# 2002 Denver Broncos season

The 2002 season was the Denver Broncos' 43rd in professional football and their 33rd in the National Football League.
With the sudden retirement of Terrell Davis in the preseason, Denver had to rely on rookie Clinton Portis, who provided an instant spark to the Broncos running game. Despite his contribution, however, the Broncos finished with a 9–7 record and narrowly missed the postseason.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| TE Shannon Sharpe (Ravens) |
| T Blake Brockermeyer (Bears) | S Eric Brown (Texans) |
| DT Lional Dalton (Ravens) | RB Tony Carter (Packers) |
| S Izell Reese (Cowboys) | QB Gus Frerotte (Bengals) |
| T Ephraim Salaam (Falcons) | LB Bill Romanowski (Raiders) |
| | FB Detron Smith (Colts) |
| | T Trey Teague (Bills) |
| | RB Terrell Davis (retirement) |

### NFL draft

2002 Denver Broncos draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 19 | Ashley Lelie | Wide receiver | Hawaii | |
| 2 | 51 | Clinton Portis * | Running back | Miami | |
| 3 | 96 | Dorsett Davis | Defensive tackle | Mississippi State | from New England viaWashington and Baltimore |
| 4 | 131 | Sam Brandon | Safety | UNLV | from New England |
| 5 | 144 | Herb Haygood | Wide receiver | Michigan State | from Jacksonville via New England |
| 6 | 191 | Jeb Putzier | Tight end | Boise State | |
| 7 | 228 | Chris Young | Safety | Georgia Tech | from Atlanta |
| 7 | 231 | Monsanto Pope | Defensive tackle | Virginia | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

2002 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Charlie Adams | Wide receiver | Hofstra |
| Lenny Walls | Cornerback | Boston College |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | September 8 | St. Louis Rams | W 23–16 | 1–0 | 75,710 |
| 2 | September 15 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 24–14 | 2–0 | 67,685 |
| 3 | September 22 | Buffalo Bills | W 28–23 | 3–0 | 75,359 |
| 4 | September 30 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 23–34 | 3–1 | 69,538 |
| 5 | October 6 | San Diego Chargers | W 26–9 | 4–1 | 75,065 |
| 6 | October 13 | Miami Dolphins | L 22–24 | 4–2 | 75,941 |
| 7 | October 20 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 37–34 (OT) | 5–2 | 78,446 |
| 8 | October 27 | at New England Patriots | W 24–16 | 6–2 | 68,436 |
| 9 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 10 | November 11 | Oakland Raiders | L 10–34 | 6–3 | 76,643 |
| 11 | November 17 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 31–9 | 7–3 | 65,495 |
| 12 | November 24 | Indianapolis Colts | L 20–23 (OT) | 7–4 | 75,075 |
| 13 | December 1 | at San Diego Chargers | L 27–30 (OT) | 7–5 | 66,357 |
| 14 | December 8 | at New York Jets | L 13–19 | 7–6 | 78,521 |
| 15 | December 15 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 31–24 | 8–6 | 75,947 |
| 16 | December 22 | at Oakland Raiders | L 16–28 | 8–7 | 62,592 |
| 17 | December 29 | Arizona Cardinals | W 37–7 | 9–7 | 75,164 |

## Standings

AFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Oakland Raiders | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 9–3 | 450 | 304 | W2 |
| Denver Broncos | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 5–7 | 392 | 344 | W1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 333 | 367 | L4 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 6–6 | 467 | 399 | L1 |