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Denver Broncos: Where will 2020 rank amongst worst seasons in team history?

By Travis Wakeman

DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 19: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills scores a touchdown during the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on December 19, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 19: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills scores a touchdown during the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on December 19, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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Denver Broncos, Drew Lock
Dec 19, 2020; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock (3) is tackled by Buffalo Bills defensive end Mario Addison (97) during the first quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2020 season has been a forgettable one for the Denver Broncos.

The team sits at 5-9 with just two games remaining in the regular season and after a blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills om Saturday, it was officially eliminated from the playoffs, though that was just a formality for the past several weeks.

The team has not played in a postseason game since winning Super Bowl 50 and fans are growing increasingly frustrated. Since that win, the team has seen some terrible quarterback play and some even worse coaching from the sidelines.

An argument can be made that the coaching has gotten even worse.

The Broncos have had some bad seasons, but fans have enjoyed many, many more successful ones over the course of a lengthy period of time. These have certainly been some of the darkest times in team history.

So we can try and put a positive spin on it and talk about all of the “promise” this team has and how the players are still young and learning to work together. We can also talk about how players and coaches should get a “pass” due to the 2020 season being largely overshadowed by a pandemic. But, many other teams have overcome those obstacles so it really is nothing more than a poor excuse.

There will be no sugar coating here. It’s been a bad season. So where does it rank among the worst in team history? Let’s first look at some other bad ones.

The AFL days

Denver Broncos
San Diego Chargers halfback Paul Lowe (23) is met by many defenders during a 58-20 victory over the Denver Broncos on December 22, 1963, at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, California. (Photo by Charles Aqua Viva/Getty Images) /

1960-1969

The Broncos began play as one of the teams in the old AFL. For 10 seasons, they were pretty much atrocious.

The team never qualified for the postseason and it had five different coaches during its time in the AFL. The team was consistently one of the worst in the league each and every season.

In 10 seasons, the Broncos had an overall win-loss record of 39-97-4. The team carried that futility into the NFL following the merger and it would take all the way until the 1977 season before the team qualified for the playoffs for the first time.

It’s a good thing that this was so long ago as most fans nowadays don’t know how bad the AFL days were for the team.

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