Mile High Report
Good morning, Broncos Country. This weekend, a myriad of teams will be facing off against each other in epic gridiron battles for the 2026 NFL Wild Card Playoff round. And guess what? The Denver Broncos won’t be amongst them—given their tremendous 14-3 record and securing the #1 seed in the AFC playoff race.
With it being a bye week for the Broncos, I thought talking about appreciative aspects of the season would be apt. A little bit of reflection for us as fans before the rubber meets the road in the Divisional Round next weekend. Here are just a few things I’m appreciative of relative to the Broncos’ 2025 regular season endeavors.
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph appears to be poised to secure one of the head coaching positions available this cycle. It seems like only yesterday the Miami Dolphins hung 70 on the Broncos. In turn, making them one of the laughing stocks of the National Football League.
At that point in time, most all of Broncos Country was looking forward to seeing a different coach on their defensive side of the ball. Now, after having back-to-back Top 3 performances by their defense, there is a strong collective amongst fans that hope Joseph can stay on and continue to be the guiding force for the unit who may just be scratching the surface of their potential.
If Joseph is hired away, we can only hope that whoever coaches the defense next can have comparable success to what we have seen under the guidance of Joseph the past two seasons. It may be wishful thinking, but the last time the Broncos had such a dominant defense they were able to secure the franchise’s third Lombardi Trophy. Your mileage may vary, but I’m a firm believer that this year’s defense was the primary reason for the team’s success thus far. 68 sacks—another new franchise record—impressive!
And if they want to win it all, Joseph and the defense are going to have to put together some of their best performances to date. If they can continue to force turnovers they will have as good of shot as anyone in the postseason.
Just a few seasons ago, most of us felt the franchise was on the brink of disaster. Dealing with multiple years of being short on picks in the draft and coupled with dead salary cap due to the failed Russell Wilson era, few could have envisioned the Broncos’ quick turnaround with their on the field performance.
But here we are. Back to the top of the AFC West and hosting our first playoff game in a decade. There is no doubting the new Walton-Penner Group ownership, the trading and hiring of Head Coach Sean Payton, as well as quality drafting by George Paton have played an integral role in Denver’s newfound success.
During John Elway’s tenure as General Manager with...
