finished the season with 4,089 passing yards (4th in the league). During the offseason, the Broncos traded running back Clinton Portis to the Washington Redskins in exchange for cornerback Champ Bailey.

Off Season

The Broncos acquired cornerback Champ Bailey in a trade with the Washington Redskins, sending running back Clinton Portis to Washington in return.

During the offseason, the Broncos failed to retain linebackers Keith Burns and Ian Gold. Both would sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but however, both players would return to the team in the following season. Also, the Broncos failed to retain defensive end Bertrand Berry, who would sign with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent.

The Broncos also signed safety John Lynch as a free agent after he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

NFL Draft
Main article: 2004 NFL Draft
2004 Denver Broncos draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 17 D. J. Williams  Linebacker Miami (FL) from Cincinnati[1]
2 41 Tatum Bell  Running back Oklahoma State from Washington[2]
2 54 Darius Watts  Wide receiver Marshall
3 85 Jeremy LeSueur  Cornerback Michigan
5 152 Jeff Shoate  Cornerback San Diego State
6 171 Triandos Luke  Wide receiver Alabama
6 190 Josh Sewell  Center Nebraska
7 225 Matt Mauck  Quarterback LSU
7 247 Brandon Miree  Fullback Pittsburgh
7 250 Bradlee Van Pelt  Quarterback Colorado State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff
2004 Denver Broncos staff

Front office

  • President and chief executive officer – Pat Bowlen
  • General manager – Ted Sundquist
  • Director of pro personnel – Rick Smith
  • Director of college scouting – Jim Goodman

Head coaches

  • Executive vice president of football operations/head coach – Mike Shanahan

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator – Gary Kubiak
  • Quarterbacks – Pat McPherson
  • Running backs – Bobby Turner
  • Wide receivers – Steve Watson
  • Tight ends – Brian Pariani
  • Offensive line – Rick Dennison
  • Offensive assistant/special teams – Troy Calhoun
 Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Larry Coyer
  • Defensive line – Jacob Burney
  • Assistant defensive line/pass rush specialist – Keith Millard
  • Defensive backs – David Gibbs
  • Assistant defensive backs – Jimmy Spencer
  • Defensive assistant/special teams – Kirk Doll

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Ronnie Bradford

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Rich Tuten
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Greg Saporta
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Cedric Smith

Roster
2004 Denver Broncos final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

  • 26 Tatum Bell
  • 34 Reuben Droughns KR
  • 39 Kyle Johnson
  • 27 Jonathan Reese
  • 37 Cecil Sapp

Wide receivers

Tight ends

  • 89 Dwayne Carswell
  • 86 Patrick Hape
  • 88 Jeb Putzier
 Offensive linemen
  • 69 P.J. Alexander C
  • 65 Cooper Carlisle G
  • 70 Tyson Clabo T
  • 72 George Foster T
  • 74 Cornell Green T
  • 50 Ben Hamilton G
  • 78 Matt Lepsis T
  • 66 Tom Nalen C
  • 62 Dan Neil G
  • 63 Tim Stuber G

Defensive linemen

  • 92 Marco Coleman DE
  • 68 Mario Fatafehi DT
  • 98 Reggie Hayward DE
  • 61 Ellis Johnson DT
  • 99 Raylee Johnson DE
  • 95 Anton Palepoi DE
  • 75 Monsanto Pope DT
  • 93 Trevor Pryce DT
  • 97 Demetrin Veal DT
 Linebackers
  • 55 Patrick Chukwurah OLB
  • 53 Louis Green OLB
  • 58 Terry Pierce MLB
  • 59 Donnie Spragan OLB
  • 57 Jashon Sykes OLB
  • 52 D.J. Williams OLB
  • 56 Al Wilson MLB

Defensive backs

  • 45 Roc Alexander CB/KR
  • 24 Champ Bailey CB
  • 42 Sam Brandon FS
  • 25 Nick Ferguson FS
  • 31 Kelly Herndon CB
  • 28 Kenoy Kennedy SS
  • 47 John Lynch FS
  • 40 Jeff Shoate CB
  • 32 Chris Young SS

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • 38 Mike Anderson FB (IR)
  • 96 Dorsett Davis DT (IR)
  • 94 Luther Elliss DT (IR)
  • 22 Quentin Griffin RB (IR)
  • 20 Garrison Hearst RB (IR)
  • 14 Nate Jackson WR (IR)
  • 12 B.J. Johnson WR (IR)
  • 43 Jeremy LeSueur CB (IR)
  • 23 Willie Middlebrooks CB (IR)
  • 48 Brandon Miree RB (IR)
  • 35 Lenny Walls CB (IR)


Practice squad

  • 30 Santonio Beard RB
  • 36 Curome Cox S
  •  3 Romar Crenshaw WR
  • 18 Grant Mattos WR
  •  8 Matt Mauck QB
  • 71 D.J. Renteria DE
  • 79 Josh Sewell C
  •  9 Bradlee Van Pelt QB


Rookies in italics
 53 active, 11 inactive, 8 practice squad

Schedule

In addition to their regular home-and-away series with AFC West rivals the Raiders, the Chiefs and the Chargers, the Broncos played teams from the AFC South and NFC South as per the schedule rotation established in 2002,[3] and also played intraconference games against the Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals based on their common divisional position vis-à-vis the Broncos from 2003.

