‹earlier

Jan 18, 2026SundayDivisional

HST16

NWE28

Divisional

LAR20

CHI17

Divisional

Jan 25, 2026SundayConference title

NWE10

DEN7

Conf. title

LAR27

SEA31

Conf. title

Feb 8, 2026SundaySuper Bowl LX

SEA29

NWE13

Super Bowl

Sep 9, 2026WednesdayWeek 1

NWE10

SEA13

Sep 10, 2026ThursdayWeek 1

SFO27

LAR7

Sep 13, 2026SundayWeek 1

CHI59

CAR37

TB27

CIN33

NOR30

DET31

BUF36

HST31

BLT41

IND23

CLV10

JAX34

ATL13

PIT20

NYJ23

TEN10

ARZ26

LAC14

MIA13

LVR27

GNB22

MIN39

WAS22

PHI24

DAL20

NY28

Sep 14, 2026MondayWeek 1

DEN10

KC31

later›

Sep 14, 2026Monday

📅upcoming ⇥

This day in football · September 16, 1923: Ironwood Legion visited the Duluth Kelleys at Duluth Athletic Park. Duluth Kelleys 7, Ironwood Legion 0. W1923 NFL season↗

From the vault · December 26, 1964 · 1964 AFL Championship Game: The Buffalo Bills beat the San Diego Chargers 20–7 at War Memorial Stadium to win the 1964 AFL championship. Box score

2002 Denver BroncosW2002 Denver Broncos↗

NFL · AFC West · 9–7 (.562) · 2nd in division · PF 392 · PA 344 · Coach Mike Shanahan

◀ 2001 2003 ▶

Team leaders

Passing (yds)

1. 3214Brian Griese
2. 925Steve Beuerlein

Rushing (yds)

1. 1508Clinton Portis
2. 386Mike Anderson
3. 147Olandis Gary

Receiving (yds)

1. 1027Rod Smith
2. 903Ed McCaffrey
3. 686Shannon Sharpe

Sacks

1. 9Trevor Pryce
2. 6.5Bertrand Berry
3. 6.5Ian Gold

Interceptions

1. 5Deltha O'Neal
2. 1Kelly Herndon
3. 1Montae Reagor

Efficiency (EPA)

	Offense	Defense
Plays	1048	982
EPA per play	+0.07	+0.00
Pass EPA per play	+0.06	+0.02
Rush EPA per play	+0.08	-0.03
Success rate	49.1%	46.0%
Pass rate	57.3%

Regular season, pass and run plays only. League average that year: EPA per play -0.03, success rate 42.2%. For the defense, lower is better.

Schedule (16 games)

Date	Wk	Opponent	Result	Record	Stadium	Att.
2002-09-08	1	vs St. Louis Rams	W 23–16	1–0	Invesco Field at Mile High
2002-09-15	2	@ San Francisco 49ers	W 24–14	2–0	3Com Park
2002-09-22	3	vs Buffalo Bills	W 28–23	3–0	Invesco Field at Mile High
2002-09-30	4	@ Baltimore Ravens	L 23–34	3–1	Ravens Stadium
2002-10-06	5	vs San Diego Chargers	W 26–9	4–1	Invesco Field at Mile High
2002-10-13	6	vs Miami Dolphins	L 22–24	4–2	Invesco Field at Mile High
2002-10-20	7	@ Kansas City Chiefs	W 37–34 OT	5–2	Arrowhead Stadium
2002-10-27	8	@ New England Patriots	W 24–16	6–2	Gillette Stadium
2002-11-11	10	vs Oakland Raiders	L 10–34	6–3	Invesco Field at Mile High
2002-11-17	11	@ Seattle Seahawks	W 31–9	7–3	Seahawks Stadium
2002-11-24	12	vs Indianapolis Colts	L 20–23 OT	7–4	Invesco Field at Mile High
2002-12-01	13	@ San Diego Chargers	L 27–30 OT	7–5	Qualcomm Stadium
2002-12-08	14	@ New York Jets	L 13–19	7–6	Giants Stadium
2002-12-15	15	vs Kansas City Chiefs	W 31–24	8–6	Invesco Field at Mile High
2002-12-22	16	@ Oakland Raiders	L 16–28	8–7	Network Associates Coliseum
2002-12-29	17	vs Arizona Cardinals	W 37–7	9–7	Invesco Field at Mile High

