The first step for the Denver Broncos was just making the playoffs. In 2024, despite overwhelming odds against them, the franchise somehow did that for the first time in a decade.
Now, with a newfound optimism within the franchise, who gets to say what the ceiling is for a team with one of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks in Bo Nix and the NFL’s best defensive player in cornerback Patrick Surtain II?
Surtain recently told RG.org’s DJ Siddiqi he thinks that ceiling could be making it all the way to the Super Bowl.
“I feel like that’s the topic that some people look at and say, ‘Are the Broncos Super Bowl contenders?’ I feel like we are contenders in our own right,” Surtain said on March 17. “I feel like we are building success and I think we are headed in the right direction for sure.”
Broncos Are Decade Removed From Last Super Bowl
The Broncos have been to the Super Bowl 8 times in franchise history, including at least one appearance per decade from the 1970s through the 1990s and 2 appearances in the 2010s that included a Super Bowl win following the 2015 season.
The biggest hurdle for the Broncos getting back to the Super Bowl anytime in the near future exists within its own conference with the Kansas City Chiefs. Headed into 2025, the Chiefs have played in the AFC Championship Game 7 consecutive seasons with 5 Super Bowl appearances and 3 Super Bowl wins.
The Broncos seem like a world away from that kind of consistency — their 10-7 record in 2024 was their first winning season since 2016.
Surtain Established Dominance as NFL’s Best in 2024
Surtain became just the seventh cornerback in NFL history to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year and the first since New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore in 2019.
Surtain, a 2021 first round pick (No. 9 overall) out of Alabama, also earned NFL All-Pro honors for the second time and was named to his third Pro Bowl in 2024. He staked his claim as the NFL’s premier cover corner with 4 interceptions for an NFL-leading 132 yards, including a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in a Week 5 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Denver signed Surtain to the largest contract for his position in NFL history with a 4-year, $96 million extension in September 2024.
From NFL on CBS: “Patrick Surtain II has allowed a passer rating of 39.1 when targeted this season. A QB’s passer rating would be higher if they threw it into the ground on each pass (39.6).”
Mull that one over for a second — it was better to just throw an intentional incomplete pass than to try and throw at Surtain in 2024.
“Obviously, you just don’t wake up and say like, ‘Okay, I want to be in the Super Bowl,’” Surtain told Siddiqi. “Obviously there’s work to put in before that. I think we have a great chance for sure. We’re building up a team to reach — obviously in the playoffs — but even further. Like I said, we built this team up for the right reasons to reach that step. So we’ll see. But I’m very optimistic about our future in reaching the Super Bowl.”
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