The Rise of the Denver Broncos: The 2024 Comeback and 2025 Reset

Oct 3

4 min read

Retrospective: this feature looks back at Denver's 2024 return to the playoffs and its spring 2025 roster building. It preserves that historical viewpoint rather than treating those seasons as the current 2026 season.

There was a time, not too long ago, when the Denver Broncos were one of the most feared franchises in football. When Mile High wasn’t just a stadium, it was a fortress.When names like Elway, Davis, and Sharpe defined Sundays.When defense wasn’t just a phase, it was a movement.

From Rock Bottom to Rebirth

Back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1997 and 1998 put Denver on top of the football world. Mike Shanahan was the architect. John Elway was the field general. Terrell Davis was the hammer. Shannon Sharpe was the voice. And together, they built something that felt bigger than just wins. It felt like destiny.

But the Broncos' legacy didn’t start there. It started way back in 1977, when the original Orange Crush defense took the league by storm and delivered the team’s first Super Bowl appearance, unifying the city like never before.

Then, in 2015, Denver reminded everyone what championship DNA looked like. A fading Peyton Manning, backed by Von Miller and one of the most dominant defenses in NFL history, led the Broncos to a statement win in Super Bowl 50.

And then?

Everything came crashing down.

The Lost Years

After Manning retired, Denver spiraled. From 2016 to 2022, the Broncos were stuck in a cycle of false hope and failure. They cycled through coaches and starting quarterbacks without returning to postseason success. For a franchise that once set the gold standard for toughness and execution, this was unfamiliar territory.

Names like Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Case Keenum, Drew Lock, Joe Flacco, Teddy Bridgewater, and Russell Wilson rolled through the QB carousel. Some gave flashes. None gave answers.

The Broncos finished with seven straight losing seasons. The culture? Gone. The identity? Lost. And when things weren’t bad, they were worse.The 2022 season was rock bottom.Nathaniel Hackett’s tenure was a disaster. Poor game management, bad locker room vibes, and a broken offense. The Russell Wilson trade, meant to be a franchise reset, turned into a franchise setback.

The result? A 5–12 season and a team in crisis.

Sean Payton Changes Everything

Then came a franchise-altering decision.

In 2023, Denver hired Sean Payton, a Super Bowl winning coach with a résumé full of credibility, structure, and results. The man who turned New Orleans from NFL afterthought into perennial contender arrived in Denver with one mission: restore the Broncos' identity.

The start? Rough.

The Broncos opened the season 1–5. They were humiliated in Week 3, giving up 70 points to the Dolphins in one of the ugliest games in league history. Most teams would’ve folded.

Sean Payton’s team did the opposite.

The Turnaround Begins

Denver's defense flipped the switch. They became opportunistic, fast, and physical, ripping off a five-game win streak and charging back into the playoff conversation. The locker room bought in. The culture shifted. Suddenly, the Broncos had direction again. Payton's first Denver season ended 8 and 9 in 2023. The next season brought the larger step: with rookie Bo Nix starting in 2024, Denver finished 10 and 7 and returned to the playoffs for the first time since its Super Bowl 50 season.

And they did it after releasing Russell Wilson and absorbing the largest dead cap hit in NFL history (85 million dollars). Instead of clinging to sunk costs, the Broncos turned the page.

Enter Bo Nix, a rookie quarterback with over 60 college starts, taken 12th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. From day one, he looked ready. Steady in the pocket. Unshaken by the moment. Under Payton’s guidance, Nix didn’t just survive. He elevated.

He played efficient, smart football while letting Denver’s defense handle the heavy lifting.

And what a defense it was.

Denver led the NFL with 63 sacks in 2024. Patrick Surtain II was dominant. Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper helped power the pass rush, while Patrick Surtain II anchored the secondary. Every level of the defense brought swagger and execution.

The Spring 2025 Offseason

In spring 2025, Denver added players to build on its 2024 progress.

The front office landed dynamic playmakers on both sides of the ball:

Drafted RJ Harvey, an explosive running back out of UCF
Added Sai’vion Jones (LSU) and Jahdae Barron (Texas) to boost the pass rush and secondary
Signed veteran tight end Evan Engram to give Nix a reliable outlet
Reinforced the offensive line to protect the future

But what matters even more? The vibe in the building.

Payton brought intensity, structure, and belief. Practices are sharp. The locker room has accountability. There’s a culture again. There’s buy-in. This is no longer a team going through the motions. It’s a team building something.

National Eyes Are Watching

Football Nation's interpretation at the spring 2025 cutoff was that Denver had earned renewed optimism through its 2024 results. This isn’t a blip. It’s a revival.

Bo Nix is no longer just a promising pick. He looks like a long-term answer. The defense is elite. And Sean Payton is pulling every lever to get this franchise back to the top.