Week 1: Sept. 11 at Miami, 34-10 L
Broncos had trouble inside the red zone, getting only one touchdown and one field goal on four trips inside the Dolphins’ 20. After a Champ Bailey interception at the Dolphins’ 3-yard line, the Broncos failed to score on five tries (counting a defensive penalty). Denver lost three of its four cornerbacks to injuries or cramps during the game, and with running back Mike Anderson (rib cartilage) hurt, Denver finished with only 70 yards rushing.
Key stat: Broncos go 1-for-12 on third downs.
Week 2: Sept. 18 vs. San Diego, 20-17 W
Trailing 14-3 at halftime, the Broncos defense tightened the clamps, and backup running back Ron Dayne finished off the Chargers. Bailey returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown to start the rally late in the third quarter, and Dayne came in for the injured Anderson and had 38 yards on six carries on the final series to set up Jason Elam’s game-winning, 41-yard field goal.
Key stat: Chargers had just 41 yards of offense in the second half.
Week 3: Sept. 26 vs. K.C., 30-10 W
The Invesco Field magic returned for the Monday night game as the Broncos rolled to a 17-0 lead with 2 1/2 minutes to play in the first quarter. Anderson’s ribs looked fine after he went 44 yards to put the Broncos up 10-0; after Courtney Brown forced Larry Johnson to fumble at the Chiefs’ 12, Jake Plummer found Rod Smith in the end zone on the next play to make it 17-0. Smith joined the 10,000-yard receiving club in the third quarter.
Key stat: K.C. was flagged 13 times for 118 yards in penalties.
Week 4: Oct. 2 at Jacksonville, 20-7 W
The Broncos played without starting cornerbacks Bailey (hamstring) and Darrent Williams (ankle), and Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich tried to attack the secondary, to no avail. Rookie Domonique Foxworth had his coming out party with an interception, fumble recovery and team-high six tackles. Meanwhile, the offense was led by tackle/tight end Dwayne Carswell’s two second-quarter touchdown catches and the first 100-yard rushing effort (Anderson’s 115 yards on 23 carries).
Key stat: Jaguars run 11 times for a franchise-low 12 yards, including minus-1 yard in the fourth quarter.
Week 5: Oct. 9 vs. Washington, 21-19 W
On a soggy day at Invesco Field, Tatum Bell came off the bench to ring up 127 yards rushing, including touchdown runs of 34 yards (on fourth-and-inches) and 55 yards (for a 21-10 lead). The Redskins drove 95 yards to pull within two points, 21-19, but their rally was killed by linebacker Ian Gold, who knocked down a two-point conversion pass with 1:09 to play to secure the win. Clinton Portis had 103 yards in his return to Denver, but never found the end zone.
Key stat: Washington had more yards – 447 to the Broncos’ 257 – but not more points.
Week 6: Oct. 16 vs. N. England, 28-20 W
Jumping out to another big lead only to see it frittered away, the Broncos led 28-3 before the Pats rallied to within 28-20 with eight minutes to play. Denver’s offense was able to burn the clock, and the Patriots had only one series in the final eight minutes, and it resulted in 20 yards before punting with 3:36 to play. Denver’s offense busted out the big play, with gains of 72, 55 and 68 yards to set up its three second-quarter touchdowns.
Key stat: Broncos have 247 yards of offense … in the second quarter.
Week 7: Oct. 23 at N.Y. Giants, 24-23 L
This time, the Broncos couldn’t stop a rally. Holding a 23-10 lead with less than 10 minutes to play, Denver’s defense is picked apart by Eli Manning, who had 114 yards passing in the fourth quarter. His 2-yard pass to Amani Toomer with 5 seconds to play capped the 83-yard, game-winning drive.
Key stat: Broncos’ streak of no turnovers ends after 324 minutes, 21 seconds.
Week 8: Oct. 30 vs. Philly, 49-21 W
Broncos bolted to a 28-0 lead but needed rookies Foxworth and Todd Devoe to take care of business and send the Broncos into the bye week at 6-2. Foxworth intercepted a Donovan McNabb pass in the end zone (a score would have tied the game at 28), and Devoe made a big catch-and-run play for a 44-yard touchdown and a 35-21 lead on the ensuing drive.
Key stat: It’s the first time in NFL history a team has two 100-yard rushers (Anderson at 124 and Bell at 107) and a 300-yard passer (Plummer’s 309) in the same game.
