2003 Denver Broncos season

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

The 2003 Denver Broncos season was the team's 44th year in professional football and its 34th with the National Football League.

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. Denver's season ended with a 41-10 blowout to the Indianapolis Colts in the Wildcard round. Following the season, Clinton Portis was traded to the Washington Redskins, and Shannon Sharpe and Ed McCaffrey both retired.

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 – David Gibbs Assistant Defensive Backs – Jimmy Spencer Defensive Assistant – Troy Calhoun Special teams coaches Special Teams – Frank Bush Special Teams Assistant – Ronnie Bradford Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Rich Tuten Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Greg Saporta Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Cedric Smith

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

Game summaries

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total Chiefs 7 14 0 6 27 • Broncos 7 10 14 14 45 Date: December 7 Location: Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado Game start: 4:15 p.m. EST Game attendance: 76,403 Game weather: 45°F; wind 11 Referee: Tony Corrente Television network: CBS

Scoring summary Q1 9:24 DEN Clinton Portis 1 yard run (Jason Elam kick) DEN 7–0 Q1 3:03 KC Priest Holmes 2 yard run (Morten Andersen kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 11:18 DEN Clinton Portis 1 yard run (Jason Elam kick) DEN 14–7 Q2 7:36 KC Priest Holmes 1 yard run (Morten Andersen kick) Tie 14–14 Q2 9:32 DEN Jason Elam 47 yard field goal DEN 17–14 Q2 1:19 KC Eddie Kennison 42 yard pass from Trent Green (Morten Andersen kick) KC 21–17 Q3 5:58 DEN Reuben Droughns 3 yard pass from Jake Plummer (Jason Elam kick) DEN 24–21 Q3 2:42 DEN Clinton Portis 59 yard run (Jason Elam kick) DEN 31–21 Q4 11:24 DEN Clinton Portis 28 yard run (Jason Elam kick) DEN 38–21 Q4 7:58 DEN Clinton Portis 53 yard run (Jason Elam kick) DEN 45–21 Q4 :02 KC Trent Green 1 yard run (pass failed) DEN 45–27

• Clinton Portis 22 Rush, 218 Yds, 5 TD

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Standings

AFC West
	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

1. ESPN. Retrieved 2013-Dec-16.
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-16.

External links

• Broncos on Pro Football Reference
• Broncos Schedule on jt-sw.com