NFL Team by Team Guide: Denver Broncos
The Broncos franchise was established in 1959 and began play in 1960 as a charter member of the old American Football League. The franchise struggled to be competitive in its 10-year run in the AFL before joining the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
Since the mid-1970s, the Broncos have become one of the NFL’s more successful franchises. Beginning with the 1976 season, Denver has had just nine losing seasons and three of them came in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In the old AFL, the Broncos never had a winning season.
Denver is a popular draw on national broadcasts such as Monday Night Football. Regional games can be seen on CBS and FOX Sports and other national broadcasts and prime time games can be watched on ESPN, CBS, FOX, ABC, and the NFL Network. Fans can watch most of the Broncos complete schedule via live streaming at one of several services like HULU or fuboTV.
Home of the Broncos
The Broncos played their initial season – 1960 – at DU Stadium on the campus of the University of Denver. They moved into Mile High Stadium the following season and stayed until 2000 when a new venue was built. Denver now plays home games at Empower Field at Mile High. They have been there since 2001. The stadium seats 76,125 fans for Broncos home games.
Championship History
Denver was not very competitive during its first decade and never made a postseason appearance until 1977 when they went 12-2 and won the franchise’s first of eight conference titles (1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 1998, 2013, and 2015).
The Broncos have won the AFC West Division 15 times and earned a berth in the NFL playoffs in 22 different seasons. The Broncos have won a total of three Super Bowl titles. The first two were won back-to-back in 1997 and 1998. The third was won in 2015 (Super Bowl 50).
Best of the Broncos
The back-to-back Super Bowls were led by one of the all-time great NFL quarterbacks, John Elway. The first overall pick of the historic 1983 draft, Elway would go on to earn nine Pro Bowl berths and win the AFC Offensive Player of the Year twice (1987 and 1993). He would earn two Super Bowl rings and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994 and now serves as the GM and president of football operations for the Broncos.
Running back Floyd Little was Denver’s first-ever first-round pick to sign with the team. Little signed while the team was still in the AFL in 1967. The former Syracuse All-American led the NFL in rushing in 1971, led in touchdowns in 1973, and made the Pro Bowl five times.
Shannon Sharpe was an undersized tight end who would go on to earn eight Pro Bowl bids and four first-team All-Pro nods. He played on three Super Bowl champions and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011.
One of Sharpe’s teammates was big-hitting safety Steve Atwater. At 6-foot-3-inches and 220 pounds, Atwater had linebacker size but defensive back speed. He played on two of the Broncos Super Bowl championship teams (XXXII, XXXIII) and was an eight-time Pro Bowler.
Author: Dan Anderson