The Denver Broncos are an American football franchise based in Denver, Colorado. Founded by Bob Howsam on August 14, 1959, the team was one of the founder members of the American Football League (AFL), which began in 1960, before merging with the National Football League (NFL) ahead of the 1970 season, [1] when the Broncos became part of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division; they have been in the same division ever since. As of the end of the 2020 season, Denver has completed 61 seasons (playing in over 970 combined regular season and playoff games), and has appeared in eight Super Bowls; although they lost in each of their first four Super Bowl appearances, they have since won three of them, most recently Super Bowl 50.
The franchise has experienced three major periods of success. The first was from 1976 to 1981, when the Broncos did not have a losing season (a season when the team has more losses than wins), and won two AFC West division titles, and one AFC championship. The second began in 1983 and ended in 1998. During this period, the Broncos had just two losing seasons, were AFC champions five times and were Super Bowl champions for two consecutive years. This second period of success is best remembered for John Elway being the team's quarterback. [2] The most recent run of success began in 2011, lasting until their victory in Super Bowl 50 at the end of the 2015 season. The five-year stretch was primarily spearheaded by the 2012 free agent acquisition of the then four-time League MVP former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, and included five AFC West titles, two AFC championships, as well as the Super Bowl. From their inaugural season in 1960 until 1975, they did not make either the AFL playoffs or NFL playoffs and had just two winning seasons. The Broncos were the only charter AFL franchise to never have a winning season during the AFL's 10 years of existence (although the team finished at 7–7 in 1962), with their first winning season not occurring until 1973, their fourth year as a member of the NFL's AFC. They also experienced their two seasons with the fewest wins ever, winning just two of 14 games in both 1963 and 1964. [3]
The Broncos have been AFC West champions 15 times, winning the division for five consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2015, and have also earned wild card berths into the playoffs seven times, for a total of 22 playoff appearances. They have been conference champions eight times (tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and two behind the New England Patriots who have the most AFC championships) and Super Bowl champions thrice. [3]
Super Bowl Champions (1970–present) | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card berth |
Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Post-season results | Awards | Head coaches | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Finish | W | L | T | ||||||||
1960 | 1960 | AFL | West | 4th | 4 | 9 | 1 | Frank Filchock | |||
1961 | 1961 | AFL | West | 3rd | 3 | 11 | 0 | ||||
1962 | 1962 | AFL | West | 2nd | 7 | 7 | 0 | Jack Faulkner (COY) | Jack Faulkner | ||
1963 | 1963 | AFL | West | 4th | 2 | 11 | 1 | ||||
1964 | 1964 | AFL | West | 4th | 2 | 11 | 1 | Jack Faulkner (0–4) Mac Speedie (2–7–1) | |||
1965 | 1965 | AFL | West | 4th | 4 | 10 | 0 | Mac Speedie | |||
1966 | 1966 | AFL | West | 4th | 4 | 10 | 0 | Mac Speedie (0–2) Ray Malavasi (4–8) | |||
1967 | 1967 | AFL | West | 4th | 3 | 11 | 0 | Lou Saban | |||
1968 | 1968 | AFL | West | 4th | 5 | 9 | 0 | ||||
1969 | 1969 | AFL | West | 4th | 5 | 8 | 1 | ||||
1970 [lower-alpha 1] | 1970 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 5 | 8 | 1 | |||
1971 | 1971 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 4 | 9 | 1 | Lou Saban (2–6–1) Jerry Smith (2–3) | ||
1972 | 1972 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 5 | 9 | 0 | John Ralston | ||
1973 | 1973 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 7 | 5 | 2 | |||
1974 | 1974 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 7 | 6 | 1 | |||
1975 | 1975 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 6 | 8 | 0 | |||
1976 | 1976 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 9 | 5 | 0 | |||
1977 | 1977 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 12 | 2 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Steelers) 34–21 Won AFC Championship (Raiders) 20–17 Lost Super Bowl XII (vs. Cowboys) 10–27 | Craig Morton (CBPOY) | Red Miller |
1978 | 1978 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 10–33 | Randy Gradishar (DPOY) | |
1979 | 1979 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Oilers) 7–13 | ||
1980 | 1980 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 8 | 8 | 0 | |||
1981 | 1981 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Dan Reeves | ||
1982 [lower-alpha 2] | 1982 | NFL | AFC | 12th | 2 | 7 | 0 | ||||
1983 | 1983 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Seahawks) 7–31 | ||
1984 | 1984 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 13 | 3 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Steelers) 17–24 | ||
1985 | 1985 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 11 | 5 | 0 | |||
1986 | 1986 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 11 | 5 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Patriots) 22–17 Won AFC Championship (at Browns) 23–20 (OT) [lower-alpha 3] Lost Super Bowl XXI (vs. Giants) 20–39 | ||
