10 Facts About the 2005 Denver Broncos

With training camp over a month away, I thought it would be a good time to have some fun and go back and continue the 10 Fact About series that I started a few years ago. Here is how it works: I take a random team in Broncos history (Focusing on teams from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s) and find 10 facts that are interesting about that team. Let's go back to 2005 and take a look at 10 Facts About the 2005 Denver Broncos.....

1) The Broncos ground game was so potent that year that the team almost got TWO 1,000 yard rushers in the same season. Mike Anderson led the Broncos with 1,014 yards and Tatum Bell had 921 yards.

2) 2005 was a very productive year for Jake Plummer. Plummer completed 60/7% of his passes, for 3,366 yards, 18 TDs and only 7 INT. He also ran for 2 TDs during the season. Plummer played very smart each week and protected the football in the process. He was a gamer that really helped lead Denver to a 13-3 record.

3) The Broncos finished 13-3, won the AFC West for the first time since 1998, and were the #2 seed in the AFC behind the 14-2 Colts. The Broncos could have very easily finished 15-1, but they lost a heartbreaker to the Giants 24-23 in Week 7, and nail-biter to the Chiefs 31-27 in Week 13.

4) The Broncos played a game on Thanksgiving at Dallas, on Christmas Eve against Oakland, and on New Year's Eve at San Diego, and they won all three games. They beat Dallas in a classic OT game 24-21. They buried the Raiders 22-3 in Denver to clinch the West and a first round bye, and they shut down the Chargers 23-7 in Week 17 in SD.

5) Champ Bailey was phenomenal that year. He finished with 8 interceptions and returned 2 of them for touchdowns. He also forced a fumble and made 64 total tackles.

6) Rod Smart led the team with 6 receiving touchdowns that season. Interestingly, FB Kyle Johnson finished second on the team with 5 receiving TDs.

7) John Lynch actually tied for the team lead in sacks with 4. Ebenezer Ekuban and Trevor Pryce also had 4 sacks on the year.

8) The Broncos defeated the Patriots in the Divisional Playoff Game 27-13. It was the first playoff loss for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick as New England Patriots. Both had previously been 10-0 together.

9) The Broncos played a Saturday game four straight weeks from Week 15 through the Divisional Round. In Week 15, the Broncos played at Buffalo for an ESPN Saturday night special. In Week 16, they hosted the Raiders on Christmas Eve because most of the NFL games were played that day to avoid Christmas Day. In Week 17, the Broncos played a special game at SD on a Saturday afternoon, and for the Divisional Playoff, Denver hosted the Patriots on a Saturday night game on CBS.

10) The Broncos lost to the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game in Denver 34-17. At the time, it was only the third playoff lost at home in Broncos history. The 1996 Broncos lost to the Jaguars in the Divisional Playoffs, and the 1984 Broncos lost to the Steelers in the Divisional Playoffs as well.