Records are meant to be broken, but some never will be. The Denver Broncos have an extremely rich history and tradition, and as the team has had success through the years, so have the legendary players that have passed through the Mile High City.
Even with high hopes for the 2024 season, there are certain records with this team that will likely stand the test of time. What are the most unbreakable records in Denver Broncos history?
3 Denver Broncos records that will never be broken
1. John Elway's all-time passing yards: 51,475 yards
The type of longevity the Denver Broncos got from John Elway is almost extinct in today's NFL. Players rarely spend their entire career with the same team and players rarely spend 10-plus years with the same team. John Elway's Denver Broncos career lasted from 1983-1999 and he played 234 regular season games with the team.
Again, that kind of longevity with one team just doesn't happen in today's NFL. Throwing for over 50,000 yards for one team would probably take about 12 or so years with the way things are in today's league at an average of about 4,000 yards per season.
Maybe Bo Nix can find a way to break this record in time, but here's a frame of reference for you. Patrick Mahomes has been starting for the Chiefs for six seasons and has thrown for just over 28,000 yards. He's likely going to surpass 50,000 yards at some point in his NFL career, but even at his current pace, it will take him nearly 11 seasons to reach 50,000 yards.
2. 2013 offense scoring 606 points
Call it one of the most unbreakable records in Denver Broncos history or one of the most unbreakable records in NFL history -- it doesn't matter.
Nobody is touching the 606 points scored by the Broncos in 2013.
The Broncos averaged nearly 38 points per game in their glorious 2013 regular season, a year which obviously ended in tremendous disappointment thanks to a number of major injuries defensively. Still, what Broncos Country witnessed in that 2013 season was unlike anything in NFL history before it and nobody has been able to get there even as the NFL has transitioned to 17 regular season games.
The 2018 Kansas City Chiefs came within 61 points. Before the Broncos set this scoring record in 2013, the New England Patriots in 2007 had the record at 589 points. Only six teams in NFL history have even scored over 550 points in a regular season.
This team had five different players with 10-plus touchdowns. It was truly a dream.
3. Peyton Manning's 55 passing TDs in 2013
Another unbreakable record is Peyton Manning's 55 passing touchdown season in 2013. The Broncos scored a lot of points that year, obviously -- more than any team in NFL history, in fact -- but Manning was other-worldly, averaging nearly 3.5 touchdown passes per game.
It was a level of dominance that will never be beaten even though NFL quarterbacks now have 17 games to get it done. Only three quarterbacks in league history have thrown 50 or more touchdowns in a single season: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Patrick Mahomes. When all is said and done, they will make up three of the four QBs on the QB Mount Rushmore along with John Elway (in my humble, obviously unbiased opinion).
In order to beat Manning's record of 55 touchdowns, a quarterback in today's NFL would have to throw 10 touchdown passes every three games (roughly 3.3 touchdowns per game). Manning also set an NFL record that year with 5,477 passing yards and that record has yet to be broken as well.