2001 Denver Broncos season

American football team season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2001 season was the Denver Broncos' 32nd in the National Football League (NFL) and their 42nd overall. This was the Broncos' first year at the new Invesco Field at Mile High, replacing the old Mile High Stadium. The Broncos, heavily favored to be the AFC Super Bowl XXXVI representative, were aiming to head back to the Super Bowl for the first time in three years, and to win their third title in the Shanahan era. However, the season ended up as highly disappointing, as the team finished with an 8–8 record and missed the playoffs. The season was also a start of a multi-year investigation into the team cheating the salary cap during the 1996 season and both their Super Bowl-winning seasons.^[1] The team was stripped of their third-round pick in the 2002 draft, and received an initial fine of $968,000.

OwnerPat Bowlen

General managerNeal Dahlen and Mike Shanahan

PresidentPat Bowlen

Head coachMike Shanahan

Quick facts Denver Broncos season, Owner ...

2001 Denver Broncos season
Owner	Pat Bowlen
General manager	Neal Dahlen and Mike Shanahan
President	Pat Bowlen
Head coach	Mike Shanahan
Offensive coordinator	Gary Kubiak
Defensive coordinator	Ray Rhodes
Home stadium	Invesco Field at Mile High
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd AFC West
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	WR Rod Smith TE Dwayne Carswell DT Trevor Pryce ILB Al Wilson CB Deltha O'Neal K Jason Elam ST Ian Gold
← 2000 Broncos seasons 2002 →

It was also Terrell Davis' final season before various knee ailments forced him to retire in the 2002 preseason.

Offseason

NFL draft

More information Round, Pick ...

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2001 Denver Broncos draft
1	24	Willie Middlebrooks	Cornerback	Minnesota
2	51	Paul Toviessi	Defensive end	Marshall	from Tampa Bay via Buffalo ^{[R2 - 1]}
3	87	Reggie Hayward	Defensive end	Iowa State
4	113	Ben Hamilton	Guard	Minnesota	from Green Bay ^{[R4 - 1]}
4	120	Nick Harris	Punter	California
6	190	Kevin Kasper	Wide receiver	Iowa
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Draft notes

[1]
#51: multiple trades:
#51: Tampa Bay → Buffalo (D). see #14: Buffalo → Tampa Bay

#51: Buffalo → Denver (D). Buffalo traded this pick to Denver for second-round (#58) and fourth-round (#110) selections.

[1]
#113: Green Bay → Denver (PD). Green Bay traded this selection to Denver in August 2000 in exchange for linebacker Nate Wayne.^[2]

Staff

**2001 Denver Broncos staff**
	Front office President and chief executive officer – Pat Bowlen General manager – Neal Dahlen Head coaches Head coach/vice president of football operations – Mike Shanahan Assistant head coach/offensive line – Alex Gibbs Head coach's assistant – Zaven Yaralian Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Gary Kubiak Running backs – Bobby Turner Wide receivers – Karl Dorrell Tight ends – Brian Pariani Offensive line – Rick Dennison Offensive assistant – Pat McPherson			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Ray Rhodes Defensive line – George Dyer Linebackers – Larry Coyer Defensive backs – Ron Milus Safeties – David Gibbs Defensive assistant – Steve Watson Pass rush specialist – John Teerlinck Special teams coaches Special teams – Frank Bush Special teams assistant – Anthony Lynn Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Rich Tuten Assistant strength and conditioning – Greg Saporta Assistant strength and conditioning – Cedric Smith