1987 [lower-alpha 4] | 1987 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 10 | 4 | 1 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Oilers) 34–10 Won AFC Championship (Browns) 38–33 [lower-alpha 5] Lost Super Bowl XXII (vs. Redskins) 10–42 | John Elway (MVP) | |
1988 | 1988 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 8 | 8 | 0 | |||
1989 | 1989 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 11 | 5 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Steelers) 24–23 Won AFC Championship (Browns) 37–21 Lost Super Bowl XXIV (vs. 49ers) 10–55 | ||
1990 | 1990 | NFL | AFC | West | 5th | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
1991 | 1991 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 12 | 4 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Oilers) 26–24 Lost AFC Championship (at Bills) 7–10 | Mike Croel (DROY) | |
1992 | 1992 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 8 | 8 | 0 | |||
1993 | 1993 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Raiders) 24–42 | Wade Phillips | |
1994 | 1994 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 7 | 9 | 0 | |||
1995 | 1995 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 8 | 8 | 0 | Mike Shanahan | ||
1996 | 1996 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 13 | 3 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Jaguars) 27–30 | Terrell Davis (OPOY) | |
1997 | 1997 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 12 | 4 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Jaguars) 42–17 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Chiefs) 14–10 Won AFC Championship (at Steelers) 24–21 Won Super Bowl XXXII (1) (vs. Packers) 31–24 | Terrell Davis (SB MVP) | |
1998 | 1998 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 14 | 2 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins) 38–3 Won AFC Championship (Jets) 23–10 Won Super Bowl XXXIII (2) (vs. Falcons) 34–19 | Terrell Davis (MVP, OPOY) John Elway (SB MVP) | |
1999 | 1999 | NFL | AFC | West | 5th | 6 | 10 | 0 | |||
2000 | 2000 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 11 | 5 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Ravens) 3–21 | Mike Anderson (OROY) | |
2001 | 2001 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 8 | 8 | 0 | |||
2002 | 2002 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Clinton Portis (OROY) | ||
2003 | 2003 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Colts) 10–41 | ||
2004 | 2004 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Colts) 24–49 | ||
2005 | 2005 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 13 | 3 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Patriots) 27–13 Lost AFC Championship (Steelers) 17–34 | ||
2006 | 2006 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | |||
2007 | 2007 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 7 | 9 | 0 | |||
2008 | 2008 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 8 | 8 | 0 | |||
2009 | 2009 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 8 | 8 | 0 | Josh McDaniels | ||
2010 | 2010 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | Josh McDaniels (3–9) Eric Studesville (1–3) | ||
2011 | 2011 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 8 | 8 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Steelers) 29–23 (OT) Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Patriots) 10–45 | Von Miller (DROY) | John Fox |
2012 | 2012 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 13 | 3 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Ravens) 35–38 (2 OT) | Peyton Manning (CBPOY) | |
2013 | 2013 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 13 | 3 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Chargers) 24–17 Won AFC Championship (Patriots) 26–16 Lost Super Bowl XLVIII (vs. Seahawks) 8–43 | Peyton Manning (MVP, OPOY) | |
2014 | 2014 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 12 | 4 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Colts) 13–24 | ||
2015 | 2015 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 12 | 4 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Steelers) 23–16 Won AFC Championship (Patriots) 20–18 Won Super Bowl 50 (3) (vs. Panthers) 24–10 | Von Miller (SB MVP) | Gary Kubiak |
2016 | 2016 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | |||
2017 | 2017 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | Vance Joseph | ||
2018 | 2018 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 0 | |||
2019 | 2019 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 7 | 9 | 0 | Vic Fangio | ||
2020 | 2020 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
2021 | 2021 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 7 | 10 | 0 | |||
2022 | 2022 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 5 | 12 | 0 | Nathaniel Hackett (4–11) Jerry Rosburg (1–1) | ||
2023 | 2023 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 8 | 9 | 0 | Sean Payton | ||
Total records (regular season/playoffs/combined) | 508 | 465 | 10 | (1960–2023, includes only regular season) | |||||||
23 | 19 | — | (1960–2023, includes only playoffs) | ||||||||
531 | 484 | 10 | (1960–2023, regular season and playoffs; 3 NFL Championships) |
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquartered in Dove Valley, Colorado.
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Patriots play home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Boston. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. As of 2023, the Patriots are tied for the third-most valuable sports team in the world and have sold out every home game since 1994.
