2014 Denver Broncos Season

The 2014 Denver Broncos season is the franchise's 45th season in the National Football League and the 55th overall. It also marks the third season with Peyton Manning as the team's starting quarterback as well as the fourth under head coach John Fox. The Broncos enter the 2014 season as the defending AFC champions, hoping to compete for another Super Bowl run, following a 43–8 blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII. The offseason has thus far been dominated by numerous additions and departures following the start of the free agency period.

For the first time since 2003, cornerback Champ Bailey will not be on the Broncos' opening day roster, as he was released on March 6. One day before the start of the team's training camp, the Broncos announced that owner Pat Bowlen will be relinquishing his control of the team due to his battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Coaching and front-office changes

Owner Pat Bowlen steps down

Roster changes

Free agents

Position	Player	Tag	2014 Team	Notes
S	Mike Adams	UFA	Indianapolis Colts	signed with the Colts on June 14
DE	Robert Ayers	UFA	New York Giants	signed with the Giants on April 2
G	Zane Beadles	UFA	Jacksonville Jaguars	signed with the Jaguars on March 11
LB	Stewart Bradley	UFA	TBD
WR	Andre Caldwell	UFA	Denver Broncos	re-signed March 11
CB	Tony Carter	ERFA	Denver Broncos	assigned tender on March 7, re-signed April 21
CB	Marquice Cole	UFA	TBD
WR	Eric Decker	UFA	New York Jets	signed with the Jets on March 12
CB	Chris Harris	RFA	Denver Broncos	assigned tender on March 7, re-signed April 1
WR/RS	Trindon Holliday	UFA	New York Giants	signed with the Giants on March 7
S	Michael Huff	UFA	TBD
S	Duke Ihenacho	ERFA	Denver Broncos	assigned tender on March 7, re-signed April 21
CB	Quentin Jammer	UFA	TBD
OT	Winston Justice	UFA	Denver Broncos	re-signed March 28
C	Dan Koppen	UFA	TBD
LB	Paris Lenon	UFA	TBD
LB	Brandon Marshall	ERFA	Denver Broncos	assigned tender on March 7, re-signed April 21
DE	Jeremy Mincey	UFA	Dallas Cowboys	signed with the Cowboys on March 12
RB	Knowshon Moreno	UFA	Miami Dolphins	signed with the Dolphins on March 27
DE/LB	Shaun Phillips	UFA	Tennessee Titans	signed with the Titans on March 27
CB	Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	UFA	New York Giants	signed with the Giants on March 17
DT	Mitch Unrein	RFA	Denver Broncos	assigned tender on March 7, re-signed April 21
C	Steve Vallos	UFA	TBD
LB	Wesley Woodyard	UFA	Tennessee Titans	signed with the Titans on March 14

Signings

Position	Player	2013 Team	Notes
DT	Marvin Austin	Dallas Cowboys	signed May 5
S	Charles Mitchell	None	signed May 19
DT	Cody Larsen	Baltimore Ravens	signed July 30
C/G	Will Montgomery	Washington Redskins	signed April 1
DE	Will Pericak	Jacksonville Jaguars	signed July 30
WR	Emmanuel Sanders	Pittsburgh Steelers	signed March 16
DE	Brian Sanford	Oakland Raiders Cleveland Browns	signed August 5
CB	Aqib Talib	New England Patriots	signed March 11
S	T. J. Ward	Cleveland Browns	signed March 11
LB	Chase Vaughn	Spokane Shock (AFL)	signed May 19
DE	DeMarcus Ware	Dallas Cowboys	signed March 12

Indicates that the player was a free agent at the end of his respective team's 2013 season.

