Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) Western Division in the National Football League (NFL). The Broncos began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League and joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL Merger.

Franchise history

1960-2004
The Broncos won the first-ever American Football League game over the New England Patriots, 13-10, on September 9, 1960. On August 5, 1967, they became the second AFL team to defeat an NFL team after beating the Detroit Lions, 13-7, in a preseason game.
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.
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 the Broncos to their first playoff appearance in 1977 (and ultimately first Super Bowl, where they were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys, 27-10).
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 and was also a pitching prospect), 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. He would also end his career as the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII, his last NFL game. The Broncos lost 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 scoring differential in Super Bowl 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, Davis rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns to earn MVP honors - this while overcoming a severe migraine headache that caused him blurred vision.[2]
The Broncos repeated the following year, defeating the Atlanta Falcons (led by Dan Reeves), 34-19, to win Super Bowl XXXIII. Since Elway's retirement following the 1999 season, Denver has only had two losing seasons (1999, 2007). The team has made the playoffs as a wild card three times (in 2000, 2003 and 2004) and as a division champion once (2005). However, the Broncos have won only one playoff game since Elway's retirement. Prior to the 2005 season, they were plagued by late-season flops following early-season success. 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 Broncos hosted the AFC Championship and were defeated by the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, 34-17.
In the years since Elway's retirement, it has become obvious that the Denver fans and media expect Elway-like perfection from the quarterback position. Both Brian Griese and Jake Plummer have faced severe 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 two Super Bowl wins (the last of which being his final game in which he was Super Bowl MVP).

2005
Further information: 2005 Denver Broncos 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.

2006
Further information: 2006 Denver Broncos season
In 2006, the Denver Broncos had high hopes among the league in being able to compete for the Super Bowl title. The Broncos defense started off the first five games of the season allowing only one touchdown, an NFL record, but struggled down the season stretch. Jake Plummer, the starting quarterback at the season's inception, led the team to a 7-2 record only to lose 2 straight and be replaced by rookie quarterback Jay Cutler, drafted in the first round out of Vanderbilt University.
Cutler's first game as a starter was a home game against the Seattle Seahawks on December 3, 2006. He threw for 143 yards, along with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in a loss. Cutler would go on to lead Denver to two victories and three losses as a starter on the season. The most impressive win was in an away game over the Arizona Cardinals on December 17, 2006. During the game, Cutler launched a 68-yard touchdown to Javon Walker on the third play from scrimmage.
The Broncos' season ended with an unexpected loss to the San Francisco 49ers, which eliminated the team from playoff contention. Cutler was knocked out of part of the game from a blow he took from a 49er defender, giving him a concussion.

Death of Darrent Williams
On January 1, 2007, Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed around 2 a.m. on West 11th Avenue and Speer Boulevard in downtown Denver. He was in a Hummer H2 limousine.
Team spokesman Jim Saccomano said police called him about 2 a.m. from the scene and told him three people had been shot, and the 24-year-old Williams had been killed. His death came hours after the Denver Broncos were eliminated from the playoff race, following a New Year's Eve home loss against the San Francisco 49ers.
Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said that a little after 2 a.m. on January 1, a white Hummer limousine, with Williams and three other passengers inside, was fired upon from a white 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe that pulled up along its side. As many as a dozen bullet holes were visible on the driver's side of the vehicle. One window was blown out, and four others had bullet holes. Former Broncos wide receiver Javon Walker was also in the limousine, but he was not injured. The remaining passengers, Brandon Flowers and Nicole Reindl, were injured, but not killed. So far, Denver police have been unable to find the shooter
Williams was the number two starting cornerback for the Broncos, playing alongside Champ Bailey. In Williams' two-year career, he had 1 sack and 6 interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns. He was a standout player at O. D. Wyatt High School in Fort Worth, Texas. Williams was drafted out of Oklahoma State University by Denver, with the 56th overall pick in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He started nine games in his rookie year for Denver, most in franchise history for a rookie cornerback.

Death of Damien Nash
A mere 50 days after the fatal shooting, running back Damien Nash collapsed and died suddenly on February 24, 2007, following a charity basketball game in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. An autopsy confirmed that no drugs or unnatural substances were present in Nash's body at the time of death.

2007
Further information: 2007 Denver Broncos season
The Broncos traded running back Tatum Bell and offensive tackle George Foster to the Detroit Lions for former Pro Bowl cornerback Dre' Bly to compensate for the unfortunate loss of Williams. In addition to the trade for Bly, the Broncos had made a trade to the Miami Dolphins for Dan Wilkinson, only to have that trade voided because Wilkinson did not show up to Denver for his scheduled physical.
Denver added running back Travis Henry, wide receiver Brandon Stokley, and tight end Daniel Graham through free agency. The team released linebacker Al Wilson during the month of April for health and salary cap reasons. Simeon Rice was also added to their roster with a one-year deal. The Broncos also resigned punter Todd Sauerbrun to help their special teams
The first game of the season was on the road against the Buffalo Bills, which they won with a last second field goal kick by Jason Elam that put them up 15 to 14 as time expired.
In game two, the Oakland Raiders seemed to claim victory on a Sebastian Janikowski field goal in overtime, but a last second time-out called by coach Mike Shanahan negated that kick, and the subsequent kick hit the field-goal post. Jay Cutler then marched the Broncos down the field, and Jason Elam kicked the game winning field goal for the second week in a row.
In the seventh game of the season, the Broncos played and lost a Monday Night Football home game against the Green Bay Packers. There were 77,160 tickets distributed for the game, which is a franchise record. 76,645 fans attended the game.
Suffering through several injuries to players such as Rod Smith, Tom Nalen, Ben Hamilton, Javon Walker, Jarvis Moss and Ebenezer Ekuban, the Broncos finished the season with a 7-9 record and missed the playoffs.

The Shanahan era
The team's current head coach is Mike Shanahan, a position he's held since 1995. Since the Shanahan era began, the Broncos have been known for having high-yardage running backs, and explosive offenses. Tuesday Morning Quarterback writer Gregg Easterbrook once mused that Denver’s helmets should have a label that says "Insert running back, gain 1,000 yards." To wit: Terrell Davis, Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, Reuben Droughns and Tatum Bell have all posted 1000-yard rushing seasons in Denver with Davis shattering the 2,000 yard barrier in 1998. In 2005, Mike Anderson rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the first time in five seasons. Anderson's backfield mate, Tatum Bell, fell 79 yards short of 1,000 with 921 while missing a game to injury. Had Bell been able to gain 1,000 yards he and Anderson would have been the first two running backs in over 20 years to break 1,000 yards in a single season on the same team.
In the post-Elway years, Shanahan has taken the Broncos to the playoffs several times. The 2000 season ended with a Wild Card loss at the Baltimore Ravens. The 2003 and 2004 seasons ended with lopsided losses at the Indianapolis Colts, also in the Wild Card round. In the 2005 season, the Broncos defeated the New England Patriots in the divisional round and advanced to the AFC Championship game, losing at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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