Roster

**2001 Denver Broncos roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Brian Griese 8 Todd Husak 17 Jarious Jackson Running backs (RB) 38 Mike Anderson 37 Tony Carter 21 KaRon Coleman 30 Terrell Davis 42 Detron Smith FB Wide receivers (WR) 84 Chris Cole 82 Kevin Kasper KR 85 Phil McGeoghan 83 Scottie Montgomery 80 Rod Smith Tight ends (TE) 89 Dwayne Carswell 88 Desmond Clark 49 Matt Dominguez 86 Patrick Hape		Offensive linemen (OL) 65 Cooper Carlisle T 63 David Diaz-Infante 64 Lennie Friedman G 50 Ben Hamilton C/G 79 Steve Herndon G 78 Matt Lepsis T 67 Michael Moore G 66 Tom Nalen C 62 Dan Neil G 70 Trey Teague T 72 Brandon Winey T Defensive linemen (DL) 92 Bertrand Berry DE 98 Reggie Hayward DE 90 Jerry Johnson DT 94 Leon Lett DE/DT 75 Chester McGlockton DT 93 Trevor Pryce DT 99 Montae Reagor DT 97 Keith Washington DE		Linebackers (LB) 55 Keith Burns MLB 52 Ian Gold OLB 51 John Mobley OLB 53 Bill Romanowski OLB 56 Al Wilson MLB 54 Lee Woodall OLB Defensive backs (DB) 26 Eric Brown FS 48 George Coghill FS 25 Eric Davis CB 32 Delvin Hughley SS 28 Kenoy Kennedy SS 23 Willie Middlebrooks CB/S 24 Deltha O'Neal 33 Jimmy Spencer CB 27 Denard Walker CB Special teams (ST) 1 Jason Elam K 16 Tom Rouen P		Practice squad 19 Ricky Hall WR 31 Kelly Herndon CB 39 Greg Brown S 59 Donnie Spragan LB 73 Cyron Brown DT Reserve 11 Steve Beuerlein QB (IR) 47 Darius Clark S (IR) 12 Gus Frerotte QB (IR) 22 Olandis Gary RB (IR) 29 Howard Griffith FB (IR) 87 Ed McCaffrey WR (IR) 95 Kavika Pittman DE (IR) 68 Paul Toviessi DE (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 8 reserve, 5 practice squad

Regular season

The Broncos opened the 2001 NFL season with a Monday Night Football win over the New York Giants on September 10, 2001, in their new stadium, Invesco Field at Mile High. Wide receiver Ed McCaffrey suffered a season-ending injury with a broken leg. The late game and location would serve a role in sparing at least two lives the following day during the September 11th attacks.^[3]

Schedule

More information Week, Date ...

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 10	New York Giants	W 31–20	1–0	Invesco Field at Mile High	75,735
2^[A]	September 23	at Arizona Cardinals	W 38–17	2–0	Sun Devil Stadium	50,913
3	September 30	Baltimore Ravens	L 13–20	2–1	Invesco Field at Mile High	75,082
4	October 7	Kansas City Chiefs	W 20–6	3–1	Invesco Field at Mile High	75,037
5	October 14	at Seattle Seahawks	L 21–34	3–2	Husky Stadium	61,837
6	October 21	at San Diego Chargers	L 10–27	3–3	Qualcomm Stadium	67,521
7	October 28	New England Patriots	W 31–20	4–3	Invesco Field at Mile High	74,750
8	November 5	at Oakland Raiders	L 28–38	4–4	Network Associates Coliseum	62,637
9	November 11	San Diego Chargers	W 26–16	5–4	Invesco Field at Mile High	74,951
10	November 18	Washington Redskins	L 10–17	5–5	Invesco Field at Mile High	74,622
11	November 22	at Dallas Cowboys	W 26–24	6–5	Texas Stadium	64,104
12	December 2	at Miami Dolphins	L 10–21	6–6	Pro Player Stadium	73,938
13	December 9	Seattle Seahawks	W 20–7	7–6	Invesco Field at Mile High	74,524
14	December 16	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 23–26 (OT)	7–7	Arrowhead Stadium	77,778
15	Bye
16	December 30	Oakland Raiders	W 23–17	8–7	Invesco Field at Mile High	75,582
17^[A]	January 6	at Indianapolis Colts	L 10–29	8–8	RCA Dome	56,192

Game summaries

Week 4: vs Kansas City Chiefs

Week 4: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos – Game summary

More information Quarter, Total ...

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	0	6	0	0	6
Broncos	7	3	3	7	20

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

Date: October 7
Game time: 2:05 p.m. MDT
Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 74 °F (23 °C)
Game attendance: 75,037
Referee: Mike Carey
TV announcers (CBS): Dick Enberg, Dan Dierdorf and Bonnie Bernstein
Recap, Game Book

More information Game information ...

Game information

First quarter

DEN – Mike Anderson 62-yard run (Jason Elam kick), 5:49. Broncos 7–0. Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 1:10.

Second quarter

KC – Todd Peterson 23-yard field goal, 10:54. Broncos 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 29 yards, 3:50.
DEN – Jason Elam 48-yard field goal, 5:05. Broncos 10–3. Drive: 11 plays, 38 yards, 5:49.
KC – Todd Peterson 35-yard field goal, 1:18. Broncos 10–6. Drive: 13 plays, 70 yards, 3:47.

Third quarter

DEN – Jason Elam 24-yard field goal, 3:04. Broncos 13–6. Drive: 14 plays, 74 yards, 8:17.