Departures

Position	Player	Notes
CB	Champ Bailey	released March 6
TE	Joel Dreessen	released July 22, following a failed physical exam
G	Chris Kuper	retired on March 10
DE	John Youboty	designated as waived/injured on May 19

Trades

2014 draft class

Main articles: 2014 NFL Draft

2014 Denver Broncos Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	31	Bradley Roby	CB	Ohio State	signed June 10
2	56	Cody Latimer	WR	Indiana	signed June 2
3	95	Michael Schofield	OT	Michigan	signed June 3
4	None
5	156	Lamin Barrow	LB	Louisiana State	signed June 3
6	207	Matt Paradis	C	Boise State	signed June 2
7	242	Corey Nelson	LB	Oklahoma	signed June 2

Undrafted free agents

Position	Player	College	Notes
DE	Kenny Anunike	Duke
LB	Shaquil Barrett	Colorado State
RB	Kapri Bibbs	Colorado State
WR	Isaiah Burse	Fresno State
P	Steven Clark	Auburn	waived May 19
RB	Brennan Clay	Oklahoma
DT	Mister Cobble	Kentucky	waived May 19
PK	Mitch Ewald	Indiana	signed July 23
WR	Bennie Fowler	Michigan State
WR	Greg Hardin	North Dakota	signed May 19
DE	Greg Latta	Purdue
QB	Bryn Renner	North Carolina
OT	Aslam Sterling	Kansas
CB	Jordan Sullen	Tulane
RB	Juwan Thompson	Duke
LB	Chase Vaughn	CSU–Pueblo	signed May 19
CB	Louis Young	Georgia Tech

Suspensions

Injuries

Staff

Template:Denver Broncos Staff

Current roster

Denver Broncos roster

Quarterbacks

2 Zac Dysert
18 Peyton Manning
17 Brock Osweiler

Running backs

22 C. J. Anderson
28 Montee Ball
21 Ronnie Hillman
-- Jerodis Williams

Wide receivers

-- Jordan Norwood
13 Nathan Palmer
88 Demaryius Thomas
83 Wes Welker
15 Greg Wilson

Tight ends

81 Joel Dreessen
85 Virgil Green
-- Jameson Konz
-- Cameron Morrah
10 Gerell Robinson
84 Jacob Tamme
80 Julius Thomas

Offensive linemen

78 Ryan Clady T
75 Chris Clark T
71 Paul Cornick T
-- Mike Farrell T
74 Orlando Franklin T
63 Ben Garland G
-- Ramon Harewood T
73 Chris Kuper G
-- Ryan Miller G
70 Vinston Painter T
66 Manny Ramirez C/G
65 Louis Vasquez G

Defensive linemen

72 Hall Davis DE
98 Sione Fua DT
97 Malik Jackson DE
94 Terrance Knighton DT
57 Jeremy Mincey DE
93 Quanterus Smith DE
99 Kevin Vickerson DT
92 Sylvester Williams DT
95 Derek Wolfe DE
79 John Youboty DE

Linebackers

-- Jamar Chaney MLB
-- L. J. Fort MLB
-- Jerrell Harris MLB
56 Nate Irving OLB
53 Steven Johnson OLB
47 Lerentee McCray OLB
54 Brandon Marshall OLB
58 Von Miller OLB
59 Danny Trevathan OLB

Defensive backs

24 Champ Bailey CB
31 Omar Bolden FS
43 John Boyett SS
30 David Bruton FS
38 Quinton Carter SS
34 Marquice Cole CB
-- Eric Hagg SS
-- Charles Mitchell SS
26 Rahim Moore FS
-- Jerome Murphy CB
36 Kayvon Webster CB
Special teams
46 Aaron Brewer LS
4 Britton Colquitt P
5 Matt Prater K

Reserve lists

Currently empty

Unrestricted FAs

20 Mike Adams SS
91 Robert Ayers DE
68 Zane Beadles G
55 Stewart Bradley MLB
12 Andre Caldwell WR
87 Eric Decker WR
29 Michael Huff FS
23 Quentin Jammer CB
77 Winston Justice T
67 Dan Koppen C
51 Paris Lenon MLB
27 Knowshon Moreno RB
90 Shaun Phillips OLB/DE
45 Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB
60 Steve Vallos C
52 Wesley Woodyard MLB

Restricted FAs

32 Tony Carter CB
25 Chris Harris CB
96 Mitch Unrein DT

Exclusive-Rights FAs

11 Trindon Holliday WR/RS
33 Duke Ihenacho SS

Rookies in italics

→ More rosters

AFC East: BUF · MIA · NE · NYJ · North: BAL · CIN · CLE · PIT · South: · HOU · IND · JAX · TEN · West: DEN · KC · OAK · SD
NFC East: DAL · NYG · PHI · WAS · North: CHI · DET · GB · MIN · South · ATL · CAR · NO · TB · West: ARI · STL · SF · SEA

Schedule

Preseason

The Broncos' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on April 9, 2014. Exact dates and times for all games were finalized on April 23, when the regular season schedule was announced.

