2001 Denver Broncos season

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.

2001 Denver Broncos season
Owner	Pat Bowlen
President	Pat Bowlen
General manager	Neal Dahlen and Mike Shanahan
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

Main article: 2001 NFL draft

2001 Denver Broncos draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
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

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

Standings

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

Awards and records

Notes

1. 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.