Denver Broncos: 16 Memorable Season Openers

Jan 12, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos former quarterback Jake Plummer against the San Diego Chargers during the 2013 AFC divisional playoff football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

SEPTEMBER 7^th, 2003

After 4 mostly forgettable seasons with Brian Griese – which only saw one forgettable playoff appearance – the Broncos and Mike Shanahan shifted gears and signed former Arizona Cardinals’ QB, Jake Plummer. Plummer’s potential could not be reached in the NFL’s version of purgatory (Cardinals), but his upside was much greater than that of Griese’s (who was floundering with talent that Plummer could only imagine playing with to that point his career), so it seemed like a match made on Match.com…only better. 2003 started off with a bang; a 30-10 bang over Cincinnati. Although ‘The Snake” had his worst performance of his Broncos’ career (12-25, 115 yds, no TD, 3 INTs), Clinton Portis ripped off 120 yards on 24 carries and 2 TDs. Jason Elam chipped in with 3 FGs and LB Ian Gold returned a Jon Kitna interception for a pick-six to account for Denver’s 30 Pts. The defense was superlative holding the Bengals to 3 points until a garbage time 41 yard TD from Kitna to Chad Johnson-Ocho Cinco-Johnson with a little over 3 minutes left. This kicked off the first of three straight postseason appearances with Plummer at the helm.