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Final score	Team record	Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
1	August 7	7:00 p.m. MDT	Seattle Seahawks	W 21–16	1–0	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	KUSA	Recap
2	August 17	2:00 p.m. MDT	at San Francisco 49ers	W 34–0	2–0	Levi's Stadium	KUSA	Recap
3	August 23	7:00 p.m. MDT	Houston Texans	L 17–18	2–1	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	KUSA
4	August 28	6:00 p.m. MDT	at Dallas Cowboys	W 27–3	3–1	AT&T Stadium	KUSA

Regular season

The Broncos' regular season schedule was announced on April 23, 2014.

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Final score	Team record	Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
1	September 7	6:30 p.m. MDT	Indianapolis Colts	W 31–24	1–0	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	NBC
2	September 14	2:25 p.m. MDT	Kansas City Chiefs	W 24–17	2–0	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS
3	September 21	2:25 p.m. MDT	at Seattle Seahawks	L 20–26 (OT)	2–1	CenturyLink Field	CBS
4	Bye
5	October 5	2:05 p.m. MDT	Arizona Cardinals	W 41–20	3–1	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	Fox
6	October 12	11:00 a.m. MDT	at New York Jets	W 31–17	4–1	MetLife Stadium	CBS
7	October 19	6:30 p.m. MDT	San Francisco 49ers	W 42–17	5–1	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	NBC
8	October 23	6:25 p.m. MDT	San Diego Chargers	W 35–21	6–1	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS
9	November 2	2:25 p.m. MST	at New England Patriots	L 21–43	6–2	Gillette Stadium	CBS
10	November 9	2:05 p.m. MST	at Oakland Raiders	W 41–17	7–2	O.co Coliseum	CBS
11	November 16	11:00 a.m. MST	at St. Louis Rams	L 7–22	7–3	Edward Jones Dome	CBS
12	November 23	2:25 p.m. MST	Miami Dolphins	W 39–36	8–3	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS
13	November 30	6:30 p.m. MST	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 29–16	9–3	Arrowhead Stadium	NBC
14	December 7	2:05 p.m. MST	Buffalo Bills	W 24–17	10–3	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS
15	December 14	2:05 p.m. MST	at San Diego Chargers	W 22–10	11–3	Qualcomm Stadium	CBS
16	December 22	6:30 p.m. MST	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 28–37	11–4	Paul Brown Stadium	ESPN
17	December 28	2:25 p.m. MST	Oakland Raiders	W 47–14	12–4	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

See also: 2014–15 NFL playoffs

Playoff round	Kickoff (CDT)	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
Playoff round	Kickoff (CDT)	Date	Opponent	Final score	Team record	Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
TBD	January TBD, 2015	TBD p.m. MST	TBD			Sports Authority Field at Mile High	TBD

Game summaries

Standings

Division

AFC West
view • talk • edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ Denver Broncos	12	4	0	.750	6–0	10–2	482	354	W1
Kansas City Chiefs	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	353	281	W1
San Diego Chargers	9	7	0	.563	2–4	6–6	348	348	L1
Oakland Raiders	3	13	0	.188	1–5	2–10	253	452	L1