Fourth quarter

DEN – Rod Smith 4-yard pass from Brian Griese (Jason Elam kick), 8:11. Broncos 20–6. Drive: 1 play, 4 yards, 0:05.

Top passers

KC – Trent Green – 25/40, 283 yards, 4 INT
DEN – Brian Griese – 11/20, 121 yards, TD, INT

Top rushers

KC – Priest Holmes – 17 rushes, 42 yards
DEN – Mike Anderson – 22 rushes, 155 yards, TD

Top receivers

KC – Tony Gonzalez – 8 receptions, 129 yards
DEN – Rod Smith – 8 receptions, 110 yards, TD

Week 6: at San Diego Chargers

Week 6: Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers – Game summary

More information Quarter, Total ...

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	7	3	0	10
Chargers	7	6	7	7	27

at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

Date: October 21
Game time: 1:05 p.m. PDT
Game weather: Clear, 66 °F (19 °C)
Game attendance: 67,521
Referee: Bill Leavy
TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
Box score, Game Book

More information Game information ...

Game information

First quarter

SDG - Ronney Jenkins 88-yard kickoff return (Wade Richey kick), 14:43. Chargers 7–0.

Second quarter

SDG – Wade Richey 21-yard field goal, 6:35. Chargers 10–0. Drive: 8 plays, 50 yards, 3:27.
SDG – Wade Richey 51-yard field goal, 2:20. Chargers 13–0. Drive: 6 plays, 11 yards, 1:41.
DEN – Desmond Clark 6-yard pass from Brian Griese (Jason Elam kick), 0:41. Chargers 13–7. Drive: 10 plays, 64 yards, 1:39.

Third quarter

DEN – Jason Elam 45-yard field goal, 8:49. Chargers 13–10. Drive: 14 plays, 65 yards, 6:11.
SDG – Jeff Graham 17-yard pass from Doug Flutie (Wade Richey kick), 2:17. Chargers 20–10. Drive: 4 plays, 33 yards, 2:01.

Fourth quarter

SDG – Jeff Graham 20-yard pass from Doug Flutie (Wade Richey kick), 8:36. Chargers 27–10. Drive: 5 plays, 38 yards, 2:16.

Top passers

DEN – Brian Griese – 26/41, 212 yards, TD, 2 INT
SDG – Doug Flutie – 21/32, 280 yards, 2 TD, INT

Top rushers

DEN – Mike Anderson – 11 rushes, 50 yards
SDG – LaDainian Tomlinson – 25 rushes, 58 yards

Top receivers

DEN – Rod Smith – 9 receptions, 86 yards
SDG – Jeff Graham – 7 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TD

Week 7: vs New England Patriots

Week 7: New England Patriots at Denver Broncos – Game summary

More information Quarter, Total ...

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Patriots	10	7	3	0	20
Broncos	7	3	14	7	31

at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

Date: October 28
Game time: 12:15 p.m. MST/2:15 p.m. EST
Game weather: Sunny, 72 °F (22 °C)
Game attendance: 74,750
Referee: Walt Coleman
TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker

More information Game information ...

Game information

First quarter

NE – Adam Vinatieri 24-yard field goal, 9:06. Patriots 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 74 yards, 5:54.
NE – David Patten 30-yard pass from Tom Brady (Adam Vinatieri kick), 4:57. Patriots 10–0. Drive: 4 plays, 69 yards, 2:01.
DEN – Mike Anderson 8-yard run (Jason Elam kick), 0:57. Patriots 10–7. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 4:00.

Second quarter

DEN – Jason Elam 50-yard field goal, 4:03. Tied 10–10. Drive: 17 plays, 66 yards, 8:40.
NE – Troy Brown 5-yard pass from Tom Brady (Adam Vinatieri kick), 1:21. Patriots 17–10. Drive: 3 plays, 17 yards, 0:49.

Third quarter

NE – Adam Vinatieri 44-yard field goal, 10:59. Patriots 20–10. Drive: 4 plays, −2 yards, 2:39.
DEN – Rod Smith 65-yard pass from Brian Griese (Jason Elam kick), 10:35. Patriots 20–17. Drive: 1 play, 65 yards, 0:24.
DEN – Dwayne Carswell 6-yard pass from Brian Griese (Jason Elam kick), 3:35. Broncos 24–20. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:10.

Fourth quarter

DEN – Denard Walker 39-yard interception return (Jason Elam kick), 2:24. Broncos 31–20.