Roster (58)

#	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt	College	Exp	Status
11	Steve Beuerlein	QB	6-3	220	Notre Dame	15	ACT
14	Brian Griese	QB	6-3	214	Michigan	4	ACT
17	Jarious Jackson	QB	6-0	228	Notre Dame	2	ACT
34	Reuben Droughns	FB	5-11	220	Oregon; Merced College	2	ACT
38	Mike Anderson	FB	6-0	230	Utah; Mount San Jacinto College	2	ACT
21	KaRon Coleman	RB	5-7	198	Stephen F. Austin State	2	ACT
22	Olandis Gary	RB	5-11	218	Georgia; Marshall	3	ACT
26	Clinton Portis	RB	5-11	219	Miami	0	ACT
39	Kyle Johnson	RB	6-0	242	Syracuse	0	ACT
80	Rod Smith	WR	6-0	200	Missouri Southern	8	ACT
82	Kevin Kasper	WR	6-1	202	Iowa	1	ACT
82	Herb Haygood	WR	5-11	193	Michigan State	0	ACT
83	Scottie Montgomery	WR	6-1	195	Duke	2	ACT
85	Ashley Lelie	WR	6-3	195	Hawaii	0	ACT
87	Ed McCaffrey	WR	6-5	215	Stanford	11	ACT
48	Mike Leach	TE	6-2	235	William & Mary; Boston University	2	ACT
84	Shannon Sharpe	TE	6-2	228	Savannah State College	12	ACT
86	Patrick Hape	TE	6-4	262	Alabama	5	ACT
88	Jeb Putzier	TE	6-4	251	Boise State	0	ACT
89	Dwayne Carswell	TE	6-3	290	Liberty	8	ACT
50	Ben Hamilton	C	6-5	290	Minnesota	1	ACT
66	Tom Nalen	C	6-3	286	Boston College	8	RES
24	Deltha O'Neal	CB	5-11	194	California	2	ACT
25	Denard Walker	CB	6-1	190	LSU	5	ACT
31	Kelly Herndon	CB	5-10	180	Toledo	3	ACT
33	Jimmy Spencer	CB	5-9	188	Florida	11	ACT
35	Lenny Walls	CB	6-4	197	Boston College; St. Mary's College (CA); City College (SF)	0	ACT
37	Tyrone Poole	CB	5-8	190	Fort Valley State College	7	ACT
92	Bertrand Berry	DE	6-3	254	Notre Dame	5	ACT
93	Trevor Pryce	DE	6-5	290	Clemson; Michigan	5	ACT
95	Kavika Pittman	DE	6-6	273	McNeese State	6	ACT
97	Keith Washington	DE	6-4	285	UNLV	7	ACT
98	Reggie Hayward	DE	6-5	275	Iowa State	1	RES
75	Monsanto Pope	DT	6-3	300	Virginia	0	ACT
91	Chester McGlockton	DT	6-3	334	Clemson	10	ACT
94	Lional Dalton	DT	6-1	315	Eastern Michigan	4	ACT
96	Dorsett Davis	DT	6-5	305	Mississippi State; Mississippi Delta CC	0	ACT
99	Montae Reagor	DT	6-3	285	Texas Tech	3	ACT
23	Willie Middlebrooks	FS	6-1	200	Minnesota	1	ACT
43	Izell Reese	FS	6-2	195	UAB	4	ACT
62	Dan Neil	G	6-2	285	Texas	5	ACT
64	Lennie Friedman	G	6-3	290	Duke	3	ACT
69	Mookie Moore	G	6-2	318	Troy; Alabama	2	CUT
79	Steve Herndon	G	6-4	292	Georgia	2	ACT
1	Jason Elam	K	5-11	194	Hawaii	9	ACT
55	Keith Burns	MLB	6-2	235	Oklahoma State; Navarro	8	ACT
56	Al Wilson	MLB	6-0	240	Tennessee	3	ACT
51	John Mobley	OLB	6-1	236	Kutztown	6	ACT
52	Ian Gold	OLB	6-0	223	Michigan	2	ACT
59	Donnie Spragan	OLB	6-3	242	Stanford; University of U. of Pacific	3	ACT
4	Micah Knorr	P	6-2	199	Utah State	2	ACT
16	Tom Rouen	P	6-3	225	Colorado; Colorado State	11	ACT
28	Kenoy Kennedy	SS	6-1	215	Arkansas	2	ACT
42	Sam Brandon	SS	6-2	200	UNLV	0	ACT
65	Cooper Carlisle	T	6-5	310	Florida	2	ACT
71	Blake Brockermeyer	T	6-4	300	Texas	7	ACT
74	Ephraim Salaam	T	6-7	310	San Diego State	4	ACT
78	Matt Lepsis	T	6-4	290	Colorado	5	ACT

