2003 Denver Broncos season

Last updated

2003 Denver Broncos season
Owner Pat Bowlen
President Pat Bowlen
General manager Ted Sundquist and Mike Shanahan
Head coach Mike Shanahan
Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak
Defensive coordinator Larry Coyer
Home stadium Invesco Field at Mile High
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd AFC West
PlayoffsLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Colts) 10–41
Pro Bowlers RB Clinton Portis
C Tom Nalen
ILB Al Wilson
All-Pros C Tom Nalen (1st team)

The 2003 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 34th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 44th overall.

Contents

After the departure of Brian Griese, who signed with his father's team, the Dolphins, the Broncos acquired Jake Plummer, who had been struggling in recent years with Arizona.

After two seasons of mediocrity, the Broncos rebounded with a 10–6 record. They also earned their first playoff berth since 2000. But Denver's season ended with a 41–10 blowout to the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round. Following the season, Clinton Portis was traded to the Washington Redskins, and Shannon Sharpe and Ed McCaffrey both retired.

Offseason

NFL draft

2003 Denver Broncos draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
120 George Foster   Offensive tackle Georgia
251 Terry Pierce   Linebacker Kansas State
4108 Quentin Griffin   Running back Oklahoma from Carolina [R4 - 1]
4114 Nick Eason   Defensive tackle Clemson
4128 Bryant McNeal   Defensive end Clemson
5157 Ben Claxton   Center Ole Miss from New England [R5 - 1]
5158 Adrian Madise   Wide receiver TCU
6194 Aaron Hunt   Defensive end Texas Tech
7227 Clint Mitchell   Defensive end Florida from Carolina [R7 - 1]
7235 Ahmaad Galloway   Running back Alabama
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Draft notes

  1. #108: Carolina → Denver (D). see #82: Denver → Carolina
  1. #157: New England → Denver (D). see #120: Denver → New England.
  1. #227: Carolina → Denver (D). see #82: Denver → Carolina

Staff

2003 Denver Broncos staff

Front office

Head coaches

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

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster

2003 Denver Broncos roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 11 reserve, 3 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1 September 7at Cincinnati Bengals W 30–101–0 Paul Brown Stadium 63,820
2 September 14at San Diego Chargers W 37–132–0 Qualcomm Stadium 65,445
3 September 22 Oakland Raiders W 31–103–0 Invesco Field at Mile High 76,753
4 September 28 Detroit Lions W 20–164–0Invesco Field at Mile High75,719
5 October 5at Kansas City Chiefs L 23–244–1 Arrowhead Stadium 78,903
6 October 12 Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–145–1Invesco Field at Mile High75,974
7 October 19at Minnesota Vikings L 20–285–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 64,381
8 October 26at Baltimore Ravens L 6–265–3 M&T Bank Stadium 69,721
9 November 3 New England Patriots L 26–305–4Invesco Field at Mile High76,203
10Bye
11 November 16 San Diego Chargers W 37–86–4Invesco Field at Mile High75,217
12 November 23 Chicago Bears L 10–196–5Invesco Field at Mile High75,540
13 November 30at Oakland Raiders W 22–87–5 Network Associates Coliseum 57,201
14 December 7 Kansas City Chiefs W 45–278–5Invesco Field at Mile High76,403
15 December 14 Cleveland Browns W 23–20 (OT)9–5Invesco Field at Mile High75,358
16 December 21at Indianapolis Colts W 31–1710–5 RCA Dome 57,149
17 December 28at Green Bay Packers L 3–3110–6 Lambeau Field 70,299

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 1: Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals
Quarter1234Total
Broncos3177330
Bengals030710

at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Game information

Week 2

Week 2: Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers
Quarter1234Total
Broncos141010337
Chargers373013

at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

Game information

Week 3

Week 3: Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
Quarter1234Total
Raiders007310
Broncos2137031

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

Game information

Week 4

Week 4: Detroit Lions at Denver Broncos
Quarter1234Total
Lions730616
Broncos773320

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

Game information

Week 5

Week 5: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
Quarter1234Total
Broncos767323
Chiefs737724

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 6

Week 6: Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos
Quarter1234Total
Steelers330814
Broncos0701017

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

Game information

Week 7

Week 7: Denver Broncos at Minnesota Vikings
Quarter1234Total
Broncos0731020
Vikings7714028

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT/11:00 a.m. MDT
  • Game weather: Game played indoors (Domed stadium)
  • Game attendance: 64,381
  • Referee: Bill Carollo
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 8

Week 8: Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens
Quarter1234Total
Broncos30306
Ravens0901726

at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/11:00 a.m. MST
  • Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), Mostly Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 69,721
  • Referee: Ron Winter
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 9

Week 9: New England Patriots at Denver Broncos
Quarter1234Total
Patriots7671030
Broncos7107226

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: 35 °F (2 °C), foggy
  • Game attendance: 76,203
  • Referee: Pete Morelli
  • TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, John Madden and Lisa Guerrero
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 11

Week 11: San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos
Quarter1234Total
Chargers00088
Broncos10177337

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

Game information

Week 12

Week 12: Chicago Bears at Denver Broncos
Quarter1234Total
Bears3601019
Broncos703010

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

Game information

Week 13

Week 13: Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
Quarter1234Total
Broncos0140822
Raiders53008

at Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Game time: 2:15 p.m. MST/1:15 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), Light Rain
  • Game attendance: 57,201
  • Referee: Ron Blum
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 14

Week 14: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs7140627
Broncos710141445

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

  • Game time: 2:15 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C), Partly Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 76,403
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 15

Week 15: Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos
Quarter1234OTTotal
Browns010010020
Broncos100010323

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. MDT
  • Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), Partly Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 75,358
  • Referee: Mike Carey
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 16

Week 16: Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts
Quarter1234Total
Broncos14140331
Colts7100017

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

Game information

Week 17

Week 17: Denver Broncos at Green Bay Packers
Quarter1234Total
Broncos00303
Packers7371431

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

  • Game time: 3:15 p.m. CST/2:15 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C), Mostly Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 70,299
  • Referee: Bill Carollo
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Standings

AFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(2) Kansas City Chiefs 1330.8135–110–2484332W1
(6) Denver Broncos 1060.6255–19–3381301L1
Oakland Raiders 4120.2501–53–9270379L2
San Diego Chargers 4120.2501–52–10313441W1

Postseason

RoundDateOpponent (seed)ResultRecordVenueRecap
AFC Wild Card January 4at Indianapolis Colts (3)L 10–410-1 RCA Dome Recap

Game summaries

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (#3) Indianapolis Colts

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: (6) Denver Broncos at (3) Indianapolis Colts
Quarter1234Total
Broncos300710
Colts141710041

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

Game information

References