Top passers

NE – Tom Brady – 25/38, 203 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT
DEN – Brian Griese – 19/30, 283 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT

Top rushers

NE – Antowain Smith – 12 rushes, 56 yards
DEN – Mike Anderson – 14 rushes, 40 yards, TD

Top receivers

NE – Troy Brown – 9 receptions, 86 yards, TD
DEN – Rod Smith – 6 receptions, 159 yards, TD

Week 9: vs San Diego Chargers

Week 9: San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos – Game summary

More information Quarter, Total ...

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	0	0	3	13	16
Broncos	3	17	6	0	26

at Invesco Field, Denver, Colorado

Date: November 11
Game time: 2:05 p.m. MST
Game weather: Partly Sunny, 62 °F (17 °C)
Game attendance: 74,951
Referee: Bill Carollo
TV announcers (CBS): Dick Enberg, Dan Dierdorf and Bonnie Bernstein
Box score, Game Book

More information Game information ...

Game information

First quarter

DEN – Jason Elam 25-yard field goal, 6:35. Broncos 3–0. Drive: 13 plays, 62 yards, 6:38.

Second quarter

DEN – Jason Elam 29-yard field goal, 8:02. Broncos 6–0. Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards, 5:10.
DEN – Desmond Clark 18-yard pass from Brian Griese (Jason Elam kick), 1:07. Broncos 13–0. Drive: 9 plays, 77 yards, 3:26.
DEN – Dwayne Carswell 3-yard pass from Brian Griese (Jason Elam kick), 0:28. Broncos 20–0. Drive: 1 play, 3 yards, 0:04.

Third quarter

DEN – Jason Elam 26-yard field goal, 11:54. Broncos 23–0. Drive: 4 plays, 1 yard, 1:26.
SDG – Wade Richey 29-yard field goal, 9:42. Broncos 23–3. Drive: 4 plays, 3 yards, 2:12.
DEN – Jason Elam 33-yard field goal, 5:38. Broncos 26–3. Drive: 8 plays, 37 yards, 4:04.

Fourth quarter

SDG – Curtis Conway 72-yard pass from Doug Flutie (Wade Richey kick), 14:50. Broncos 26–10. Drive: 2 plays, 80 yards, 0:58.
SDG – Raylee Johnson 45-yard fumble return (run failed), 10:57. Broncos 26–16.

Top passers

SDG – Doug Flutie – 12/31, 165 yards, TD, 4 INT
DEN – Brian Griese – 21/31, 224 yards, 2 TD

Top rushers

SDG – LaDainian Tomlinson – 14 rushes, 75 yards
DEN – Terrell Davis – 33 rushes, 83 yards

Top receivers

SDG – Curtis Conway – 3 receptions, 111 yards, TD
DEN – Rod Smith – 5 receptions, 74 yards

Week 11: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 11: Denver Broncos at Dallas Cowboys

More information Quarter, Total ...

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	3	14	6	3	26
Cowboys	3	0	0	21	24

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Date: November 22, 2001
Game time: 2:15 p.m. MST/3:15 p.m. CST
Game weather: Overcast, 72 °F (22 °C)
Game attendance: 64,104
TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian

More information Game information ...

Game information

First quarter

Second quarter

Third quarter

Fourth quarter

Top passers

DEN – Brian Griese – 17/29, 171 yards, TD, INT
DAL – Ryan Leaf – 16/32, 193 yards

Top rushers

DEN – Mike Anderson – 33 rushes, 118 yards, TD
DAL – Troy Hambrick – 5 rushes, 17 yards

Top receivers

DEN – Rod Smith – 7 receptions, 81 yards
DAL – Joey Galloway – 6 receptions, 64 yards

Standings

More information AFC West, W ...

AFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽³⁾ Oakland Raiders	10	6	0	.625	399	327	L3
Seattle Seahawks	9	7	0	.563	301	324	W2
Denver Broncos	8	8	0	.500	340	339	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	6	10	0	.375	320	344	L1
San Diego Chargers	5	11	0	.313	332	321	L9

Notes

[A]
The Broncos were originally scheduled to play the Indianapolis Colts during Week 2 of the original NFL schedule (September 16) at RCA Dome in Indianapolis. However, due to the September 11 attacks, the game was rescheduled to Week 17.

2001 Denver Broncos season

Offseason

NFL draft

Draft notes

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 4: vs Kansas City Chiefs

Week 6: at San Diego Chargers

Week 7: vs New England Patriots

Week 9: vs San Diego Chargers

Week 11: at Dallas Cowboys

Standings

Notes

References

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