50 Fun Facts About Denver Broncos

The Broncos began play in 1960 as a charter member of which league?

They won the very first AFL game but went 39–97–4 over the league's ten seasons and never had a winning year in it.

Which team did the Broncos beat 13–10 on September 9, 1960, in the first game in AFL history?

The Boston Patriots lost 13-10 at Nickerson Field in Boston; the Broncos' winning touchdown came on a 76-yard punt return by Gene Mingo.

What notoriously ugly feature did the Broncos' original 1960 uniforms include?

The mustard-yellow-and-brown kit was so despised that the socks were later burned at a public bonfire.

Which running back, 'the Franchise', is credited with keeping the team in Denver after signing in 1967?

Floyd Little, the 1967 first-round pick from Syracuse, rushed for 6,323 yards over nine seasons and entered the Hall of Fame in 2010.

What was the nickname of the Broncos defense that carried them to Super Bowl XII in 1977?

The Orange Crush, led by linebackers Randy Gradishar and Tom Jackson, allowed just 148 points in 1977 as Denver went 12-2.

Who beat the Broncos 27–10 in Super Bowl XII, their first Super Bowl appearance?

The Dallas Cowboys intercepted Denver four times in New Orleans, and defensive linemen Harvey Martin and Randy White shared the MVP award.

John Elway refused to play for which team that drafted him first overall in 1983?

The Baltimore Colts took Elway first overall, but he used a Yankees minor-league contract as leverage until they traded him to Denver for Chris Hinton, Mark Herrmann and a first-round pick.

The coach the Broncos hired in 1981 was then the NFL's youngest; how old was he?

The coach was 37, the youngest in the league at the time, and stayed twelve seasons, reaching three Super Bowls with Elway before being fired after 1992.

How far did Elway drive the Broncos to tie the 1986 AFC Championship Game in Cleveland?

The Drive covered 98 yards in 15 plays over five minutes and two seconds, and Denver won 23-20 in overtime on a Rich Karlis field goal.

Who beat the Broncos 55–10 in Super Bowl XXIV, the most lopsided Super Bowl ever?

The San Francisco 49ers won by 45 points as Joe Montana threw five touchdown passes; it was Denver's third Super Bowl loss in four seasons.

Which coach, Elway's former offensive coordinator, returned in 1995 and led the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowls?

Mike Shanahan, who had called Elway's plays as offensive coordinator, coached Denver for 14 seasons, the longest tenure in franchise history, before his firing after 2008.

Terrell Davis, MVP of Super Bowl XXXII, was drafted in which round in 1995?

Davis went in the Sixth round, 196th overall, out of Georgia; he ran for 157 yards and a Super Bowl-record three touchdowns despite a migraine.

Which defending champion did the Broncos beat 31–24 in Super Bowl XXXII for their first title?

The Green Bay Packers, the defending champions, lost 31-24 despite three touchdown passes from Brett Favre; Elway's helicopter spin came on an 8-yard third-quarter run.

Lifting the Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl XXXII, owner Pat Bowlen said what?

'This one's for John!' saluted Elway's 15-season wait for a title; Bowlen had owned the team since 1984 and entered the Hall of Fame in 2019.

Terrell Davis joined an exclusive club in 1998 by doing what?

Davis finished 1998 with 2,008 yards, rushing for over 2,000 yards in a season as only the fourth player ever; a 1999 knee injury ended his peak.

Who coached Atlanta when the Broncos beat the Falcons 34-19 in Super Bowl XXXIII?

Dan Reeves, Elway's head coach in Denver from 1983 to 1992, lost to his old quarterback, who was MVP with 336 passing yards.

The Broncos were later punished for what relating to their 1996–98 seasons?

The league ruled Denver had been circumventing the salary cap by deferring money to Elway and Davis; it took third-round picks in 2002 and 2005 and fined the club nearly $2 million.

Which defending champion did the Broncos beat 27–13 in the 2005 playoffs?

They were the first team to beat the Patriots in a Brady-era playoff game, then lost the AFC title game at home to Pittsburgh.

Which head coach's 2009-10 tenure ended amid a videotaping scandal and a 3-9 start?

Josh McDaniels started 6-0 in 2009 but was fired in December 2010 at 3-9, days after the club was fined for an assistant's videotaping of a 49ers walkthrough.

Tim Tebow's 80-yard overtime touchdown pass to beat the Steelers in the 2011 playoffs went to whom?

Demaryius Thomas caught the slant on the first snap of overtime and stiff-armed Ike Taylor on the way to an 80-yard score; Tebow finished with 316 passing yards.

The Broncos signed Peyton Manning in March 2012 to a contract worth how much over five years?

Manning's five-year, $96 million deal, signed after neck surgery cost him all of 2011, averaged just over $19 million a season; Denver then traded Tebow to the Jets.

How many points did the 2013 Broncos score, an NFL single-season record?

The 606 points, nearly 38 a game, beat the 2007 Patriots' mark of 589; Denver was then routed 43-8 by Seattle in Super Bowl XLVIII.

How many touchdown passes did Peyton Manning throw in his record-setting 2013 season?

Manning's 55 touchdown passes in 2013 beat Tom Brady's 50 from 2007, and his 5,477 yards were also a single-season record at the time.

Which team did the Broncos beat 24–10 in Super Bowl 50?

The Carolina Panthers, 15-1 in the regular season, were held to 10 points by Wade Phillips's defense; Manning retired a month later with his second ring.

Who was named MVP of Super Bowl 50?

Von Miller had 2.5 sacks and two strip-sacks of Cam Newton, one recovered for a touchdown and the other setting up Denver's clinching score.

