2003 Denver Broncos season

2003 Denver Broncos season
2003 Denver Broncos season
Owner	Pat Bowlen
Head coach	Mike Shanahan
General manager	Mike Shanahan
Home field	Invesco Field at Mile High
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd AFC West
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Colts) 10–41
	← 2002; Broncos seasons; 2004 →;

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

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.

Off Season[]

NFL Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2003 Denver Broncos draft
1	20	George Foster	Offensive Tackle	Georgia
2	51	Terry Pierce	Linebacker	Kansas State
4	108	Quentin Griffin	Running Back	Oklahoma	from Carolina ^{[R4 - 1]}
4	114	Nick Eason	Defensive Tackle	Clemson
4	128	Bryant McNeal	Defensive End	Clemson
5	157	Ben Claxton	Center	Ole Miss	from New England ^{[R5 - 1]}
5	158	Adrian Madise	Wide Receiver	TCU
6	194	Aaron Hunt	Defensive End	Texas Tech
7	227	Clint Mitchell	Defensive End	Florida	from Carolina ^{[R7 - 1]}
7	235	Ahmaad Galloway	Running Back	Alabama
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Draft notes[]

^ #108: Carolina → Denver (D). see #82: Denver → Carolina

^ #157: New England → Denver (D). see #120: Denver → New England.

^ #227: Carolina → Denver (D). see #82: Denver → Carolina

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**2003 Denver Broncos staff**

	Front office President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen Executive Vice President of Football Operations – Mike Shanahan General Manager – Ted Sundquist Director of Pro Personnel – Rick Smith Director of College Scouting – Jim Goodman Head coaches Head Coach – Mike Shanahan Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line – Alex Gibbs 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			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Larry Coyer Defensive Line – Jacob Burney Assistant Defensive Line/Pass Rush Specialist – Keith Millard Defensive Backs/Secondary – David Gibbs Assistant Defensive Backs/Secondary – Jimmy Spencer Defensive Assistant – Troy Calhoun Special teams coaches Special Teams – Frank Bush Assistant Special Teams – Ronnie Bradford Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Cedric Smith

Roster[]

**2003 Denver Broncos final roster**

	Quarterbacks 11 Steve Beuerlein 17 Jarious Jackson 13 Danny Kanell 16 Jake Plummer Running backs 38 Mike Anderson 34 Reuben Droughns 22 Quentin Griffin 26 Clinton Portis 37 Cecil Sapp FB Wide receivers 12 Charlie Adams 81 Chris Cole KR 14 Nate Jackson 85 Ashley Lelie 82 Adrian Madise 87 Ed McCaffrey 80 Rod Smith Tight ends 88 Jeb Putzier 84 Shannon Sharpe		Offensive linemen 69 P.J. Alexander C 71 Blake Brockermeyer T 65 Cooper Carlisle G 77 Dwayne Carswell T 72 George Foster T 50 Ben Hamilton G 79 Steve Herndon G 78 Matt Lepsis T 66 Tom Nalen C 62 Dan Neil G 74 Ephraim Salaam T Defensive linemen 92 Bertrand Berry DE 96 Dorsett Davis DE 68 Mario Fatafehi DT 98 Reggie Hayward DE 90 Darius Holland DT 75 Monsanto Pope DT 93 Trevor Pryce DE		Linebackers 55 Keith Burns MLB 51 John Mobley OLB 58 Terry Pierce MLB 59 Donnie Spragan OLB 57 Jashon Sykes OLB 56 Al Wilson MLB Defensive backs 42 Sam Brandon FS 25 Nick Ferguson FS 31 Kelly Herndon CB 28 Kenoy Kennedy SS 23 Willie Middlebrooks SS 24 Deltha O'Neal CB/PR 35 Lenny Walls CB 33 Jimmy Spencer CB Special teams 1 Jason Elam K 4 Micah Knorr P 83 Mike Leach LS		Reserve lists 52 Ian Gold OLB (IR) 99 Daryl Gardener DT (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 7, 2003	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 30–10	63,820
2	September 14, 2003	at San Diego Chargers	W 37–13	65,445
3	September 22, 2003	Oakland Raiders	W 31–10	76,753
4	September 28, 2003	Detroit Lions	W 20–16	75,719
5	October 5, 2003	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 24–23	78,903
6	October 12, 2003	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–14	75,974
7	October 19, 2003	at Minnesota Vikings	L 28–20	64,381
8	October 26, 2003	at Baltimore Ravens	L 26–6	69,721
9	November 3, 2003	New England Patriots	L 30–26	76,203
10	Bye
11	November 16, 2003	San Diego Chargers	W 37–8	75,217
12	November 23, 2003	Chicago Bears	L 19–10	75,540
13	November 30, 2003	at Oakland Raiders	W 22–8	57,201
14	December 7, 2003	Kansas City Chiefs	W 45–27	76,403
15	December 14, 2003	Cleveland Browns	W 23–20	75,358
16	December 21, 2003	at Indianapolis Colts	W 31–17	57,149
17	December 28, 2003	at Green Bay Packers	L 31–3	70,299

