Ranking the top 5 Denver Broncos offenses of the past 30 years

2. 1998

The second of back-to-back Super Bowls for the Broncos came on the back of Davis and his MVP season. With a 38-year-old Elway under center, Davis carried the load with a whopping 2,008 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns and added another 217 and two in the air. 

The unit featured a similar cast as the ’97 season with Sharpe and two 1,000-yard receivers in Ed McCaffrey and Smith. 

Ending the season at 14-2, the Broncos finished with 6,092 total yards, good for the third-best mark in the league. The offense would put up the second most touchdowns and total points, with 62 and 501, respectively, averaging 31.3 points per game. They also finished second in total first downs and sixth in third down conversion rate. 

With such a star-studded cast, Elway and company were nearly impossible to get off the field on-route to a 34-19 victory in the Super Bowl over the Atlanta Falcons. What puts them ahead of the ’97 unit is the greatness of Davis, as his 2,000-yard rushing season makes him one of only eight running backs to ever accomplish the feat. 

1. 2013

The obvious answer, the 2013 Broncos offense has a strong case to be the best unit in NFL history. Although the season ended in such disastrous fashion that most Broncos fans wish they could forget about it, the offense, led by Manning, set nearly every offensive record. 

Denver set the NFL single-season record for passing yards with 5,572, 55 passing touchdowns, 76 total touchdowns, and 606 points while finishing second all-time in total yards with 7,317. The record for most points per game over a season is held by the 1950 St. Louis Rams, but the Broncos hold the modern-day record at 37.9 PPG. 

They also tied the NFL season record for the most times scoring over 50 and 40 points with three and six, respectively. Denver also set the record with 22 touchdown passes within the first six games of the season. 

Manning, in his second season after three neck surgeries, kicked off the NFL season tying a record with seven touchdown passes in a game. He would finish with 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns en route to winning the MVP and taking his team to the Super Bowl in East Rutherford. Even with the NFL adding a 17th game to the schedule, The Sheriff’s numbers still stand as the best in a single season. 

Wide receivers Eric Decker, Wes Welker, DT, tight end Julius Thomas, and running back Knowshon Moreno all recorded double-digit touchdowns. With five players, they nearly doubled the previous record of three players on a team to have 10 or more touchdowns. Manning, the Thomases, and right guard Luis Vasquez were all Pro Bowl selections.