| 2005 Denver Broncos season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Pat Bowlen |
| General manager | Ted Sundquist and Mike Shanahan |
| President | Pat Bowlen |
| Head coach | Mike Shanahan |
| Offensive coordinator | Gary Kubiak |
| Defensive coordinator | Larry Coyer |
| Home field | Invesco Field at Mile High |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–3 |
| Division place | 1st AFC West |
| Playoff finish | Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Patriots) 27–13 Lost AFC Championship (vs. Steelers) 17–34 |
The 2005 season was the Denver Broncos' 36th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 46th overall. The Broncos closed out the 2005 regular season with a 13–3 record, the franchise's second-best number of wins of all time and their third best win percentage ever. They won their first playoff game since their 1998 Super Bowl-winning season. Although they eliminated the defending back-to-back Super Bowl champion New England Patriots to end their hopes of becoming the first NFL team to three-peat, and became the first team to eliminate a defending back-to-back Super Bowl champion in the playoffs since the 1994 San Francisco 49ers (which Mike Shanahan was coincidently the offensive coordinator), they failed to get to the Super Bowl, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the eventual champions, in the AFC Championship game. The Broncos were expected by many to make the Super Bowl for the first time in the post-John Elway era. Denver would not make the postseason again until 2011 under Tim Tebow's leadership or another Conference championship until 2013, under the leadership of Peyton Manning whom the Broncos acquired in 2012.