Postseason[]

Playoff round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	Game recap
AFC Wild Card	January 4, 2004	Indianapolis Colts (3)	L 41-10	0-1	RCA Dome	Recap

Game summaries[]

Week 14[]

Clinton Portis 22 Rush, 218 Yds, 5 TD

^[1] ^[2]

Standings[]

AFC West
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ Kansas City Chiefs	13	3	0	.813	5–1	10–2	484	332	W1
⁽⁶⁾ Denver Broncos	10	6	0	.625	5–1	9–3	381	301	L1
Oakland Raiders	4	12	0	.250	1–5	3–9	270	379	L2
San Diego Chargers	4	12	0	.250	1–5	2–10	313	441	W1

References[]

^ ESPN. Retrieved 2013-Dec-16.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-16.

External links[]

[1] #108: Carolina → Denver (D). see #82: Denver → Carolina

[2] #157: New England → Denver (D). see #120: Denver → New England.

[3] #227: Carolina → Denver (D). see #82: Denver → Carolina

[4] ESPN. Retrieved 2013-Dec-16.

[5] Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-16.

[R4 - 1]

[R5 - 1]

[R7 - 1]

[1]

[2]

v t Denver Broncos
Founded in 1960 Based in Denver, Colorado Headquartered in Dove Valley, Colorado
Franchise	History Players Starting quarterbacks Coaches Seasons First-round draft picks Broadcasters
Stadiums	Mile High Stadium Empower Field at Mile High
Key personnel	Owner Estate of Pat Bowlen President/CEO Joe Ellis Executive Vice President/General Manager John Elway Head Coach Vic Fangio
Culture	A Few Seconds of Panic Barrel Man Bingo Cheerleaders Everybody's All-American "Hold That Mork" (Mork & Mindy episode) "Joy to the World" Miles No Fly Zone Orange Crush Defense "Rocky Mountain Way" South Park Thunder "You Only Move Twice" (The Simpsons episode)
Lore	Mile High Miracle Snowball Game The Drive The Fumble
Rivalries	Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers New England Patriots Brady–Manning rivalry Pittsburgh Steelers
Retired numbers	7 18 44
Division championships (15)	1977 1978 1984 1986 1987 1989 1991 1996 1998 2005 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Conference championships (8)	1977 1986 1987 1989 1997 1998 2013 2015
League championships (3)	1997 (XXXII) 1998 (XXXIII) 2015 (50)
Media	Broadcasters Dave Logan Brian Griese Scott Hastings Ed McCaffrey Alan Roach TV: KUSA 9News Radio: 850 KOA (AM)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: West Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)

v t Denver Broncos seasons
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Bold indicates Super Bowl victory Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance