Pick the best Broncos team ever? You might as well ask me to pick my favorite nephew. Not going to happen.
Sure, the 1997 and ’98 teams won it all, so they (should) shoot to the top of the list, but which one is better? Does ’97 win out because they beat the defending world champion Packers in the Super Bowl? Or does the ’98 squad who went back-to-back and steamrolled the Falcons get the nod?
Then there’s the matter of whether Peyton Manning and the most prolific offense in NFL history (’13) was a better team than the Orange Crush Defense (’77). And where do John Elway’s Super Bowl blowout victims rank, not to mention the 2015 #NoFlyZone defense?
There’s a subjective argument to be made for any and all of them, one that could occupy tens of thousands of pixels. We’ll keep our ranking of these teams purely objective (as we did ranking Manning’s playoff teams vs. Tom Brady), examining their league ranking on both offense and defense in total yards, passing, rushing and scoring.
Here’s how the eight Denver Broncos Super Bowl teams ranked in their respective seasons compared to the rest of the league, and how they rank against one another as a result…
No. 8 – 1986 Denver Broncos
Lost Super Bowl XXI, Giants 39 – Broncos 20
Offensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 15th (326.0)
Passing: 10th (221.1)
Rushing: 20th (104.9)
Scoring: 6th (23.6)
Offensive Average Rank: 12.75
Defensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 9th (309.2)
Passing: 16th (206.0)
Rushing: 5th (103.2)
Scoring: 15th (20.4)
Defensive Average Rank: 11.25
Total Average* Rank: 12.000
*28 teams
No. 7 – 1977 Denver Broncos
Lost Super Bowl XII, Cowboys 27 – Broncos 10
Offensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 17th (279.0)
Passing: 18th (133.1)
Rushing: 11th (145.9)
Scoring: 10th (19.6)
Offensive Average Rank: 14.00
Defensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 9th (269.6)
Passing: 25th (160.3)
Rushing: 1st (109.4)
Scoring: 3rd (10.6)
Defensive Average Rank: 9.50
Total Average* Rank: 11.750
*28 teams
No. 6 – 2013 Denver Broncos
Lost Super Bowl XLVIII, Seahawks 43 – Broncos 8
Offensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 1st (457.3)
Passing: 1st (340.2)
Rushing: 15th (117.1)
Scoring: 1st (37.9)
Offensive Average Rank: 4.50
Defensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 19th (356.0)
Passing: 27th (254.4)
Rushing: t7th (101.6)
Scoring: 22nd (24.9)
Defensive Average Rank: 18.75
Total Average* Rank: 11.625
*32 Teams
No. 5 – 2015 Denver Broncos
Super Bowl 50, TBD
Offensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 16th (355.5)
Passing: 14th (248.1)
Rushing: 17th (107.4)
Scoring: 19th (22.2)
Offensive Average Rank: 16.50
Defensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 1st (283.1)
Passing: 1st (199.6)
Rushing: 3rd (83.6)
Scoring: 4th (18.5)
Defensive Average Rank: 2.25
Total Average* Rank: 9.375
*32 Teams
No. 4 – 1989 Denver Broncos
Lost Super Bowl XXIV, 49ers 55 – Broncos 10
Offensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 15th (318.3)
Passing: 23rd (187.6)
Rushing: 6th (130.8)
Scoring: t8th (22.6)
Offensive Average Rank: 13.00
Defensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 3rd (275.5)
Passing: 3rd (176.7)
Rushing: 6th (98.8)
Scoring: 1st (14.1)
Defensive Average Rank: 3.25
Total Average* Rank: 8.125
*28 teams
No. t2 – 1987 Denver Broncos
Lost Super Bowl XXII, Redskins 42 – Broncos 10
Offensive League Rank* (Average)
Total Yards: 2nd (374.9)
Passing: 3rd (243.6)
Rushing: 12th (131.3)
Scoring: t4th (25.3)
Offensive Average Rank: 5.25
Defensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 9th (320.9)
Passing: 5th (186.4)
Rushing: 20th (134.5)
Scoring: 7th (19.2)
Defensive Average Rank: 10.25
Total Average* Rank: 7.750
*28 teams
No. t2 – 1998 Denver Broncos
Won Super Bowl XXXIII, Broncos 34 – Falcons 19
Offensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 3rd (380.7)
Passing: 7th (226.5)
Rushing: 2nd (154.2)
Scoring: 2nd (31.3)
Offensive Average Rank: 3.50
Defensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 11th (308.4)
Passing: 26th (228.0)
Rushing: 3rd (80.4)
Scoring: t8th (19.3)
Defensive Average Rank: 12.00
Total Average* Rank: 7.750
*30 Teams
No. 1 – 1997 Denver Broncos
Won Super Bowl XXXII, Broncos 31, Packers 24
Offensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 1st (367.0)
Passing: 9th (218.4)
Rushing: 4th (148.6)
Scoring: 1st (29.5)
Offensive Average Rank: 3.75
Defensive League Rank (Average)
Total Yards: 5th (291.9)
Passing: 5th (179.2)
Rushing: 16th (112.7)
Scoring: t6th (17.9)
Defensive Average Rank: 8.00
Total Average* Rank: 5.875
*30 Teams