When Sean Payton took this team over following the 2022 NFL Season, the Denver Broncos were absolutely one of the most dysfunctional teams in the NFL. Payton's addition to the franchise was a total 180 from Nathaniel Hackett, the former head coach who didn't even make it a full season.
In that 2023 season, the Broncos began the year 1-5 before going on a miraculous turnaround, and nearly got into the playoffs. Things really took off in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and along the way, the franchise has done nothing but prove the doubters wrong again and again.
The Broncos have made a ton of deliberate moves that have pushed this team right into contention, most importantly, getting the quarterback position right. Denver was recently projected a Super Bowl window, and if it ends up being accurate, it further proves how far this team has come.
Denver Broncos appear to have a wide open Super Bowl window at the perfect time
Brad Gagnon, for Bleacher Report, briefly touched on his take on the Broncos' current Super Bowl window:
"Denver Broncos: 4-8 years
It's safe to say Bo Nix is the guy for the next few years, and he's surrounded by talent that is appropriately aged for a long-term run as a contender. He'll be cheap for the next few years anyway, so only a surprise decline would shorten this window now. "
A 4-8 year window would be flat-out awesome. It really all hinges on whether or not Bo Nix can elevate his game a bit more. The Broncos front office has proven to be able to field a top-tier roster, so it's worth looking at that side of things as being secure for the long-term.
The elephant in the room, though, would be a potential Nix contract extension. Taking advantage of that rookie contract window at quarterback is one of the most important things any franchise can do, and the Broncos should be able to get a few more cheaper years of Nix before a potential extension hits the books.
But it's not always about the team itself - a potential Super Bowl window would be lengthened or shortened based on how other AFC teams are behaving. It's too early to tell which teams could could get better or worse, but what is obvious right now is that the Broncos are right in the middle of a window.
That is both outstanding and horrifying. It's quite difficult to come by a Super Bowl window in the NFL, so when a team finds themselves in one, it's an 'all hands on deck' approach to take advantage of it. Given how last year ended, the motivation surely could not be any higher.
But winning year-over-year only gets harder. Players are a year older, and, generally speaking, most NFL front offices know how to improve a team, so the more time that passes, the more likely it is that other teams get better.
The fact that we're even having this conversation, though, is a testament to how far the franchise has come. Broncos Country should enjoy this window that the team is in, as not many are in it with the team right now.
And it's not a stretch at all to say that the Broncos could have won it all last year had Nix not broken his ankle. This team can win it all this year.
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