Week 9: Bye week
Week 10: Nov. 13 at Oakland, 31-17 W
The Broncos’ defense smothered quarterback Kerry Collins, who had minus-3 yards passing in the second quarter. Denver’s secondary had three interceptions and the line registered four sacks. The best of the bunch was rookie CB Williams’ 80-yard fourth-quarter return for a touchdown and a 29-10 lead. The offense was solid, although it managed just 25 yards in the fourth quarter.
Key stat: The Broncos had a combined 227 yards in returns (punt, kickoff and interceptions).
Week 11: Nov. 20 vs. N.Y. Jets, 27-0 W
This one was no contest from the start as the Broncos overwhelmed the hapless Jets, who were shut out for the first time in nearly 10 years. The Denver defense went to work right away, and New York, which went through three quarterbacks in the game, had five turnovers. On the other side, the offense never gave the Jets a chance as Denver had the ball 42 1/2 minutes, including all but 55 seconds of the second quarter.
Key stat: Jets had just 21 yards rushing, including zero in the second and fourth quarters.
Week 12: Nov. 24 at Dallas, 24-21 OT W
Coming off a short week, the Broncos won the coin toss in overtime and didn’t give the Cowboys a chance with the ball. Behind tackle Matt Lepsis, backup running back Dayne, who hadn’t played in six games, led the charge with a 55-yard run on the second play of OT to set up Elam’s game-winning 24-yard field goal.
Key stat: Plummer’s streak of pass attempts without an interception ends at 229 with a second-quarter pick.
Week 13: Dec. 4 at Kansas City, 31-27 L
The defense gave up 21 points on what was labeled communication errors, including blown coverages and missed assignments. Backup QB Bradlee Van Pelt got his first NFL touchdown on a little trickery, taking the snap as Plummer moved over as a wideout. The offensive killer was Plummer’s interception in the end zone when the Broncos were at the Chiefs’ 4-yard line.
Key stat: Chiefs RB Johnson gets 140 yards rushing, 90 in the fourth quarter.
Week 14: Dec. 11 vs. Baltimore, 12-10 W
It wasn’t pretty, but it got the Broncos back on track. With only 96 yards rushing, the Broncos defense picked up the slack and forced four turnovers and stopped two series at their 5. Elam missed a point-after attempt but made up for it with field goals of 47 and 48 yards in the first half.
Key stat: Bailey snags his eighth interception of the season, this one in the end zone with the Ravens on a first-and-goal at the 5.
Week 15: Dec. 17 at Buffalo, 28-17 W
On a chilly night in Buffalo, the Broncos secured a playoff spot. The game was tied 7-7 at halftime when Anderson broke out of his funk for a couple of second-half touchdowns. Rookie tight end Wesley Duke made his first catch – since high school – and it also happened to be touchdown. The defense held the Bills to 13 yards rushing in the second half as the Broncos offense held the ball for more than 21 minutes.
Key stat: Smith pulls in 11 of Plummer’s 20 completions for 137 yards. Smith had nine catches in the first half for 119 yards.
Week 16: Dec. 24 vs. Oakland, 22-3 W
This time, the Broncos locked in a trio of feats: AFC West title, No. 2 seed in the playoffs and an 8-0 record at home. Plummer doesn’t give the Raiders a chance, going 7-for-8 for 127 yards in the first quarter, then 15-of-18 for 209 yards by halftime as Denver cruises to a 16-0 lead at the break. Anderson hits the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his career.
Key stat: Raiders QB Collins completes only one pass in the first quarter for 4 yards.
Week 17: Dec. 31 at San Diego, 23-7 W
John Lynch alone beat the Chargers, accounting for nine points by forcing two fumbles. One came at the Chargers’ 1-yard line (Bell went in for a 14-0 lead on the next play) and the second was at the goal line and resulted in a safety for a 16-7 lead. With all that, the Broncos offense didn’t need to do much, and they didn’t (84 yards passing and 154 rushing).
Key stat: The offenses combined for 477 yards.
Playoffs
AFC divisional playoffs: Jan. 14 vs. N. England, 27-13 W
Bailey’s 100-yard interception return (the longest play in NFL history not to result in a touchdown) got the Broncos into their eighth AFC championship game. The play swung from a potential 13-10 Patriots lead to a 17-6 Broncos advantage and gave Denver all the momentum it needed. Blitz came left and right to fluster Pats QB Tom Brady, who lost his first career playoff game.
Key stat: Denver scored 17 points off the Pats’ five turnovers.
