You know the Titanic meme, “It’s been 84 years?” Well that’s about how long it feels for Broncos fans since the Orange and Blue have clinched a playoff berth. In the NFL, a decade is a century — that’s about how long it’s been since the Broncos have seen the postseason. That’s right. Nine years ago, the Broncos began their playoff run that saw our storied franchise win its third Super Bowl. Since then: Bubkes. Crickets. Not even a whiff of a playoff game. Even worse: Only a single winning record since then.
But now the tides have shifted. Contrary to everyone’s predictions, the Broncos are not only in the post-season, they finished the regular season in a complete rage, taking down division rival and NFL kingpin, the Kansas City Chiefs. OK, we know it was KC’s JV squad. But to shut out Coach of the Year Andy Reid? We’ll take the victory lap.
From the malicious to the generous, from the fans to the haters, no one, absolutely no one, saw the Broncos owning their current berth.
For close to a decade now, Denver has been in a state of confusion, as the Nuggets and Avalanche have consistently been contenders, while the favorite son, the Denver Broncos, has disappointed, time and again, in every possible way — poor drafts, horrendous coaching errors, the quarterback-coach carousel, setting franchise records (the bad kin; think: longest streak of losses). Not to mention the death of Pat Bowlen, followed by years of ugly infighting. Why, we weren’t even sure who owned the Broncos.
But here we are. It’s been 84 years, but finally, the Broncos have joined the conversation.
Will they defeat the vaunted and once-rival the Buffalo Bills? Unlikely. In that event, we’ll be happy for our contributing writer Steve Lipman and his family, longtime members of Bills Mafia.
There’s a saying in sports: You are your record. For Broncos Country, the 2024 season is already a victory.
© IJN 2025
