1999 Denver Broncos season

American football team season December 2013 February 2026 Denver Broncos 1999 6–10 5th AFC West Pat Bowlen Mike Shanahan Gary Kubiak Greg Robinson Neal Dahlen and Mike Shanahan Pat Bowlen Mile High Stadium Did not qualify C Tom NalenFB Detron SmithDT Trevor Pryce Broncos seasons thumb|Denver visits the Green Bay Packers in preseason at Camp Randall Stadium, August 23 The 1999 season was the Denver Broncos' 30th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 40th overall. The 1999 Broncos were hoping to win a third consecutive Super Bowl, but after winning a second against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami, the team suffered the retirement of Super Bowl XXXIII MVP quarterback John Elway during the off-season. Elway had spent his entire career with the Broncos, and much of the focus in the weeks leading up to the season centered on the void left by Elway's departure. Head coach Mike Shanahan announced that third-round 1998 draft pick Brian Griese, son of Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese, would take the reins of the offense, passing over veteran and credible back-up quarterback Bubby Brister. In the preseason, the Broncos played in the first and so far only NFL game held in Australia. On August 7, before a crowd of 73,811 spectators at Stadium Australia in Sydney, the Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers 20–17.Aussies Rule: During a three-day footy-fest in Sydney, the author didn't have much luck convincing two mates that the NFL game measured up to two Australian brands. by Gary Smith Although no one expected a serious defense of their title, the Broncos would stumble out of the gate this season, losing the first four regular season games. Many of the games would be decided in the final two minutes of play, but the Broncos found themselves on the losing end at 6–10. It was their first losing season since 1994, their worst season since 1990 and the worst record of the five-team AFC West. Until the injury plagued 2022 Rams, this was the worst ever season for a team defending their Super Bowl title in a non-strike season. Only the 1982 San Francisco 49ers had a lower winning percentage as they failed to defend their first Super Bowl championship.Branch John Broncos' record worst among Super Bowl champions January 3, 2000 The Gazette (Colorado Springs) The Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons combined for an 11–21 record in 1999. This is, as of 2022, the worst combined record for both defending conference and/or Super Bowl champions in the season following a Super Bowl appearance. The 11-21 mark was matched by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders four years later, one season removed from Super Bowl XXXVII. Statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the Broncos went from the league's third-easiest schedule in 1998, to the hardest schedule in 1999:Football Outsiders Almanac 2012 (1478201525), page 216-217 Before 2011, the worst one-year increase in strength of schedule belonged to the 1999 Broncos. Denver had ridden the third-easiest schedule (in a 30-team league) to a Lombardi Trophy in 1998, only to fall apart the next season under the weight of John Elway's retirement, Terrell Davis'[s] Week 4 injury, and – oh, by the way – the toughest schedule in the league. This was the largest single-season change in Football Outsiders' rankings until the 2011 St. Louis Rams. Week 4 saw star running back Terrell Davis, who was last year's league MVP, hurt his knee and was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. Offseason NFL draft 1999 NFL draft 1999 Denver Broncos 1 31 Al Wilson Linebacker Tennessee yes yes 2 58 Montae Reagor Defensive tackle Texas Tech from San Francisco No. 58: San Francisco → Denver (PD). San Francisco traded its second-round selection (58th) to Denver in exchange for offensive tackle Jamie Brown in 1998. "R2" yes yes 2 61 Lennie Friedman Guard Duke yes yes 3 67 Chris Watson Cornerback Eastern Illinois from Carolina No. 67: Carolina → Denver (PD). Carolina traded its third-round selection (67th), as well as its fourth-round selection in 2000 (112th), to Denver in exchange for quarterback Jeff Lewis. "R3" no yes 3 93 Travis McGriff Wide receiver Florida yes 4 127 Olandis Gary Running back Georgia yes 5 158 David Bowens Defensive end Western Illinois from Dallas No. 158: Dallas → Denver (PD). Dallas traded its fifth-round selection (158th) to Denver in exchange for tight end Kendell Watkins in 1998. "R5" no yes 5 167 Darwin Brown Defensive back Texas Tech no 6 179 Desmond Clark Tight end Wake Forest from New Orleans via Washington No. 179: multiple trades:7No. 179: New Orleans → Washington (D). see No. 5: