How have the Broncos fared the following year after losing only 3 regular season games?

Happy Friday Eve, Broncos Country!

Not much going on with the Denver Broncos, but they did announce a little documentary on the work they are doing in the community. We have a G.O.A.T. birthday to celebrate and we dive into another history lesson to see if there are any trends Denver follows after a great season. Let’s dig in.

Broncos daily recap

The Broncos are bringing a helmet safety documentary to air this weekend in the Denver area. They will also be dropping it on the team’s YouTube channel.

Press Release:

The Denver Broncos documentary, ALL IN. ALL COVERED.: Protecting The Game, will debut locally  this Saturday on KUSA at 6 p.m. MDT.

The feature takes viewers inside the Denver Broncos Foundation’s first year of the historic ALL IN. ALL COVERED. statewide helmet distribution program. Launched in January of 2025, the single largest philanthropic investment in Broncos history will provide more than 15,000 Riddell Axiom smart helmets to cover every high school tackle football program in the state.

ALL IN. ALL COVERED.: Protecting The Game will also be posted on the Broncos’ YouTube channel at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and will re-air on Sunday, March 29, at 9:30 p.m. on KTVD and Sunday, April 12, at 8:30 p.m. on KUSA.

The documentary highlights voices integral to the program like Broncos Owner & Foundation Board Chair Carrie Walton Penner, Broncos President Damani Leech, Riddell CEO Allison Boersma, CHSAA Commissioner Mike Krueger, Denver Broncos Alumni and more.

To date, 99% of Colorado high school football teams have enrolled in the program and nearly 4,000 helmets were distributed in year one. Distribution will continue through 2028 with schools receiving 25% of their helmet allotment each year.

This program and its goal to positively impact student-athlete health and safety is supported by Children’s Hospital Colorado, CommonSpirit Health, Ent Credit Union, becoming Wings Credit Union, and United.

Viewing options:

• Saturday, March 29 – 6 p.m. on KUSA; 6:30 p.m. on Broncos’ YouTube

• Sunday, March 29 – 9:30 p.m. on KTVD

• Sunday, April 12 – 8:30 p.m. on KUSA

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Under the radar

Let’s all feel old together. Happy 37th birthday to Von Miller!

The FEED happenings

SportsFan90266 wants to talk officiating in the NFL. While I agree with part of his premise, I will continue to subject my unfettered rage towards poor officiating throughout 2026. I will not be denied.

Post your own thoughts on MHR’s Feed.

Broncos history

How have the Broncos fared the following year after losing only 3 regular season games?

The Broncos went 14-3, so I decided to take a look at how they performed the year after a 13-3 season. Since all the others were 13-win seasons anyway. Was it mostly good or mostly bad? Let’s find out…

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1985 – Missed Playoffs
The Broncos went 13-3 in John Elway’s first full season as the starter in 1984 and lost in the divisional round. The following season, the Broncos won 11 games and missed the playoffs. That’s actually crazy.

1997 – Won Super Bowl
Those of us old enough to have lived it, we all remember well that 1996 division round loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was painful, but it set the stage for the greatest season in franchise history. The season they would bring home their first Lombardi Trophy.

2006 – Beginning of the End
I call this the beginning of the end to the Mike Shanahan era. The poor drafting was beginning to catch up to the roster and the aging stars from those late 90s Super Bowl offenses began to fall off with the defense also losing some of its best players. The 9-7 record in 2006 would not be topped again until their next 13-3 season in 2012.

2013 – Lost Super Bowl
In 2012, Peyton Manning walked into Denver and immediately turned the franchise into a Super Bowl contender. They got bounced out of the playoffs in their first game to the Baltimore Ravens in a wild playoff game, but the following season Manning set records that still have yet to be broken. Over 600 points of offense, 55 passing touchdowns and 5500 yards passing. Manning had his best statistical season of his Hall of Fame career. Even so, they got buzz sawed by the Seattle Seahawks and the Legion of Boom defense in the Super Bowl.

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2014 – Lost Divisional Round
The 2014 season is another “beginning of the end” type situation. Manning started off like normal, but a tough game against the Los Angeles Rams seemed to signal the end had arrived. He did not play well down the stretch and the Broncos lost in the first round. He wouldn’t play well in 2015 either, but the Broncos defense reached a pinnacle of greatness few units achieve in NFL history and they were able to send Manning off in retirement with his second Super Bowl title. Pretty solid ending.

2026 – TBD
This season is TBD. Their 14-3 season ended unlike any of the previous. Bo Nix suffered a season-ending injury leading a comeback win over the AFC favorite Buffalo Bills. We’ll never know what that team could have achieved had that not happen. They are running it all back and have added a few pieces to make the offense much improved.

How do you think this 2026 Broncos squad will fare in 2026?