No team ever has an easy path to winning the Super Bowl — if the Denver Broncos do it in 2026, it will have to be done by combating haters coming in from all sides at all times.
The latest world-class hater to throw his name in the hat is ESPN’s Aaron Schatz, who thinks the Broncos are too old to be considered serious contenders moving forward.
To be clear, Schatz took his shot while also including the Broncos on his list of NFL teams that have gone “all-in” to win a Super Bowl in 2026, but let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story.
“The Broncos are older than most people realize, which is why their Super Bowl window might be closing,” Schatz wrote on September 6. “Denver is one of the oldest teams on both sides of the ball, but you might not notice because it has a younger quarterback in 26-year-old Bo Nix. The average age of the Broncos’ projected offensive starters is 29.1, which ranks second. Left tackle Garett Bolles is now 34, and the whole offensive line is 28 or older. Plus, receiver Courtland Sutton is 31 and tight end Evan Engram is 32. On defense, the Broncos’ average age of starters ranks fourth at 28.3. Linebackers Alex Singleton (32) and Justin Strnad (30) are both at least 30 years old, and defensive linemen D.J. Jones (31) and Zach Allen (29) are also on the older side.”
Broncos 1 Broken Ankle From Making Super Bowl
The truth about the Broncos is that, yes, they came 1 game from making it to the Super Bowl with a 10-7 home loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, but the even deeper truth is that their fate was probably sealed 1 week before on the final few plays of an overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round.
That was when Nix, on the 3rd-to-last play of the game, fractured his ankle as he drove the Broncos for the game-winning field goal — and did so on a play so innocuous-seeming that Nix didn’t even leave the game until the field goal unit came out 2 plays later.
Broncos’ 1 Big Offseason Move to Revamp Roster
The Broncos didn’t lift a finger when NFL free agency kicked off on March 9 despite having several big question marks on the roster — most notably at wide receiver.
After enduring several days of seemingly being berated on all sides for their inactivity, the Broncos revealed they had been hunting much bigger game when they traded their 2026 1st-round pick for Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle on March 17.
It was a move that probably could have put the Broncos in the Super Bowl in 2025 after they balked at paying that same price for Waddle at the trade deadline, only to see it backfire when their receivers vanished into thin air in the AFC Championship Game.
Making the move for Waddle symbolizes the Broncos learning and evolving, and ESPN’s Matt Bowen put it at the top of his list of the NFL’s “Most Impactful” offseason moves before training camp began.
“Waddle’s route tree meshes well with the throwing traits of Broncos quarterback Bo Nix,” Bowen wrote on July 28. “He can run the post, the in-breakers and the shallows. Waddle averaged 14.2 yards per catch last season — including 14 receptions of 20 or more yards — and he topped the 1,000-yard receiving mark in three of his five seasons in Miami. He’ll bring more speed and juice alongside wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the Broncos’ pass game.”
ESPN: Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl Window Closed After 2026