Washington → New Orleans.7No. 179: Washington → Denver (D). see No. 165: Denver → Washington. "R6" yes yes yes 6 204 Chad Plummer Wide receiver Cincinnati no 7 218 Billy Miller Tight end USC from New Orleans via Washington No. 218: multiple trades:7No. 218: New Orleans → Washington (D). see No. 5: Washington → New Orleans.7No. 218: Washington → Denver (D). see No. 165: Denver → Washington. "R7" yes yes 7 238 Justin Swift Tight end Kansas State yes no Draft notes R2 R3 R5 R6 R7 Personnel Staff 1999 Denver Broncos President and chief executive officer – Pat Bowlen Vice-president of business operations – Joe Ellis Vice-president of administration – John Beake General manager – Neal Dahlen Director of pro scouting – Jack Elway Director of college scouting – Ted Sundquist College scouting consultant – Jerry Frei Head coach/vice president of football operations – Mike Shanahan Assistant head coach/offensive line – Alex Gibbs Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Gary Kubiak Running backs – Bobby Turner Wide receivers – Mike Heimerdinger Tight ends – Brian Pariani Assistant offensive line/Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Barney Chavous Offensive assistant – Pat McPherson Defensive coordinator – Greg Robinson Defensive line – George Dyer Linebackers – Frank Bush Defensive backs – Ed Donatell Defensive assistant – Rick Smith Defensive assistant – Terry Tumey Pass rush specialist – John Teerlinck Special teams – Rick Dennison Strength and conditioning – Rich Tuten Assistant strength and conditioning – Ricky Porter Assistant strength and conditioning – Greg Saporta Roster 1999 Denver Broncos  6 Bubby Brister 11 Jeff Brohm 14 Brian Griese 12 Chris Miller quarterback 33 John Avery gridiron football KR 22 Olandis Gary y 29 Howard Griffith FB 31 Derek Loville 37 Anthony Lynn FB 42 Detron Smith FB 81 Andre Cooper 85 Chris Doering 87 Ed McCaffrey 83 Travis McGriff y PR 80 Rod Smith wide receiver 89 Dwayne Carswell 86 Byron Chamberlain 88 Desmond Clark y 82 Billy Miller American football y 79 Chris Banks American football G 60 K. C. Jones American football C 78 Matt Lepsis T 66 Tom Nalen C 62 Dan Neil American football G 69 Mark Schlereth G 70 Trey Teague T/LS 71 Melvin Tuten T 73 Cyron Brown DE 95 Paul Grasmanis DT 96 Harald Hasselbach DE 97 Mike Lodish DT 93 Trevor Pryce DT 99 Montae Reagor y DE/DT 90 Neil Smith American football DE 94 Keith Traylor NT 98 Maa Tanuvasa DE 52 David Bowens y OLB 59 Glenn Cadrez MLB/OLB 53 Bill Romanowski OLB 58 Steve Russ OLB 54 Nate Wayne OLB 56 Al Wilson y MLB 34 Tyrone Braxton SS 40 Dale Carter CB 48 George Coghill American football FS 39 Ray Crockett CB 20 Tory James CB 25 Darrius Johnson CB/S 23 Jason Moore safety SS 35 Jason Suttle CB 21 Chris Watson American football y CB/KR  1 Jason Elam K 16 Tom Rouen P 26 Eric Brown safety S IR 30 Terrell Davis RB IR 64 Lennie Friedman y G IR 49 Chris Gizzi LB Military 77 Tony Jones offensive tackle T IR 38 Tori Noel S IR 84 Shannon Sharpe TE IR 51 John Mobley LB IR 50 Artie Ulmer LB IR 91 Alfred Williams DE IR 53 active, 10 inactive, 4 practice squad 74 Jeremy Akers G 75 Glenn Rountree G 36 Brad Trout S 57 Jason Watts offensive lineman y C https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/1999_roster.htm 1999 Denver Broncos starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com November 20, 2014 Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 13 Miami Dolphins L 21–38 0–1 Mile High Stadium 75,623 2 September 19 at Kansas City Chiefs L 10–26 0–2 Arrowhead Stadium 78,683 3 September 26 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–13 0–3 Raymond James Stadium 65,297 4 October 3 New York Jets L 13–21 0–4 Mile High Stadium 74,181 5 October 10 at Oakland Raiders W 16–13 1–4 Network Associates Coliseum 55,704 6 October 17 Green Bay Packers W 31–10 2–4 Mile High Stadium 73,352 7 October 24 at New England Patriots L 23–24 2–5 Foxboro Stadium 60,011 8 October 31 Minnesota Vikings L 20–23 2–6 Mile High Stadium 75,021 9 November 7 at San Diego Chargers W 33–17 3–6 Qualcomm Stadium 61,204 10 November 14 at Seattle Seahawks L 17–20 3–7 Kingdome 66,314 11 November 22 Oakland Raiders W 27–21 (OT) 4–7 Mile High Stadium 70,012 12 Bye 13 December 5 Kansas City Chiefs L 10–16 4–8 Mile High Stadium 73,855 14 December 13 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 24–27 4–9 Alltel Stadium 71,357 15 December 19 Seattle Seahawks W 36–30 (OT) 5–9 Mile High Stadium 65,987 16 December 25 at Detroit Lions W 17–7 6–9 Pontiac Silverdome 73,158 17 January 2 San Diego Chargers L 6–12 6–10 Mile High Stadium 69,278 Standings References External links 1999 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com Denver Broncos Category:Denver Broncos seasons Denver Broncos