History of the Denver Broncos

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Contents 1 Overview 2 2005 Season 3 2006 Season

This article details the history of the Denver Broncos American Football Club.

[edit] Overview

Broncos won the first-ever American Football League game over the Boston Patriots, 13-10, on September 9, 1960. They were the first AFL team ever to defeat an NFL team, on August 5, 1967 when they beat the Detroit Lions 13-7 in a preseason game. Despite their relative lack of early success, the Broncos produced some memorable games, like the 38-38 tie against the Buffalo Bills in 1960. The Broncos were also the first American professional football team to have a black place-kicker, Gene Mingo, and the first to have a receiver with 100 receptions in a season, Lionel Taylor.

Denver has reached the Super Bowl six times, winning it in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. It is odd to remember a time, then, when Denver was the lowliest of teams, managing its first winning season in 1973 after thirteen years of futility. As such, they were the only original AFL team never to have played in the title game during the upstart league's 10-year history. Denver, in fact, came close to losing its franchise in 1965, but a local ownership group took control that year and began to build the team.

In 1967, under head coach Lou Saban, Denver took the field with almost two dozen rookies on its roster; though Saban's tenure was unsuccessful, it set the stage for later successes. In 1973, John Ralston coached the now-mature Broncos to a 7-5-2 record, including a dramatic tie with Oakland in Denver's first-ever Monday Night Football appearance that is still remembered as a pivotal game in Broncos history. Not only was that the Broncos' first winning season; they were in playoff chase as well, with only a loss to the powerful Oakland Raiders in the last game of the season (that NBC chose to televise nationally) that kept them out of the playoffs. Ralston coached the team until 1976, when well-publicized clashes between Ralston and his players led to Ralston's removal.

Rookie coach Red Miller, along with the Orange Crush Defense (a nickname originating in the early '70's) and aging quarterback Craig Morton, promptly took Denver to its first playoff appearance – and, ultimately first Super Bowl – in 1977, where they were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys, 27-10. Prior to 1977 season, Denver had received very little national attention and was rarely featured on nationally televised games.

Quarterback John Elway arrived in 1983. Originally drafted by the Baltimore Colts as the first pick of the draft, Elway proclaimed that he would shun football in favor of baseball (he was drafted by the New York Yankees to play center field) unless he was traded to a selected list of other teams, which included Denver. Prior to Elway, Denver had over 24 different starting quarterbacks in its 23 seasons to that point. Elway would remain the quarterback through five Super Bowls, three under head coach Dan Reeves and two under Mike Shanahan, and would end his career as the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII, his last NFL game. The Broncos would lose Super Bowl XXI to the New York Giants 39-20, Super Bowl XXII to the Washington Redskins 42-10 and Super Bowl XXIV to the San Francisco 49ers 55-10, the most lopsided Super Bowl in history.

In 1995, the Broncos debuted rookie running back Terrell Davis , who, in 1997 would lead the Broncos to their first Super Bowl victory, in Super Bowl XXXII, over the Green Bay Packers 31-24. Although Elway completed only 12 of his 22 passing attempts, throwing one interception and no touchdowns, Terrell Davis was able to overcome a severe migraine headache that caused him blurred vision and rush for 157 yards and three touchdowns ^[1] to earn MVP honors.

The Broncos repeated the following year, defeating the Dan Reeves led Atlanta Falcons 34-19 to win Super Bowl XXXIII. Since Elway's retirement following the 1998 season, Denver has only had one losing season (1999) and has made the playoffs as a wild card three times (in 2000, 2003 and 2004), and as a division champion once (2005). However, they have won only one playoff game since Elway's retirement. Prior to the 2005 and in the 2006 seasons, the Broncos were plagued by early season success followed by late season flops. In both 2003 and 2004 they started the season 5-1 and ended 10-6. In 2005, the Broncos would have a much-improved season, going 13-3 and earning a bye week in the playoffs with the #2 seed in the AFC. They would finally win a playoff game without Elway, defeating the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 27-13, ending the Patriots' 10 game playoff winning streak. The following weekend, the hosting Broncos were defeated at home by the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship by a score of 34-17.

Broncos fans have been long criticized by other fans and media members for failing to move on from Elway’s retirement. Brian Griese and Jake Plummer have faced the most scrutiny in attempting to replace Elway as the team’s quarterback. Elway’s jersey remains the most frequently worn at Invesco Field at Mile High, with the crowd generally voicing their loudest ovations when his name is mentioned or shown. Many members of the media have run stories and articles on the pressures that come with playing quarterback in Denver, as most fans believe no player will ever live up the standard set by Elway.

Elway’s overwhelming popularity in Colorado is generally contributed to a number of factors including the extensive length of time spent on the team at the league’s premier position, his leading of 4th quarter comebacks (Elway ranks 1st in NFL history), his community work throughout the state, and retiring directly after 2 Super Bowl wins including his final game in which he was Super Bowl MVP.

[edit] 2005 Season

After losing their first game 34-10 to the Miami Dolphins on September 11, the Broncos won 5 straight games, defeating the San Diego Chargers 20-17, the Kansas City Chiefs 30-10, the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-7, the Washington Redskins 21-19, and the two-time defending champion New England Patriots 28-20 on October 16 before losing to the New York Giants on October 23 by a final score of 24-23. They then beat the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles 49-21 on October 30. In that game, the Broncos became the first team in NFL history to have two players, Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell, rush for over 100 yards and another player, Jake Plummer, pass for over 300 yards in a single game. They then beat the Oakland Raiders on November 13 31-17. They beat the New York Jets on November 20 27-0. It was the first time the Broncos had shut out a team at home since the Carolina Panthers on November 9, 1997. They played the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving day, November 24, winning a very hard fought game in overtime 24-21. The key play that led to Jason Elam's 24-yard game winning field goal was a 55 yard run by Ron Dayne who filled in for the injured Tatum Bell. They lost to the Chiefs 31-27 on December 4, but defeated the Baltimore Ravens the following week 12-10. On December 17, the Broncos defeated the Buffalo Bills 28-17. On Christmas Eve 2005, the Denver Broncos clinched the AFC West division title as they finished 8-0 at Invesco Field beating the Oakland Raiders 22-3. On December 31, 2005, the Broncos got win number 13 by going on the road and sweeping their division rivals, the Chargers, with a final score of 23-7.

The Broncos entered their third consecutive year in the playoffs with the momentum of a four game winning streak. With a record of 13-3, they were tied with the Seattle Seahawks for second overall in the league, behind the 14-2 Indianapolis Colts. They were seeded number two in the AFC behind the Colts. On January 14, 2006, the Broncos defeated the two-time defending champions, the New England Patriots, 27-13, ending the Patriots chance of becoming the first NFL team ever to win three consecutive Super Bowl championships. The last team with a chance of winning three consecutive Super Bowls before the Patriots were the Broncos themselves. The Broncos' run came to an end by losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship 34-17 on January 22, 2006. Their strength of controlling the ball collapsed with 4 turnovers. They were outscored in the first half 24-3 and were not able to come from behind to win in the second half. The Steelers went on to win Super Bowl XL.

[edit] 2006 Season

Further information: 2006 Denver Broncos season