Bo Nix fuels Broncos Super Bowl hopes with comments at 49ers joint practice

For the majority of the last decade, talking about the Denver Broncos and the Super Bowl in the same sentence has only been relevant when discussing what happened in Super Bowl 50. The distance has grown painfully wide between that glorious 24-10 win over the Panthers and the Broncos' joint practice in Santa Clara against the 49ers this week, but the team has closed the gap significantly.

For the majority of the last 10 years, it's been embarrassing to try to talk yourself into the idea of the Broncos being a true Super Bowl contender. It just hasn't been in the cards for this team, which has been shuffling head coaches, quarterbacks, and even ownership.

But now, things are different. Head coach Sean Payton has been to that mountaintop before, and he believes this year's Broncos team is one of just a handful of teams he's coached that has a legitimate chance to get there again. And so does quarterback Bo Nix (and the rest of the team).

Bo Nix makes perfect comment about Broncos Super Bowl aspirations

Nix's statement is short and sweet, but it's also spot on. It's not like his message is any different from that of Teddy Bridgewater, Drew Lock, Case Keenum, or Trevor Siemian. Everyone is in the NFL to ultimately win a Super Bowl.

The difference now is, these words aren't founded in false hope. The Broncos have one of the best rosters in the NFL. They have an outstanding coaching staff. They have a quarterback in Nix who Sean Payton believes can enter the top-5 conversation before too long.

In the past, the Broncos haven't had the type of leader and playmaker at the quarterback position for these words to do anything but ring hollow. And now, they don't.

Nix and the Broncos aren't diminishing the hype that's being put out there by national media visiting practice -- they are fueling it.

Last year was all about middle fingers and sticking it to the haters and detractors. This year is all about proving people right who are saying the Broncos are the NFL's darkhorse Super Bowl contender. You can only block out so much of the noise. Some of it, you have to embrace.

Whether the noise becomes a chip on your shoulder or wind in your sails is up to the leadership on your team. The one thing it cannot become is a distraction. Bo Nix understands that and the team isn't afraid to throw around the words "Super Bowl", even with the dynasty that is the Chiefs in their own division; even coming off of a third-place finish last year.

It's finally time to start talking Super Bowl in Broncos Country again, and that message isn't being sent by hopeless romantics in the fan base, but the team's quarterback and head coach. And that should have everyone in Broncos Country excited.