Our year-by-year look at the Broncos after the bye concludes with an examination of the 2000-05 seasons, when the Broncos won five of six after the week off.
2000:
- Bye Week: 9
- Record Going In: 4-4
- Immediately After Bye: W, 30-23 at New York Jets.
- Notes: The week before the bye, Corey Dillon sliced through the Broncos’ defense for a then-NFL single-game rushing record. Denver proceeded to win six consecutive games upon its return.
2001:
- Bye Week: 16
- Record Going In: 7-7
- Immediately After Bye: W, 23-17 over Oakland Raiders.
- Notes: Christmas-week bye was followed by two games — win over playoff-bound Raiders and loss to Colts in game postponed due to Sept. 11 attacks.
2002:
- Bye Week: 9
- Record Going In: 6-2
- Immediately After Bye: L, 34-10 to Oakland.
- Notes: Oddly placed bye weeks ended with addition of Houston Texans pushing NFL to 32 teams; injuries would ravage Broncos in weeks after bye — Shannon Sharpe vs. Raiders, Brian Griese one week later at Seattle.
2003:
- Bye Week: 10
- Record Going In: 5-4
- Immediately After Bye: W, 37-8 over San Diego Chargers.
- Notes: Perhaps the timeliest bye in recent Broncos history; allowed Jake Plummer to get healthy and return for Chargers win, which was the first of a 5-1 run that pushed Broncos to playoffs. Team had lost three in a row under backups Steve Beuerlein and Danny Kanell before week off.
2004:
- Bye Week: 10
- Record Going In: 6-3
- Immediately After Bye: W, 34-13 at New Orleans Saints.
- Notes: Team scored fast at New Orleans and cruised to that win; bye week allowed John Lynch to miss little time with an injury; Broncos would go 4-3 after bye to finish 10-6 for second consecutive year.
2005:
- Bye Week: 9
- Record Going In: 6-2
- Immediately After Bye: W, 31-17 at Oakland Raiders.
- Notes: Broncos went 7-1 after bye with only loss coming by four points at Kansas City.
Tags: Bye week
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