The Christmas Day game was the first occasion the Broncos had played the Titans since they were the Houston Oilers, whom they previously met in 1995.[4] This is because between 1978 and 2002 non-divisional conference games were scheduled exclusively based upon the preceding season’s finish.[5]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance TV
1 September 12 Kansas City Chiefs W 34–24 1–0 75,939 ESPN
2 September 19 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 6–7 1–1 69,127 CBS
3 September 26 San Diego Chargers W 23–13 2–1 74,533 CBS
4 October 3 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 16–13 3–1 65,341 CBS
5 October 10 Carolina Panthers W 20–17 4–1 75,072 Fox
6 October 17 at Oakland Raiders W 31–3 5–1 57,293 CBS
7 October 25 at Cincinnati Bengals L 10–23 5–2 65,806 ABC
8 October 31 Atlanta Falcons L 28–41 5–3 75,083 Fox
9 November 7 Houston Texans W 31–13 6–3 74,292 CBS
10 Bye
11 November 21 at New Orleans Saints W 34–13 7–3 64,900 CBS
12 November 28 Oakland Raiders L 24–25 7–4 75,936 ESPN
13 December 5 at San Diego Chargers L 17–20 7–5 65,395 CBS
14 December 12 Miami Dolphins W 20–17 8–5 75,027 CBS
15 December 19 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17–45 8–6 77,702 CBS
16 December 25 at Tennessee Titans W 37–16 9–6 68,809 ESPN
17 January 2 Indianapolis Colts W 33–14 10–6 75,149 CBS
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Playoffs
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
Wild Card January 9, 2005 at Indianapolis Colts L 24–49 0–1 RCA Dome 56,609

Standings
AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(4) San Diego Chargers 12 4 0 .750 5–1 9–3 446 313 W1
(6) Denver Broncos 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 381 304 W2
Kansas City Chiefs 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 483 435 L1
Oakland Raiders 5 11 0 .313 1–5 3–9 320 422 L2
AFC[6]
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division leaders
1 Pittsburgh Steelers North 15 1 0 .938 5–1 11–1 .484 .479 W14
2 New England Patriots East 14 2 0 .875 5–1 10–2 .492 .478 W2
3[lower-alpha 1] Indianapolis Colts South 12 4 0 .750 5–1 8–4 .500 .458 L1
4[lower-alpha 1] San Diego Chargers West 12 4 0 .750 5–1 9–3 .477 .411 W1
Wild cards
5[lower-alpha 2] New York Jets East 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 .523 .406 L2
6[lower-alpha 2] Denver Broncos West 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 .484 .450 W2
Did not qualify for the postseason
7[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4] Jacksonville Jaguars South 9 7 0 .563 2–4 6–6 .527 .479 W1
8[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4] Baltimore Ravens North 9 7 0 .563 3–3 6–6 .551 .472 W1
9[lower-alpha 3] Buffalo Bills East 9 7 0 .563 3–3 5–7 .512 .382 L1
10 Cincinnati Bengals North 8 8 0 .500 2–4 4–8 .543 .453 W2
11[lower-alpha 5] Houston Texans South 7 9 0 .438 4–2 6–6 .504 .402 L1
12[lower-alpha 5] Kansas City Chiefs West 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 .551 .509 L1
13[lower-alpha 6] Oakland Raiders West 5 11 0 .313 1–5 3–9 .570 .450 L2
14[lower-alpha 6] Tennessee Titans South 5 11 0 .313 1–5 3–9 .512 .463 W1
15[lower-alpha 7] Miami Dolphins East 4 12 0 .250 1–5 2–10 .555 .438 L1
16[lower-alpha 7] Cleveland Browns North 4 12 0 .250 1–5 3–9 .590 .469 W1
Tiebreakers[lower-alpha 8]
  1. Indianapolis clinched the AFC #3 seed instead of San Diego based upon head-to-head victory.
  2. New York Jets clinched the AFC #5 seed instead of Denver based upon better record against common opponents (New York Jets were 5–0 to Denver’s 3–2 against San Diego, Cincinnati, Houston, and Miami).
  3. Jacksonville and Baltimore finished ahead of Buffalo because they each defeated Buffalo head-to-head.
  4. Jacksonville finished ahead of Baltimore based upon better record against common opponents (Jacksonville were 3–2 against Baltimore’s 2–3 versus Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Buffalo and Kansas City).
  5. Houston finished ahead of Kansas City based upon head-to-head victory.
  6. Oakland finished ahead of Tennessee based upon head-to-head victory.
  7. Miami finished ahead of Cleveland based upon head-to-head victory.
  8. When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

References
  1. "Round 1". ESPN. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
  2. "Round 2". ESPN. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
  3. Urena, Ivan (2014). Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc. pp. 154–157, 160. ISBN 9780786473519.
  4. Urena (2014). Pro Football Schedules. p. 221.
  5. Urena (2014). Pro Football Schedules. pp. 85–88, 116–119.
  6. "2004 Conference Standings". NFL.com. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
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