# 1994 Denver Broncos season

The 1994 Denver Broncos season was the team's 35th year in professional football and its 25th with the National Football League. The season would be the final year that Wade Phillips was head coach. This would also be the final season for longtime defensive stalwarts Karl Mecklenburg and Dennis Smith. This would be the last time the Broncos started 1–5 until 2023.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1994 Denver Broncos draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 2 | 51 | Allen Aldridge | Linebacker | Houston |
| 4 | 123 | Randy Fuller | Cornerback | Tennessee State |
| 7 | 210 | Keith Burns | Linebacker | Oklahoma State |
| 7 | 212 | Butler By'not'e | Running back | Ohio State |
| 7 | 218 | Tom Nalen * | Center | Boston College |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted Free Agents

1994 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Dwayne Carswell | Tight end | Liberty |
| Derrick Clark | Running back | Evangel |
| Rod Smith | Wide receiver | Missouri Southern State |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 4 | San Diego Chargers | L 34–37 | 0–1 | Mile High Stadium | 74,032 | Recap |
| 2 | September 11 | at New York Jets | L 22–25 | 0–2 | Giants Stadium | 73,436 | Recap |
| 3 | September 18 | Los Angeles Raiders | L 16–48 | 0–3 | Mile High Stadium | 75,764 | Recap |
| 4 | September 26 | at Buffalo Bills | L 20–27 | 0–4 | Rich Stadium | 75,373 | Recap |
| 5 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 6 | October 9 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 16–9 | 1–4 | Husky Stadium | 63,872 | Recap |
| 7 | October 17 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 28–31 | 1–5 | Mile High Stadium | 75,151 | Recap |
| 8 | October 23 | at San Diego Chargers | W 20–15 | 2–5 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 61,626 | Recap |
| 9 | October 30 | Cleveland Browns | W 26–14 | 3–5 | Mile High Stadium | 73,190 | Recap |
| 10 | November 6 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 21–27 | 3–6 | Anaheim Stadium | 48,103 | Recap |
| 11 | November 13 | Seattle Seahawks | W 17–10 | 4–6 | Mile High Stadium | 71,290 | Recap |
| 12 | November 20 | Atlanta Falcons | W 32–28 | 5–6 | Mile High Stadium | 70,594 | Recap |
| 13 | November 27 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 15–13 | 6–6 | Mile High Stadium | 69,714 | Recap |
| 14 | December 4 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 20–17 | 7–6 | Arrowhead Stadium | 77,631 | Recap |
| 15 | December 11 | at Los Angeles Raiders | L 13–23 | 7–7 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 60,016 | Recap |
| 16 | December 17 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 19–42 | 7–8 | Candlestick Park | 64,884 | Recap |
| 17 | December 24 | New Orleans Saints | L 28–30 | 7–9 | Mile High Stadium | 64,445 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

AFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ San Diego Chargers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 381 | 306 | W2 |
| $^{(6)}$ Kansas City Chiefs | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 319 | 298 | W2 |
| Los Angeles Raiders | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 303 | 327 | L1 |
| Denver Broncos | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 347 | 396 | L3 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 287 | 323 | L2 |

## Season summary
### Week 13 vs Bengals

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Broncos | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
* Date: November 27, 1994
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 27 °F (−3 °C)
* Game attendance: 69,714
* Box Score, Box Score
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Bengals | Passing | Jeff Blake | 15/33, 215 Yds, TD, INT |
| Bengals | Rushing | Steve Broussard | 8 Rush, 52 Yds |
| Bengals | Receiving | Carl Pickens | 6 Rec, 132 Yds, TD |
| Broncos | Passing | John Elway | 21/38, 239 Yds, TD |
| Broncos | Rushing | Leonard Russell | 13 Rush, 30 Yds |
| Broncos | Receiving | Anthony Miller | 5 Rec, 116 Yds, TD |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | CIN | DEN |
| 1 | 12:30 | 7 | 58 | | Broncos | 34-yard field goal by Jason Elam | 0 | 3 |
| 1 | 4:13 | 6 | 4 | | Broncos | 33-yard field goal by Jason Elam | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | 7:19 | 11 | 55 | | Bengals | 43-yard field goal by Doug Pelfrey | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | 4:09 | 7 | 58 | | Broncos | Anthony Miller 16-yard touchdown reception from John Elway, 2-point conversion attempt failed | 3 | 12 |
| 2 | 2:57 | 4 | 7 | | Broncos | 37-yard field goal by Jason Elam | 3 | 15 |
| 2 | 0:11 | 11 | 66 | | Bengals | 32-yard field goal by Doug Pelfrey | 6 | 15 |
| 4 | 14:48 | 4 | 80 | | Bengals | Carl Pickens 70-yard touchdown reception from Jeff Blake, Doug Pelfrey kick good | 13 | 15 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 13 | 15 |