Ranking Broncos Seasons Since 2011!

As I stated in my introductory post about a year ago, I have been a Broncos fan since 2011 and today I decided I will rank every season I have watched from favorite to least favorite.

1. 2015-2016

This one is easy. Any time your team wins a Super Bowl and has arguably one of the greatest defenses of all time on display week in and week out there's nothing more you could ask for. Not to mention how many close games the Broncos won that year as it was a season no short of drama. Watching the Broncos win SB50 was definitely the greatest day of my life and hopefully I can see them hoist that Lombardi soon.

2. 2013-2014

The Broncos had the greatest offense in NFL history averaging 37.9 points per game. They dominated opponents left and right and were on cruise control basically all regular season. Manning broke the single season passing yard mark and TD mark throwing for 5,477 yards and 55 TDs and I confidently state that no one in the near future will break these records despite the fact that an extra game was added. 4 receivers that year recorded 10+ TDs: DT had 14, Decker had 11, Welker had 10, and Julius Thomas had 12. This was the first ever team to accomplish such a feat. It really was a dream season and would have definitely topped my list if they could have finished that year with a ring but instead lost 43-8 in SB 48 which was a bitter ending to such an amazing season.

3. 2012-2013

This was the first season of the Manning era in Denver. The team started out 2-3 and then proceeded to win 11 straight and went on to clinch the first seed.(Note: Denver was the 1st seed 3 times and the 2nd seed once in the 4-year stretch with Peyton.) This, I believe was the most balanced team in the Manning era as the team was 2nd in PPG and was 4th in PPG allowed. Similar to the 2013 season, they were blowing teams out once they got going. However, the ending to this season was certainly the most devastating losing in the divisional round 38-35 to the underdog Ravens who did end up winning the Super Bowl that year but losing because your team allowed a Hail Mary with 40 seconds left in the game is very tough.

4. 2014-2015

This was my least favorite season out of the 4 Manning years. Obviously it is still high on my list as Denver still went 12-4 and that was the same year Manning broke Favre's all time touchdown record at the time. Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders became the first ever duo to each record 100 receptions and combine for over 3,000 yards. The Broncos also acquired Demarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, TJ Ward, and Emmanuel Sanders via free agency and drafted Bradley Roby as their first round pick. Denver was clearly looking to upgrade on defense especially after a year they were ranked 22nd in points per game allowed. The first half of the season was reminiscent to the 2013 season. They were dominating opponents offensively going 6-1 in their first 7 games. But after week 9 or so, the offense started sputtering a little bit as Peyton started showing signs of decline down the stretch. Still, the Broncos finished 12-4 and as the second seed because they had a consistent running game as CJ Anderson finished with around 900 yards and 8 TDs the back half of the season. However, they got bounced round 1 vs the Colts 24-13 and it was evident the Manning was no longer the same player and the Defense, although good, was not game changing.

5. 2011-2012

If I am being honest I do not remember a whole lot while this season was going but looking back on it through the highlights, it was one hell of a ride. The Broncos started out the season 1-4 with Kyle Orton at QB and decided to hand the keys to Tebow. In his first start that year, he helped lead a comeback down 15-0 vs the Dolphins with just over 4 minutes to go and ended up winning the game 18-15. The Broncos pulled so many last second miracles that season and went from a 1-4 team to 8-5 team. I honestly believe the defense did not receive the credit it should have because they were able to hold the opposition to a low enough score all game where it was even possible for the offense to engineer a comeback with less than 5 min left in the 4th. The Broncos did drop their last 3 games of the season going 8-8 as eventually some of the incredible luck they had earlier had to eventually even out. Also teams started making Tebow throw more and took away the running threat. The Broncos did win a playoff game vs the Steelers because of a 80 yard walk off TD by Demaryius Thomas in overtime. After Super Bowl 50 that was my most favorite moment being a Broncos fan. They lost 45-10 the very next round but that doesn't take away how magical that season was.

6. 2019-2020

The last 5 games of this season put this season at the top of the list for the non-playoff seasons. In that moment, it felt like the Broncos finally found their guy in Drew Lock where he went 4-1 as a starter in the final 5 games of the season. He finished with 7 TDs and 3 ints with 1,020 yards. The optimism going in to the offseason was just off the charts. After going through Siemian, Lynch, Osweiler, Keenum, Flacco, and Allen, it finally felt like the Broncos carousel was going to end. Unfortunately looking back on it now that was not the case but in that moment the 2019 season for me was not a failure at all even thought the team went 7-9. The Broncos lost so many close games but it was understandable as they had a rookie HC with a young OC and had so much young talent on the offensive side of the ball. Also this was Courtland Sutton's best season as a.pro so far in his career so overall the 2019 was better than I think people gave it credit for.