Conference

AFC
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	PD	STK
Division leaders
1	* – New England Patriots	East	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	468	313	155	L1
2	z – Denver Broncos	West	12	4	0	.750	6–0	10–2	482	354	128	W1
3	y – Pittsburgh Steelers	North	11	5	0	.688	4–2	9–3	436	368	68	W4
4	y – Indianapolis Colts	South	11	5	0	.688	6–0	9–3	458	369	89	W1
Wild Cards
5	w – Cincinnati Bengals	North	10	5	1	.656	3–3	7–5	365	344	21	L1
6	w – Baltimore Ravens	North	10	6	0	.625	3–3	6–6	409	302	107	W1
Did not qualify for the playoffs
7	Houston Texans	South	9	7	0	.563	4–2	8–4	372	307	65	W2
8	Kansas City Chiefs	West	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	353	281	72	W1
9	San Diego Chargers	West	9	7	0	.563	2–4	6–6	348	348	0	L1
10	Buffalo Bills	East	9	7	0	.563	4–2	5–7	343	289	54	W1
11	Miami Dolphins	East	8	8	0	.500	3–3	6–6	388	373	15	L1
12	Cleveland Browns	North	7	9	0	.438	2–4	4–8	299	337	–38	L5
13	New York Jets	East	4	12	0	.250	1–5	4–8	283	401	–118	W1
14	Jacksonville Jaguars	South	3	13	0	.188	1–5	2–10	249	412	–163	L1
15	Oakland Raiders	West	3	13	0	.188	1–5	2–10	253	452	–199	L1
16	Tennessee Titans	South	2	14	0	.125	1–5	2–10	254	438	–184	L10
Tiebreakers
^{^ a b} New England defeated Denver head-to-head (Week 9, 43–21). ^{^ a b} Pittsburgh defeated Indianapolis head-to-head (Week 8, 51–34). ^{^ a b c d} Kansas City is ranked ahead of San Diego based on head-to-head sweep (2014 Kansas City Chiefs Season#Week 7: at San Diego Chargers\|Week 7, 23–20]]; Week 17, 19–7). Houston is ranked ahead of Kansas City and Buffalo, and Kansas City is ahead of Buffalo, based on conference record. San Diego defeated Buffalo head-to-head (Week 3, 22–10). ^{^ a b} Jacksonville is ranked ahead of Oakland based on record vs. common opponents (1–3 to 0–5). ^{^}When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.
Legend
w — Clinched wild card
x — Clinched playoff berth
y — Clinched division
z — Clinched first-round bye
* — Clinched home-field advantage

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value

League rankings

**Offense**
Category	Value	NFL rank

**Defense**
Category	Value	NFL rank

**Special teams**
Category	Value	NFL rank

League statistics updated through Week 16.
Source for this section: NFL.com.

Records and milestones

As of Week 16, the following records and milestones have been reached:

Team

Peyton Manning

Other players

Milestone watch for Week 17

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award(s)

Pro Bowl selections

Other news and notes

Footnotes

References

External links

Template:Denver Broncos Template:Denver Broncos Seasons

2014 NFL season
AFC	East	North	South	West	East	North	South	West	NFC
	Buffalo	Baltimore	Houston	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta	Arizona
	Miami	Cincinnati	Indianapolis	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Carolina	St. Louis
	New England	Cleveland	Jacksonville	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans	San Francisco
	NY Jets	Pittsburgh	Tennessee	San Diego	Washington	Minnesota	Tampa Bay	Seattle
Draft • Pro Bowl • Super Bowl XLIX

@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 | bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |1st [[AFC West]]
 |- valign="top"
-| style="text-align: left;"|'''[[NFL Pro Bowl (2015)|Pro Bowlers]]'''
+| style="text-align: left;"|'''Conference<br>place'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |9 (see [[#Pro Bowl selections|Pro Bowl selections]]) <!--
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |2nd [[American Football Conference|AFC]]
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Playoff finish'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" | -->
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |{{tooltip|TBD|To be determined}} [[2014–15 NFL Playoffs|Divisional Playoffs]]
+|- valign="top"
+| style="text-align: left;"|'''[[NFL Pro Bowl (2015)|Pro Bowlers]]'''
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |9 (see [[#Pro Bowl selections|Pro Bowl selections]])
 |- valign="top"
 | bgcolor=#0A0A2A align="center" colspan="3" | <span style="color: #FFFFFF;">'''Timeline'''</span>