Depth chart, week 21

Offense

Pos	Starter	2nd	3rd
C	Ben Hamilton	Lennie Friedman
FB	Mike Anderson	Reuben Droughns
LG	Steve Herndon
LT	Ephraim Salaam	Blake Brockermeyer
QB	Brian Griese	Steve Beuerlein
RB	Clinton Portis	Olandis Gary
RG	Dan Neil
RT	Matt Lepsis	Cooper Carlisle
TE	Shannon Sharpe	Dwayne Carswell
WR	Ed McCaffrey	Rod Smith	Scottie Montgomery

Defense

Pos	Starter	2nd	3rd
FS	Izell Reese	Willie Middlebrooks
LCB	Deltha O'Neal	Steve Herndon
LDE	Trevor Pryce	Keith Washington
LDT	Lional Dalton	Montae Reagor
MLB	Al Wilson	Keith Burns
RCB	Denard Walker	Tyrone Poole
RDE	Kavika Pittman	Bertrand Berry
RDT	Chester McGlockton	Monsanto Pope
SLB	John Mobley	Donnie Spragan
SS	Kenoy Kennedy	Sam Brandon
WLB	Ian Gold	Donnie Spragan

Special Teams

Pos	Starter	2nd	3rd
H	Steve Beuerlein
K	Jason Elam
KR	Scottie Montgomery	Reuben Droughns
LS	Mike Leach
P	Micah Knorr
PR	Deltha O'Neal	Tyrone Poole

Biggest contracts on the books in 2002

Player	Pos	Signed	Yrs	Value	Per year	Guaranteed	Cap%
Terrell Davis	RB	1998	6	$46.8M	$7.8M	$11.0M	14.9%
Trevor Pryce	IDL	2001	8	$59.9M	$7.5M	$10.6M	11.1%
Rod Smith	WR	2002	7	$41.6M	$5.9M	$11.0M	8.4%
Ed McCaffrey	WR	1999	7	$24.5M	$3.5M	$4.5M	6.1%
Rod Smith	WR	1998	6	$19.2M	$3.2M	$2.4M	6.1%
Shannon Sharpe	TE	2002	7	$16.1M	$2.3M	$1.7M	3.2%
Clinton Portis	RB	2002	4	$2.6M	$662,500	$1.3M	0.9%

Contracts whose term covers this season (Over The Cap, via nflverse). Cap% is against the cap of the signing year.

Trades in 2002 (2)

Date	Trade
2002-04-20	BLT → DEN: 2002 round 3 pick 96 DEN → BLT: 2002 round 4 pick 112, 2002 round 5 pick 155
2002-04-21	DEN → NWE: 2002 round 4 pick 117 NWE → DEN: 2002 round 4 pick 131, 2002 round 5 pick 144