7. 2016-2017

Despite this being their best season record wise since Manning left it was not my favorite because of the expectations for this team. Despite the starting QB being Trevor Siemian many people believed the Broncos could still do some damage in 2016 especially since the defense was mostly intact after the SB 50 win. Expectations shot through the roof after the team started 4-0 and were 7-3 heading in to the bye week. However, it was disappointing to see them lose so many important games down the stretch losing 30-27 to KC in heart breaking fashion, losing 13-10 to Tennessee, and losing 16-3 to New England. It seemed like the Broncos lost every game they needed to win down the stretch. It felt like the Broncos should have had 10-11 wins that year but could only muster up a 9-7 record. Not a terrible season by any means but it felt like this team could have accomplished a lot more.

8. 2021-2022

This team was very Similar to the 2016 team. A team that could've done so much more damage than it should have. The expectations for this team before the season started were pretty high when Teddy Bridgewater was named starter as many people believed that all the Broncos needed was a QB that was not going to lose games and I cannot really fault people for thinking that because the rest of the team was so stacked from top to bottom on paper where it felt like adequate QB play would easily lead to 10 wins. The Broncos started off 3-0 and expectations got even higher. Then they lost 4 straight and people were thinking about 2022. All of a sudden they won 3 out of 4 including to dominant wins over 2 good teams in the Cowboys and Chargers and people were thinking they could still do something in 2021. Then the Broncos lose all the crucial games: They lose to Kc for the battle for first place in the west; lose to the Bengals in a battle of 7-6 teams as the winner would have a current playoff position; lose to the raiders to keep afloat in the playoff race; lose to the Chargers leading to elimination. Every game they needed to win down the stretch they lost which sounds just like the 2016 team. The team finished 7-10 and fired entire coaching staff afterwards. However, the rookie class from this draft was stout!

9. 2018-2019

The Broncos came off of a horrendous 2017 season and after acquiring Case Keenum, who had a phenomenal season in 2017, fans believed they were ready to compete once again. The team started 2-0 then lost 4 straight and then had a 3-6 record heading in to the bye. The Broncos then shockingly won 3 straight games coming off of the bye and were looking good as a wild card team at 6-6. If the season ended at that moment this season would have been higher on my list and I would have talked about how a gritty Broncos team that lost so many close games gave a good fight and made the wildcard spot or even applauded them even if they fell just short. However, the last 4 games of the 2018 season is the reason why the 2018-2019 season is 9th on my list. They were 6-6 heading into their week 14 matchup vs the 2-10 49ers and lost. They had a golden opportunity to go over .500 and blew it. The they lost 17-16 in week 15 to a fun but mediocre Browns team and basically ended their playoff chances. Then the last 2 games of the season were unwatchable as we witnessed a team quit on their head coach in Vance Joseph and lose 27-14 to the Raiders and 23-9 to the Chargers. It was such a disappointing ending to a gritty season where the Broncos would always put up a fight no matter the circumstance and then to see them lose to inferior opponents and not only lose but get embarrassed, it was hard to watch.

10.2020-2021

The hype behind the team was probably the most it had since the Manning days and for good reason. Rookie QB Drew Lock finished the 2019 season with a 4-1 record and the Broncos invested a lot in the draft and looked to build around their young promising QB. They drafted route running specialist Jerry Jeudy and Speedster KJ Hamler as their first 2 picks. Drew Lock was given all the weapons he needed in order to succeed. Analysts after the draft were stating they were ready to challenge KC for the throne and as a Broncos fan I was so excited for the 2020 season even though it was going to be weird with limited/no fans in stadiums. The Broncos finished the year 5-11 and Drew Lock finished the year with 2,933 with 16TDs and 15 ints as he was a turnover machine. OC Pat Shurmer also was heavily criticized for not calling QB friendly plays and did a poor job making things easy on his QB whether it was Lock, Driskel, Rypien or Hinton starting. The worst part was the Broncos added 3 new QBs to add to the damn QB carousel graphic CBS, Fox, and ESPN love to show every time the Broncos play. The Broncos lost so many key players early in the season such as Von Miller and Courtland Sutton. It was just a messy season to begin with and it was hard to watch how the season unfolded remembering all the hype Denver received.

11.2017-2018

The Broncos came off a disappointing 2016 season but many believed a bounce back season was on the way. It certainly looked that way after the Broncos started 3-1 heading into their bye week. However, every bad thing that you could have ever imagined happened when they took the field again. They lost to winless Giants in week 6 and got shut out by the LA Chargers the very next week and it just snowballed into 8 straight losses. A 3-1 team with playoff aspiration became a 3-9 team fighting for a top 5 pick. They finished the season 5-11 and this would be the beginning of the Broncos streak of losing seasons.