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

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.

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  Runningback 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

Head coaches

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

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

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

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


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

Schedule

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In addition to their regular games with AFC West rivals, the Broncos played teams from the AFC South and NFC South as per the schedule rotation, 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.

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

Playoffs

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
Wildcard 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

References

  1. ^ "Round 1". ESPN. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
  2. ^ "Round 2". ESPN. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
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