The Worst Super Bowl Hangover

By Trevor Speetzen December 02, 2024 04:53

Photo by Joe Amon, The Denver Post

In 2015, the Denver Broncos won their third Super Bowl in franchise history after defeating the Carolina Panthers 24-10. It was Peyton Manning’s last game and it was almost a poetic send off for the hall of famer to win his final game.

However since that triumphant moment, the Broncos have never been back to the playoffs. Denver has had only one winning season since then and it was in 2016.

When Manning retired, he left quite a hole at quarterback that hadn’t been filled since Denver drafted Bo Nix in 2024.

Seventh-round pick Trevor Siemian tried to take over the reins in 2016 and after a solid 9-7 season, he looked to be the quarterback of the future for the Broncos.

However, after the departure of Gary Kubiak, their Super Bowl-winning head coach, Denver’s descent into mediocrity and poverty would only begin from there. Siemian’s play began to get exposed in 2017 and Denver’s began its era of rotating quarterbacks.

Since Manning’s departure, the Broncos have had a litany of starting quarterback: Siemian, Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock and Russell Wilson just to name a few.

With that many quarterbacks in a span of nearly ten years, it would be hard for any franchise to have any stability.

The team has also gone through many head coaching changes ever since Kubiak left the team. Vance Joseph coached the team from 2017-2018, Vic Fangio coached the Broncos from 2019-2021 and Nathanial Hackett only coached in Denver for 15 games.

One of the worst things that happened to this franchise during this time were the deaths of owner Pat Bowlen and beloved wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.

Bowlen suffered from Alzheimer’s in his later years and eventually passed away in 2019. Thomas passed away in 2021 after an abrupt seizure.

Their deaths symbolized a change in era for Denver, they no longer a powerhouse franchise of the 2010’s, but a struggling franchise in the 2020’s

The first sign of light at the end of the tunnel came in 2023 when the Broncos hired former Saints’ head coach Sean Payton. Payton helped turn around the New Orleans Saints franchise and led them to their first and only Super Bowl in 2009.

The Broncos improved drastically in 2023 after going 5-12 in 2022. Denver went 8-9 in that season, the most wins since their nine-win 2016 season with Siemian.

After parting ways with Wilson at the end of 2023, Denver decided to draft Nix in the first-round of the 2024 draft.

So far it would appear the Broncos have struck gold with Nix. Denver was projected to finish at the bottom of the AFC West standings. Instead, the team is currently in the playoff hunt and exceeding expectations.

Nix is looking like a front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year and could possibly take the Broncos back to the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

Nix also looks like could the Broncos quarterback for many years to come and Denver could be a genuine threat in AFC in just a few short years.