1999 Denver Broncos season

Last updated

1999 Denver Broncos season
Denver Broncos wordmark.svg
Owner Pat Bowlen
President Pat Bowlen
General manager Neal Dahlen and Mike Shanahan
Head coach Mike Shanahan
Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak
Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson
Home field Mile High Stadium
Results
Record6–10
Division place5th AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers C Tom Nalen
FB Detron Smith
DT Trevor Pryce
Denver visits the Green Bay Packers in preseason at Camp Randall Stadium, August 23 ScannedImage-11.jpg
Denver visits the Green Bay Packers in preseason at Camp Randall Stadium, August 23

The 1999 season was the Denver Broncos' 30th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 40th overall. The 1999 Broncos were hoping to win a third consecutive Super Bowl, but after winning a second against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami, the team suffered the retirement of Super Bowl XXXIII MVP quarterback John Elway during the off-season. Elway had spent his entire career with the Broncos, and much of the focus in the weeks leading up to the season centered on the void left by Elway's departure. Head coach Mike Shanahan announced that third-round 1998 draft pick Brian Griese, son of Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese, would take the reins of the offense, passing over veteran and credible back-up quarterback Bubby Brister.

Contents

In the preseason, the Broncos played in the first and so far only NFL game held in Australia. On August 7, before a crowd of 73,811 spectators at Stadium Australia in Sydney, the Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers 20–17. [1]

Although no one expected a serious defense of their title, the Broncos would stumble out of the gate this season, losing the first four regular season games. Many of the games would be decided in the final two minutes of play, but the Broncos found themselves on the losing end at 6–10. It was their first losing season since 1994, their worst season since 1990 and the worst record of the five-team AFC West. Until the 2022 Los Angeles Rams season, this was the worst ever season for a team defending their Super Bowl title in a non-strike season. Only the 1982 San Francisco 49ers had a lower winning percentage as they failed to defend their first Super Bowl championship. [2]

The Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons combined for an 11–21 record in 1999. This is, as of 2022, the worst combined record for both defending conference and/or Super Bowl champions in the season following a Super Bowl appearance. The 11-21 mark was matched by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders four years later, one season removed from Super Bowl XXXVII.

Statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the Broncos went from the league's third-easiest schedule in 1998, to the hardest schedule in 1999: [3]

Before 2011, the worst one-year increase in strength of schedule belonged to the 1999 Broncos. Denver had ridden the third-easiest schedule (in a 30-team league) to a Lombardi Trophy in 1998, only to fall apart the next season under the weight of John Elway's retirement, Terrell Davis'[s] Week 4 injury, and – oh, by the way – the toughest schedule in the league.

This was the largest single-season change in Football Outsiders' rankings until the 2011 St. Louis Rams.

Week 4 saw star running back Terrell Davis, who was last year's league MVP, hurt his knee and was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.

Offseason

NFL draft

1999 Denver Broncos draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
131 Al Wilson  *  Linebacker Tennessee
258 Montae Reagor   Defensive tackle Texas Tech from San Francisco   [R2 1]
261 Lennie Friedman  *  Guard Duke
367 Chris Watson   Cornerback Eastern Illinois from Carolina   [R3 1]
393 Travis McGriff   Wide receiver Florida
4127 Olandis Gary   Running back Georgia
5158 David Bowens   Defensive end Western Illinois from Dallas   [R5 1]
5167 Darwin Brown   Defensive back Texas Tech
6179 Desmond Clark  *  Tight end Wake Forest from New Orleans via Washington   [R6 1]
6204 Chad Plummer   Wide receiver Cincinnati
7218 Billy Miller   Tight end USC from New Orleans via Washington   [R7 1]
7238 Justin Swift   Tight end Kansas State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Draft Notes

  1. ↑ No. 58: San Francisco → Denver (PD). San Francisco traded its second-round selection (58th) to Denver in exchange for offensive tackle Jamie Brown in 1998.
  1. ↑ No. 67: Carolina → Denver (PD). Carolina traded its third-round selection (67th), as well as its fourth-round selection in 2000 (112th), to Denver in exchange for quarterback Jeff Lewis.
  1. ↑ No. 158: Dallas → Denver (PD). Dallas traded its fifth-round selection (158th) to Denver in exchange for tight end Kendell Watkins in 1998.
  1. ↑ No. 179: multiple trades:
        No. 179: New Orleans → Washington (D). see No. 5: Washington → New Orleans.
        No. 179: Washington → Denver (D). see No. 165: Denver → Washington.
  1. ↑ No. 218: multiple trades:
        No. 218: New Orleans → Washington (D). see No. 5: Washington → New Orleans.
        No. 218: Washington → Denver (D). see No. 165: Denver → Washington.

Personnel

Staff

1999 Denver Broncos staff
Front office

Head coaches

  • Head coach/vice president of football operations – Mike Shanahan
  • Assistant head coach/offensive line – Alex Gibbs

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster

1999 Denver Broncos roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad

53 active, 10 inactive, 4 practice squad


Rookies in italics

[4]

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordAttendance
1September 13 Miami Dolphins L 21–380–175,623
2September 19at Kansas City Chiefs L 10–260–278,683
3September 26at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–130–365,297
4October 3 New York Jets L 13–210–474,181
5October 10at Oakland Raiders W 16–131–455,704
6October 17 Green Bay Packers W 31–102–473,352
7October 24at New England Patriots L 23–242–560,011
8October 31 Minnesota Vikings L 20–232–675,021
9November 7at San Diego Chargers W 33–173–661,204
10November 14at Seattle Seahawks L 17–203–766,314
11November 22 Oakland Raiders W 27–214–770,012
12Bye
13December 5 Kansas City Chiefs L 10–164–873,855
14December 13at Jacksonville Jaguars L 24–274–971,357
15December 19 Seattle Seahawks W 36–30 (OT)5–965,987
16 December 25 at Detroit Lions W 17–76–973,158
17January 2 San Diego Chargers L 6–126–1069,278

Standings

AFC West
WLTPCTPFPASTK
(3) Seattle Seahawks 970.563338298L1
Kansas City Chiefs 970.563390322L2
San Diego Chargers 880.500269316W2
Oakland Raiders 880.500390329W1
Denver Broncos 6100.375314318L1

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References

  1. ↑ Aussies Rule: During a three-day footy-fest in Sydney, the author didn't have much luck convincing two mates that the NFL game measured up to two Australian brands. by Gary Smith
  2. ↑ Broncos' record worst among Super Bowl champions, Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jan 3, 2000 by John Branch
  3. ↑ Football Outsiders Almanac 2012 ( ISBN   1478201525), page 216-217
  4. ↑ "1999 Denver Broncos starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
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