| Date | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 9/5 | at new york jets | 26-20 |
| 9/12 | san diego chargers | 34-17 |
| 9/20 | at kansas city chiefs | 7-15 |
| 10/3 | indianapolis colts | 35-13 |
| 10/10 | at green bay packers | 27-30 |
| 10/18 | los angeles raiders | 20-23 |
| 10/31 | seattle seahawks | 28-17 |
| 11/7 | at cleveland browns | 29-14 |
| 11/14 | minnesota vikings | 23-26 |
| 11/21 | pittsburgh steelers | 37-13 |
| 11/28 | at seattle seahawks | 17-9 |
| 12/5 | at san diego chargers | 10-13 |
| 12/12 | kansas city chiefs | 27-21 |
| 12/18 | at chicago bears | 13-3 |
| 12/26 | tampa bay buccaneers | 10-17 |
| 1/2 | at los angeles raiders (OT) | 30-33 |
| 1/9 | at los angeles raiders (afc wildcard game) | 24-42 |
Back to the postseason
Wade Phillips first joined the Broncos in 1989 with two daunting tasks: rebuild a declining defense, and successfully replace the best assistant coach the Broncos had ever known, long-time defensive coordinator Joe Collier.
Phillips was worthy. With the drafting of Steve Atwater revitalizing the defense, the unit finished in the league’s top five two of Phillips’ first three years on the job. After rumblings of interest in bringing back Mike Shanahan, owner Pat Bowlen promoted Phillips to replace Dan Reeves, and there was merit to the choice; his personality brought some changes to the atmosphere.
“Is it different?” asked Elway during the 1993 training camp. “Well, for one thing, it wasn’t much of a day at camp (in 1992) if there weren’t at least five or six fights. There’s not all that tension out there this year, the fear for jobs. There’s none of that intimidation.”
Phillips hired Jim Fassel as offensive coordinator and opened up an often-conservative attack; Elway responded with the best statistical season of his career to that point.
The alterations on the sideline re-energized No. 7; he seemed looser and more relaxed, and the offense allowed him to use his howitzer right arm more than ever before.
But after a 9-5 start to the 1993 season, fortunes began to turn against Phillips. On Dec. 26, the woeful Tampa Bay Buccaneers strolled into Mile High Stadium on a Florida-like, 57-degree day and stunned the Broncos, 17-10.
A week later, the Raiders came from behind for a 33-30 win that forced the wild-card rematch one week later to be played in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The second leg of the two-week series wasn’t close; the Broncos fell, 42-24 to end their season in the wild-card round.
The Broncos wouldn’t play in another playoff game for nearly three years.
