Denver Broncos
The Broncos traded running back Tatum Bell and offensive tackle George Foster to the Detroit Lions for former Pro Bowl cornerback Dre’ Bly to compensate for the unfortunate loss of Williams. In addition to the trade for Bly, the Broncos had made a trade to the Miami Dolphins for Dan Wilkinson, only to have that trade voided because Wilkinson did not show up to Denver for his scheduled physical.
Denver added running back Travis Henry, wide receiver Brandon Stokley, and tight end Daniel Graham through free agency. The team released linebacker Al Wilson during the month of April for health and salary cap reasons. Simeon Rice was also added to their roster with a one-year deal. The Broncos also resigned punter Todd Sauerbrun to help their special teams
The first game of the season was on the road against the Buffalo Bills, which they won with a last second field goal kick by Jason Elam that put them up 15 to 14 as time expired.
In game two, the Oakland Raiders seemed to claim victory on a Sebastian Janikowski field goal in overtime, but a last second time-out called by coach Mike Shanahan negated that kick, and the subsequent kick hit the field-goal post. Jay Cutler then marched the Denver Broncos down the field, and Jason Elam kicked the game winning field goal for the second week in a row.
In the seventh game of the season, the Broncos played and lost a Monday Night Football home game against the Green Bay Packers. There were 77,160 tickets distributed for the game, which is a franchise record. 76,645 fans attended the game.
Suffering through several injuries to players such as Rod Smith, Tom Nalen, Ben Hamilton, Javon Walker, Jarvis Moss and Ebenezer Ekuban, the Broncos finished the season with a 7-9 record and missed the playoffs.