Which former Elway backup coached the Broncos to Super Bowl 50, then retired for health reasons?

Gary Kubiak, Elway's backup for nine seasons and later his offensive coordinator, stepped down after 2016 following a complex-migraine episode that hospitalised him in October.

How much did the Walton-Penner group agree to pay for the Broncos in June 2022?

The $4.65 billion price was a record for a North American sports franchise at the time; the sale closed in August 2022.

Which Formula One driver is a minority partner in the Broncos' ownership group?

Lewis Hamilton joined the Walton-Penner group in August 2022 as a limited partner alongside Condoleezza Rice and Mellody Hobson.

Releasing Russell Wilson in 2024 left the Broncos with how much dead-cap money, an NFL record?

Wilson's release cost $85 million in dead money spread over 2024 and 2025, an NFL record, two years after Denver sent two first-round and two second-round picks to Seattle for him.

Which head coach was fired at 4–11 on Boxing Day 2022, before finishing his first season?

Nathaniel Hackett was dismissed the day after a 51-14 Christmas loss to the Rams, with Jerry Rosburg finishing the season before Sean Payton's 2023 arrival.

Bo Nix became the first Broncos quarterback since Elway in 1983 to do what?

Nix, the 12th pick in 2024, won the job over Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham to start Week 1 as a rookie, then led Denver to a 10-7 record and a wild-card berth.

Which venue was the Broncos' home from 1960 until 2000?

Mile High Stadium, which opened in 1948 as Bears Stadium and took the Mile High name in 1968, was demolished in 2002 after the new stadium opened.

Thunder, the Broncos' live mascot who gallops after touchdowns, is what breed of horse?

Thunder is a purebred Arabian; three grey Arabians have held the role since the first debuted in 1993.

Which AFC West franchise did the Broncos beat 20-17 in the 1977 AFC Championship Game?

The Las Vegas Raiders, then based in Oakland and the defending champions, lost 20-17 in Denver on January 1, 1978, sending the Broncos to their first Super Bowl.

Which Broncos great came to Denver in 2004 in a trade that sent Clinton Portis to Washington?

Champ Bailey played ten seasons at cornerback in Denver, intercepting 34 passes for the club, and entered the Hall of Fame in 2019.

Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe was drafted by the Broncos in which round, out of Savannah State?

Sharpe went in the Seventh round of the 1990 draft as a converted receiver; he won two rings in Denver and a third with Baltimore.

Which quarterback led the Broncos to a 13–3 record and their first AFC West title in seven years in 2005?

Jake Plummer, a former Cardinal, threw 18 touchdowns against seven interceptions in 2005, then lost the job to rookie Jay Cutler late in 2006.

The 2006 Broncos defense, dubbed 'Bad Blue' by Joe Theismann, set what record over the first five games?

Denver allowed only one touchdown in its first five games of 2006, the fewest through five games since the 1970 merger, yet finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.

What did the Broncos' 2012 comeback from 24–0 down at San Diego on Monday Night Football finish as?

The game ended as a 35–24 win: Denver scored 35 unanswered points after halftime, one of the largest comebacks in Monday Night Football history.

Which Broncos QB started Super Bowl XII after earlier playing for the team that beat them?

Craig Morton, a Super Bowl V starter with the team that beat Denver, was 1977 Comeback Player of the Year at 34 as the Broncos went 12-2.

Who was the Broncos' first head coach to produce a winning season, in 1973?

John Ralston, hired from Stanford after two Rose Bowl wins, went 7-5-2 in 1973 and resigned after 1976 amid player unrest.

Which undrafted local rookie running back became a Pro Bowler for Denver in 2018?

Phillip Lindsay, undrafted out of Colorado and a Denver South High alumnus, ran for 1,037 yards in 2018 and became the first undrafted offensive rookie voted to the Pro Bowl.

How many AFC Championships had the Broncos won through the 2015 season?

Eight conference titles through 2015, the first in 1977 and the last in 2015; three of those teams went on to win the Super Bowl.

Where are the Broncos headquartered?

The Dove Valley headquarters carries an Englewood, Colorado address; Peyton Manning announced his retirement there in March 2016.

The Broncos' 2024 'Mile High Collection' was their first uniform overhaul since which year?

The 1997 redesign had introduced the navy-and-orange look and the horse-head logo, and Denver won its first two Super Bowls in those uniforms.

What business was Broncos founder Bob Howsam in when he was awarded the AFL franchise in 1959?

Howsam owned the Denver Bears, a minor league baseball club, and built Bears Stadium; he later ran the Cincinnati Reds' Big Red Machine as general manager.

In August 1967 the Broncos became the first AFL team to beat an NFL team, defeating whom in a preseason game?

The Detroit Lions lost 13-7 at the University of Denver's stadium on August 5, 1967, the first time an AFL club had beaten an NFL club.

The only two Broncos home games from 1970 to 2024 not to sell out were what?

They were 1987 strike replacement games, played with substitute rosters during the players' walkout; every other home game from 1970 through 2024 sold out.

Whose retired No. 18 was re-issued to Peyton Manning with the original owner's blessing?

Frank Tripucka, the Broncos' first quarterback, threw a 59-yard touchdown to Al Carmichael in the 1960 opener and gave his blessing for Manning to wear 18 in 2012.

Superfan Tim McKernan started wearing a barrel to Broncos games in 1977 to win a bet worth how much?

McKernan won $10 from his brother by getting on television in the barrel, painted to look like an orange soda can, and kept wearing it until 2007.