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1999 Denver Broncos season
1999 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	Greg Robinson
Home field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	5th AFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	C Tom Nalen; FB Detron Smith; DT Trevor Pryce
	← 1998; Broncos seasons; 2000 →;

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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:^[3]

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

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1999 Denver Broncos draft
1	31	Al Wilson *	Linebacker	Tennessee
2	58	Montae Reagor	Defensive tackle	Texas Tech	from San Francisco ^{[R2 1]}
2	61	Lennie Friedman *	Guard	Duke
3	67	Chris Watson	Cornerback	Eastern Illinois	from Carolina ^{[R3 1]}
3	93	Travis McGriff	Wide receiver	Florida
4	127	Olandis Gary	Running back	Georgia
5	158	David Bowens	Defensive end	Western Illinois	from Dallas ^{[R5 1]}
5	167	Darwin Brown	Defensive back	Texas Tech
6	179	Desmond Clark *	Tight end	Wake Forest	from New Orleans via Washington ^{[R6 1]}
6	204	Chad Plummer	Wide receiver	Cincinnati
7	218	Billy Miller	Tight end	USC	from New Orleans via Washington ^{[R7 1]}
7	238	Justin Swift	Tight end	Kansas State
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Draft notes

^ 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.

^ 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.

^ No. 158: Dallas → Denver (PD). Dallas traded its fifth-round selection (158th) to Denver in exchange for tight end Kendell Watkins in 1998.

^ No. 179: multiple trades:
No. 179: New Orleans → Washington (D). see No. 5: Washington → New Orleans.
No. 179: Washington → Denver (D). see No. 165: Denver → Washington.

^ No. 218: multiple trades:
No. 218: New Orleans → Washington (D). see No. 5: Washington → New Orleans.
No. 218: Washington → Denver (D). see No. 165: Denver → Washington.

Personnel

Staff

**1999 Denver Broncos staff**
	Front office 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 coaches Head coach/vice president of football operations – Mike Shanahan Assistant head coach/offensive line – Alex Gibbs Offensive coaches 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 coaches 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 coaches Special teams – Rick Dennison Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Rich Tuten Assistant strength and conditioning – Ricky Porter Assistant strength and conditioning – Greg Saporta

Roster

**1999 Denver Broncos roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 6 Bubby Brister 11 Jeff Brohm 14 Brian Griese 12 Chris Miller Running backs (RB) 33 John Avery KR 22 Olandis Gary 29 Howard Griffith FB 31 Derek Loville 37 Anthony Lynn FB 42 Detron Smith FB Wide receivers (WR) 81 Andre Cooper 85 Chris Doering 87 Ed McCaffrey 83 Travis McGriff PR 80 Rod Smith Tight ends (TE) 89 Dwayne Carswell 86 Byron Chamberlain 88 Desmond Clark 82 Billy Miller		Offensive linemen (OL) 79 Chris Banks G 60 K. C. Jones C 78 Matt Lepsis T 66 Tom Nalen C 62 Dan Neil G 69 Mark Schlereth G 70 Trey Teague 71 Melvin Tuten T Defensive linemen (DL) 73 Cyron Brown DE 95 Paul Grasmanis DT 96 Harald Hasselbach DE 97 Mike Lodish DT 93 Trevor Pryce DT 99 Montae Reagor DE/DT 90 Neil Smith DE 94 Keith Traylor NT 98 Maa Tanuvasa DE		Linebackers (LB) 52 David Bowens OLB 59 Glenn Cadrez 53 Bill Romanowski OLB 58 Steve Russ OLB 54 Nate Wayne OLB 56 Al Wilson MLB Defensive backs (DB) 34 Tyrone Braxton SS 40 Dale Carter CB 48 George Coghill FS 39 Ray Crockett CB 20 Tory James CB 25 Darrius Johnson CB/S 23 Jason Moore SS 35 Jason Suttle CB 21 Chris Watson Special teams 1 Jason Elam K 16 Tom Rouen P		Practice squad 74 Jeremy Akers G 75 Glenn Rountree G 36 Brad Trout S 57 Jason Watts C 53 active, 10 inactive, 4 practice squad Reserve 26 Eric Brown S (IR) 30 Terrell Davis RB (IR) 64 Lennie Friedman G (IR) 49 Chris Gizzi LB (Military) 77 Tony Jones 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) Rookies in italics

^[4]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 13	Miami Dolphins	L 21–38	0–1	75,623
2	September 19	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–26	0–2	78,683
3	September 26	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–13	0–3	65,297
4	October 3	New York Jets	L 13–21	0–4	74,181
5	October 10	at Oakland Raiders	W 16–13	1–4	55,704
6	October 17	Green Bay Packers	W 31–10	2–4	73,352
7	October 24	at New England Patriots	L 23–24	2–5	60,011
8	October 31	Minnesota Vikings	L 20–23	2–6	75,021
9	November 7	at San Diego Chargers	W 33–17	3–6	61,204
10	November 14	at Seattle Seahawks	L 17–20	3–7	66,314
11	November 22	Oakland Raiders	W 27–21	4–7	70,012
12	Bye
13	December 5	Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–16	4–8	73,855
14	December 13	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 24–27	4–9	71,357
15	December 19	Seattle Seahawks	W 36–30 (OT)	5–9	65,987
16	December 25	at Detroit Lions	W 17–7	6–9	73,158
17	January 2	San Diego Chargers	L 6–12	6–10	69,278

Standings

AFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽³⁾ Seattle Seahawks	9	7	0	.563	338	298	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	9	7	0	.563	390	322	L2
San Diego Chargers	8	8	0	.500	269	316	W2
Oakland Raiders	8	8	0	.500	390	329	W1
Denver Broncos	6	10	0	.375	314	318	L1