Super Bowl XXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1987 season. The Redskins defeated the Broncos by the score of 42–10, winning their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 31, 1988, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California, which was the first time that the Super Bowl was played there. It was the second consecutive Super Bowl loss for the Broncos, who had lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl the year before.
John Albert Elway Jr. is an American former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, he then spent 11 years with the Broncos in various front office positions, eventually being promoted to general manager. Elway, along with former backup quarterback and head coach Gary Kubiak, are the only individuals to be associated with all three of the Broncos' Super Bowl wins.
Daniel Edward Reeves was an American professional football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third most for an individual. He was a head coach for 23 seasons, a position he held with the Denver Broncos from 1981 to 1992, the New York Giants from 1993 to 1996, and the Atlanta Falcons from 1997 to 2003. As a player, he spent his eight-season career with the Dallas Cowboys, who signed him as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina in 1965.
Larry Craig Morton is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. He played college football for the California Golden Bears, receiving All-American honors, and was selected by the Cowboys fifth overall in the 1965 NFL draft. Following nine seasons with the Cowboys, a quarterback controversy with Roger Staubach led to Morton joining the New York Giants for three seasons. He spent his final six seasons as a member of the Broncos, winning NFL Comeback Player of the Year and AFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1977.
Gary Wayne Kubiak is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a quarterback for the Denver Broncos before coaching, serving as head coach for the Houston Texans from 2006 to 2013 and the Broncos from 2015 to 2016 before stepping down from the position on January 1, 2017, citing health reasons.
The 1997 season was the Denver Broncos' 28th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 38th overall. The Broncos finished the season with a record of 12–4, finishing second in the AFC West, and winning Super Bowl XXXII. The Broncos were the second wild card team since the 1970 merger to win a Super Bowl, joining the 1980 Oakland Raiders.
The 1998 season was the Denver Broncos' 29th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 39th overall. The Broncos entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champions and looked to become only the fifth team in league history to win consecutive Super Bowls.
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.
Patrick Dennis Bowlen was a Canadian–American lawyer, executive and the majority owner of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL), winning three Super Bowls. He was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the class of 2019. Bowlen owned other professional sports franchises in the Denver Colorado Area. Bowlen served as the Broncos CEO from 1984 until July 2014, when he stepped down as Broncos' CEO due to the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease.
The history of the Denver Broncos American football club began when the team was chartered a member of the American Football League in 1960. The Broncos have played in the city of Denver, Colorado throughout their entire history. The Broncos did not win any titles as members of the AFL. Since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, the Broncos have won 15 division titles, and played in eight Super Bowls, following the 1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 1998, 2013, and 2015 seasons. They won Super Bowl XXXII, Super Bowl XXXIII and Super Bowl 50. Their most famous player is former quarterback John Elway, starting quarterback in five Super Bowls and holder of many NFL records. The Broncos currently play in the National Football League's AFC West division.
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football franchise that began play in 1960 as the Dallas Texans. The team was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL), and now play in the National Football League (NFL). The team is not related to the earlier Dallas Texans NFL team that played for only one season in 1952.
The Broncos–Raiders rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders. Both teams compete in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Since the American Football League was established in 1960, the Broncos and Raiders are the most frequent Monday Night Football matchup in league history with 20. The Broncos and the Raiders have shared the same division, first being the AFL Western Conference, and since the AFL–NFL merger, the AFC West.
The Broncos–Chiefs rivalry is a rivalry between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League's AFC West division. Since the American Football League was established in 1960, the Broncos and the Chiefs have shared the same division, first being the AFL Western Conference, and since the AFL–NFL merger, the AFC West. For years, the rivalry has featured two of the best home-field advantages in the league. CBS ranked this rivalry as the No. 4 NFL rivalry of the 1990s in 2020. The Chiefs and the Broncos are the farthest teams from a division rival, and the Broncos are the farthest from any other team at all.
The Broncos–Patriots rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots. Nowadays, the two teams do not play every year due to them playing in different intraconference divisions – Denver in the AFC West and New England in the AFC East; instead, they play at least once every three years and at least once every six seasons at each team's home stadium when their divisions are paired up, sometimes more often if they meet in the playoffs, or if the two teams finish in the same place in their respective divisions.
The Broncos–Steelers rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers. The rivalry stemmed from the eight playoff matchups between the two teams, some of which featured upset victories. Of the eight meetings, six resulted in the winner eventually advancing to the Super Bowl.
The Broncos–Seahawks rivalry is an American football rivalry in the National Football League (NFL) between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks. The teams were AFC West divisional rivals from 1977 until 2001, after which the Seahawks moved to the NFC West. The Broncos lead the series 35–23. The teams have met twice in the playoffs, most notably the 43–8 Seahawks victory in Super Bowl XLVIII.
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