10 Impressive Stats From The 2014 Broncos Season
DENVER (CBS4) - At the end of the day, 2014 will be remembered for another divisional playoff loss at home, that ultimately lead to the firing of John Fox. All others stats, records and accomplishments are just numbers, but there were some impressive ones this year in Denver.
1. 0 ... Touchdowns Allowed by Chris Harris
The undrafted free agent had a stellar year for the Denver defense, earning 2nd team All-Pro honors, his first Pro Bowl selection, and a lucrative new 5 year contract extension. Maybe his most impressive stat? He didn't allow a touchdown to a wide receiver he was guarding all season long. Oh, and don't forget he was coming back from a torn ACL in last year's playoffs.
2. No. 3/No. 4 ... Broncos Defensive and Offensive Ranks For Yards Per Game
The Broncos the only team in the NFL to rank in the top 5 for both total offensive and total defense. This is the fifth time in history the Broncos have accomplished this, but here's the kicker: the Broncos were 0-1 in the playoffs in four of those seasons. The 1997 Super Bowl season was the only time a Top 5/5 ranking paid off in the playoffs for Denver.
3. 8-0 ... Broncos Regular Season Record at Home (Sixth time, Team 2 of all time)
This is the sixth time the Broncos went undefeated at home during the regular season, which ties them for second on the all-time list behind the Vikings who have 7. However, that home field advantage ended in the playoffs, as the Broncos lost at Sports Authority Field at Mile High to the Colts.
4. 11 ... Denver Broncos Pro Bowlers
This number was originally 9, which was most in the NFL, and later increased to 10 when Emmanuel Sanders was added to the list and then 11 when C.J. Anderson was added. The downside – the Broncos Pro Bowlers can play in the Pro Bowl this year, as the team will not be preparing for the Super Bowl.
5. 12 ... AFC West Road Wins In A Row
The Broncos have owned the AFC West the last 4 years, winning their fourth straight title in 2014. A main reason for their success? A perfect road record in division games in all four seasons, which has tied the 49ers NFL record. So in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, the Broncos have gone to Oakland, Denver and Kansas City and left with nothing but wins.
6. 32 ... NFL Teams Peyton Manning Has Wins Against
With a win against his former team (Indianapolis) in Week 1, Peyton Manning became just the 2nd player in NFL history to have wins against all 32 of the current NFL teams. Again, this stat is lessened by the fact the Colts returned the favor with a win in the playoffs.
7. 110 ... Tackles by Brandon Marshall
The Broncos linebacker finished second in the NFL for total tackles, not bad for a guy who was on the team's practice squad a year ago and missed the final two games of the regular season. Surrounded by five Pro Bowlers on the defense, the 3rd year player from Nevada was arguably the Broncos defensive MVP.
8. 890 – Career Catches by Wes Welker
Welker's 49 catches this season were his fewest since his 2005 rookie year, but he did pass former Broncos receiver Rod Smith for most all time by an undrafted player.
9. 1,619 – Receiving Yards by Demaryius Thomas
Rod Smith saw another record fall this year, as Demaryius Thomas broke his Broncos single season record for receiving yards. Smith did keep one record, as DT's 111 catches were 2 shy of Denver record; but Thomas did break Shannon Sharpe's single game Broncos record with 226 yards receiving against Arizona.
10. 69,691 – Manning Career Passing Yards
Peyton Manning broke the NFL record for career TD passes (now stands at 530), and holds too many other records to count after having another good year numbers wise (4,727 passing yards/39 TDs were the second and third most in his 16 year career). The biggest record still out there? Brett Favre's NFL career record of 71,838 passing yards. So keep that in mind as Manning ponders his future. He only needs 2,147 yards to break that record as well.
Mark Haas is CBS4's weekend sports anchor and sports reporter. Read his bio or follow him on Twitter @markhaastv or on Facebook MarkHaasSports.
