# 2004 Denver Broncos season

The 2004 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 35th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 45th overall. Under head coach Mike Shanahan the Broncos equalled their 10–6 record from 2003, and again finished second in the AFC West. In a repeat of 2003, the Broncos’ season ended in defeat to the Indianapolis Colts 49–24 in the AFC Wild Card playoffs.
Starting quarterback Jake Plummer finished the season with 4,089 passing yards (4th in the league). During the offseason, the Broncos traded running back Clinton Portis to the Washington Redskins in exchange for cornerback Champ Bailey.
It was the last time the Broncos qualified for the playoffs as a wild card team until 2024.

## Offseason

The Broncos acquired cornerback Champ Bailey in a trade with the Washington Redskins, sending running back Clinton Portis to Washington in return.
During the offseason, the Broncos failed to retain linebackers Keith Burns and Ian Gold. Both would sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but however, both players would return to the team in the following season. Also, the Broncos failed to retain defensive end Bertrand Berry, who would sign with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent.
The Broncos also signed safety John Lynch as a free agent after he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

### NFL draft

2004 Denver Broncos draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 17 | D. J. Williams | Linebacker | Miami (FL) | from Cincinnati |
| 2 | 41 | Tatum Bell | Running back | Oklahoma State | from Washington |
| 2 | 54 | Darius Watts | Wide receiver | Marshall | |
| 3 | 85 | Jeremy LeSueur | Cornerback | Michigan | |
| 5 | 152 | Jeff Shoate | Cornerback | San Diego State | |
| 6 | 171 | Triandos Luke | Wide receiver | Alabama | |
| 6 | 190 | Josh Sewell | Center | Nebraska | |
| 7 | 225 | Matt Mauck | Quarterback | LSU | |
| 7 | 247 | Brandon Miree | Fullback | Pittsburgh | |
| 7 | 250 | Bradlee Van Pelt | Quarterback | Colorado State | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule

In addition to their regular home-and-away series with AFC West rivals the Raiders, the Chiefs and the Chargers, the Broncos played teams from the AFC South and NFC South as per the schedule rotation established in 2002, and also played intraconference games against the Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals based on their common divisional position vis-à-vis the Broncos from 2003.
The Christmas Day game was the first occasion the Broncos had played the Titans since they were the Houston Oilers, whom they previously met in 1995. This is because between 1978 and 2002 non-divisional conference games were scheduled exclusively based upon the preceding season’s finish.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance | TV |
| 1 | September 12 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 34–24 | 1–0 | 75,939 | ESPN |
| 2 | September 19 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | L 6–7 | 1–1 | 69,127 | CBS |
| 3 | September 26 | San Diego Chargers | W 23–13 | 2–1 | 74,533 | CBS |
| 4 | October 3 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 16–13 | 3–1 | 65,341 | CBS |
| 5 | October 10 | Carolina Panthers | W 20–17 | 4–1 | 75,072 | Fox |
| 6 | October 17 | at Oakland Raiders | W 31–3 | 5–1 | 57,293 | CBS |
| 7 | October 25 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 10–23 | 5–2 | 65,806 | ABC |
| 8 | October 31 | Atlanta Falcons | L 28–41 | 5–3 | 75,083 | Fox |
| 9 | November 7 | Houston Texans | W 31–13 | 6–3 | 74,292 | CBS |
| 10 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 11 | November 21 | at New Orleans Saints | W 34–13 | 7–3 | 64,900 | CBS |
| 12 | November 28 | Oakland Raiders | L 24–25 | 7–4 | 75,936 | ESPN |
| 13 | December 5 | at San Diego Chargers | L 17–20 | 7–5 | 65,395 | CBS |
| 14 | December 12 | Miami Dolphins | W 20–17 | 8–5 | 75,027 | CBS |
| 15 | December 19 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 17–45 | 8–6 | 77,702 | CBS |
| 16 | December 25 | at Tennessee Titans | W 37–16 | 9–6 | 68,809 | ESPN |
| 17 | January 2 | Indianapolis Colts | W 33–14 | 10–6 | 75,149 | CBS |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Playoffs

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Wild Card | January 9, 2005 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 24–49 | 0–1 | RCA Dome | 56,609 |

## Standings

AFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(4)}$ San Diego Chargers | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 9–3 | 446 | 313 | W1 |
| $^{(6)}$ Denver Broncos | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 381 | 304 | W2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 483 | 435 | L1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 3–9 | 320 | 422 | L2 |
AFC
viewtalkedit :
| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
| Division leaders ||||||||||||
| 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | North | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 5–1 | 11–1 | .484 | .479 | W14 |
| 2 | New England Patriots | East | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 5–1 | 10–2 | .492 | .478 | W2 |
| 3 | Indianapolis Colts | South | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 8–4 | .500 | .458 | L1 |
| 4 | San Diego Chargers | West | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 9–3 | .477 | .411 | W1 |
| Wild cards ||||||||||||
| 5 | New York Jets | East | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .523 | .406 | L2 |
| 6 | Denver Broncos | West | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .484 | .450 | W2 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason ||||||||||||
| 7 | Jacksonville Jaguars | South | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .527 | .479 | W1 |
| 8 | Baltimore Ravens | North | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .551 | .472 | W1 |
| 9 | Buffalo Bills | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .512 | .382 | L1 |
| 10 | Cincinnati Bengals | North | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 4–8 | .543 | .453 | W2 |
| 11 | Houston Texans | South | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .504 | .402 | L1 |
| 12 | Kansas City Chiefs | West | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .551 | .509 | L1 |
| 13 | Oakland Raiders | West | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .570 | .450 | L2 |
| 14 | Tennessee Titans | South | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .512 | .463 | W1 |
| 15 | Miami Dolphins | East | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–5 | 2–10 | .555 | .438 | L1 |
| 16 | Cleveland Browns | North | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .590 | .469 | W1 |
| Tiebreakers ||||||||||||
| 1 2 Indianapolis clinched the AFC #3 seed instead of San Diego based upon head-to-head victory. 1 2 New York Jets clinched the AFC #5 seed instead of Denver based upon better record against common opponents (New York Jets were 5–0 to Denver’s 3–2 against San Diego, Cincinnati, Houston, and Miami). 1 2 3 Jacksonville and Baltimore finished ahead of Buffalo because they each defeated Buffalo head-to-head. 1 2 Jacksonville finished ahead of Baltimore based upon better record against common opponents (Jacksonville were 3–2 against Baltimore’s 2–3 versus Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Buffalo and Kansas City). 1 2 Houston finished ahead of Kansas City based upon head-to-head victory. 1 2 Oakland finished ahead of Tennessee based upon head-to-head victory. 1 2 Miami finished ahead of Cleveland based upon head-to-head victory. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division. ||||||||||||