History of the Denver Broncos

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1 Overview
2 2006 Season
3 2007 Season
4 References
5 External links

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

[edit] Overview

The Denver Broncos 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, such as 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, the first to have a receiver with 100 receptions in a season, Lionel Taylor, and the first starting black quarterback of the modern era, Marlin Briscoe. The Denver broncos were named that because of the wild horses that lived in Colorado.

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 1978, where they were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys, 27-10. Despite this disappointing loss to Dallas, their amazing season catapulted the franchise out of the basement and they since have enjoyed thirty years of consistency that no other team has matched. 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 one of 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. Under Elway and head coach Dan Reeves, the Broncos would become one of the most dominant AFC teams of the 1980s, winning 3 AFC championships (1986, 1987, 1989), with Elway winning the NFL MVP Award in 1987. However, they lost all three Super Bowls during this period, all by at least three touchdowns. In fact, Super Bowl XXIV against the San Francisco 49ers was the most lopsided Super Bowl in NFL history. Elway would remain the quarterback through two more Super Bowls in the 1990s under Mike Shanahan, and would end his career as a back-to-back Super Bowl Champion (Super Bowl XXII and Super Bowl XXIII), earning the MVP award for the latter one, his last NFL game.

A large part of the Broncos' Super Bowl success in the late 1990s was due to emergence of a very powerful running game, something they had lacked under Dan Reeves. In 1995, the Broncos debuted a new zone-blocking scheme under Mike Shanahan and rookie running back Terrell Davis, who would quickly emerge as an All-Pro running back. In 1997, he 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, with Davis rushing for 2000 yards in the season and earning NFL MVP honors. 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 season, 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 attributed 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.