Alongside the acquisition of superstar Russell Wilson, the Broncos seem ready to take the step into winning football. However, they reside in a ruthless AFC West where arguably 75% of the division are legit threats. Let’s take a quick look at the luck of the Broncos at the forefront in the 21st century.
Disregard the late 90s because those days of glory were carried by a legendary all-time great quarterback and certainly the greatest player in Broncos history John Elway who brought the Broncos 2 Super Bowls. Let’s hit the fast-forward button to perhaps the downfall beginning. Then, the Broncos drafted Jay Cutler 11th overall in the first round of the 2006 draft.
The Tebow Era
Playing 3 seasons for the Broncos never once did a viewed superstar of the future lead the Broncos to even the playoffs. Young Kyle Orton was acquired via trade from the Bears in 2009. Starting 2 seasons Kyle Orton never leads the Broncos to the playoffs either. After a 1-4 start in 2011, the Broncos elected to start Tim Tebow.
That one player that, despite not necessarily being your team’s quarterback, everyone seemed to have a liking towards. The underdog kid in gym class. Drafted by the Broncos in the first round in 2010, Tim Tebow acquired the starting position in 2011 a few games in. Boy was this an electric shock. He led the Broncos to 8-8 and gave them their first playoff appearance in nearly a decade. The highlight of his career? An 80-yard TD pass to Demaryius Thomas (God rest his soul) in the wild-card round shocked the Steelers in the first play of overtime. It’s a play most long-time football fans remember. Adopting Tebow time was short-lived after the team lost to the Patriots in the divisional round. It didn’t last but it was given a few “oohs” and “aahs” from the Broncos faithful
The Fill-Ins
A mega-contract signing the Broncos signed all-time great Peyton manning in 2012. Peyton led the Broncos to a Super Bowl in 2014 where the team (ironically) was dominated by the legion of boom and Russell Wilson. Two years later, the Broncos were back in the Super Bowl. Behind a lethal defense, the team was able to shut down the favored Panthers, and the team led by Peyton Manning celebrated glory yet again. Peyton called it a career after riding into the sunset a champion.
Drafted in the 2nd round of 2012 it was a while before (Brock) got his start he took over for Mannings’s injury in their Super Bowl season but didn’t officially start till post Mannings retirement. Singing a one-year deal in 2017, the bronco’s woes continued bouncing between 3 different quarterbacks, missing the playoffs yet again, and away went Brock. Signing case Keemun was no use the team missed the playoffs at 6-10. Singing joe Flacco who was well past his prime for a season in 2019. The team traded for Joe Flacco and signed a questionable contract, viewed as a veteran who can help the team build. They missed the playoffs and away went Flacco. Lock went 5-11 and missed the playoffs.
And now?
Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and teddy Bridgewater rotating for the team to go 7-10 and miss the playoffs in the most recent season. Let’s keep note that before this season the Broncos have quietly built a team around themselves built to succeed, just patiently awaiting the next romantic relationship with a winning quarterback. 3 players (one including Locke) 5 picks and the light at the end of the tunnel has arrived the Broncos lit a blockbuster acquiring Russell Wilson who owns a dominating performance super bowl win ironically over the Broncos, a horrific late game Super Bowl choke the next season. Wilson has 2 Super Bowl appearances and a handful of playoff appearances establishing himself as a top-tier quarterback who’s still young. Behind the team built all this Broncos team needed was a quarterback with elite talent, a leadership mentality, and a resume shown to back it up.
It won’t be easy, Wilson and the Broncos will play 6 games against divisional opponents, a division which could be the hardest in football. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs powerhouse offense, Justin Herbert and a revitalized Chargers team, and a Raiders squad who may have a lot of players picked last in dodgeball. Nonetheless, Las Vegas has shown they play their division tough and are certainly capable of upset wins.
A broader look at the AFC
After being quiet for years has become a loaded powerhouse, the Bills, Titans, Bengals, ravens, and the majority of their division are all credible threats. Truth be told it’s unlikely to expect orange uniforms scattering the field for Superbowl glory. Harsh weather in Denver provides non-divisional opponents a tough time. Wilson is used to pouring rain, muddy cleats all of it, so it’s safe to say the weather and high elevation will probably have little to no effect on him. Increasing ticket sales, more revenue, happy fans? A winning season is just a Broncos fantasy for now. As a betting man, it may be a smart bet to call the Broncos breakout or underdog team of the year before kick-off.
But these Broncos fans know better than to jump the gun, next to New York city sports, particularly football they have been one of u luckiest teams of the last decade, searching for the Superbowl upset, I guess it’s time to see if Russell Wilson and a high-quality team can break the curse. Fingers crossed Broncos fan! Just Russ the process!