Record: 10-6
Points Scored: 381 (23.8)
Points Against: 304 (19.0)
Highlight: A 37-16 win over the Titans in Tennessee on Christmas night followed by a playoff clinching 33-14 win over Indianapolis at Invesco in Week 17. The Broncos were 8-6 and needed to win their final two games and hope that Jacksonville could lose one of their last two. The Broncos manhandled Tennessee easily, and Jacksonville was upset by Houston the next day. The Broncos got a break in Week 17 because Indy decided to rest Peyton Manning and their starters because there was no possible way the Colts could move up or down in playoff positioning. The Broncos feasted on the Colts backups and romped their way into the playoffs at 10-6.
Lowlight: The Broncos were 7-3 and tied for first in the AFC West with San Diego. The Broncos lost a terrible game at home to Oakland on Sunday Night Football 25-24. Jason Elam's last second field goal was blocked as Denver once again lost on SNF in a blizzard with their orange alternate jerseys. The following week, Denver lost a tough game at SD with the division on the line. The Chargers jumped out to a 20-7 lead and held off a valiant Broncos rally in the fourth to win 20-17. The Broncos looked like their playoff chances were really in trouble, when they got buried in Kansas City 45-17, and their record stood at 8-6.
What If?: If Denver beats SD in Week 13, then the Broncos would have won the AFC West with an 11-5 record and a tiebreaker over the Chargers. Denver would have hosted the Chargers in the first round of the AFC playoffs, and at that time Denver never lost to the Chargers in Denver. Instead, the Broncos finished 10-6 and had to go on the road to Indy and got murdered by Manning and the Colts 49-24.
3) 2003 Denver Broncos-
Record: 10-6
Points Scored: 381 (23.8)
Points Against: 301 (18.8)
Highlight: The Broncos defeated the favored Colts in Indy on SNF in Week 16 to clinch a playoff spot. The 9-5 Broncos needed to win one of that last two games, but that task would be very hard since they were on the road at 11-3 Indy and 9-6 Green Bay. The victory over the Colts was one of the best wins of the decade for the franchise. The Colts jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a Gary Brackett 31 yard interception return off of Jake Plummer. Plummer responded with a 60 yard completion to Ashley Lelie on the very next play from scrimmage. With Clinton Portis sidelined with an ankle injury, the Broncos used Quentin Griffin and Mike Anderson to gash the Colt defense. Anderson gained 56 yards and scored a touchdown, and Griffin added 136 yards as Denver took a 28-17 lead in the second quarter. Jason Elam's field goal made it 31-17 in the fourth quarter, and the Bronco defense shut down Peyton Manning all game. The Broncos sacked Manning twice, hurried him all night, and held the Colts offense to only 183 total yards.
Lowlight: The Broncos 41-10 loss in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs to Indianapolis was quite stunning. Many people had picked Denver to beat the Colts in the first round, and I remember one Denver sports reporter talking about how the Colts just didn't think they could matchup with Denver. Unfortunately, the Colts came out gunning, and Peyton Manning was superb. Manning threw four touchdowns in the first half, and the Colts jumped out to a stunning 31-3 lead at the half. Manning threw one more touchdown in the third quarter, and the Broncos got buried 41-10. It was a bitter ending for a team that deserved more then a first round knockout.
What If?: If the Colts had lost their last game of the season, then there was a good chance the Broncos would have advanced to the second round. The Colts defeated the Texans on a late field goal, and that gave the Colts the AFC South over the Titans. If the Colts lose that game, then Denver heads to Tennessee in round one, and they had a very good chance of beating that Tennessee team.
No comments:
Post a Comment