With yesterday being a day for giving thanks, we hope that today finds you content after a good meal, time with loved ones and a busy day of NFL football.
But as we celebrate this time of year, how can we, as Broncos fans, not look back at some of the amazing players and people who have given us so much to enjoy?
The Denver Broncos are one of the most successful franchises in all of professional sports, and we are lucky to have a team that performs at a high level nearly every single season.
The Broncos have eight conference championships, three Super Bowl victories and since 1975 have suffered just six losing records.
As we get ready for the home stretch of the regular season, we take a look back at some of the key Denver Broncos we should be thankful for this weekend.
John Elway
The Denver Broncos had 26 different starting quarterbacks through their first 23 years of existence. But after a trade with the Baltimore Colts in 1983, John Elway would be their starter for the next 16 years.
Despite warnings that he wouldn’t sign with the Colts, they drafted him anyway, and Baltimore was forced to trade him. The Broncos changed the trajectory of the franchise when they made the move to bring Elway to town.
He rewrote the record books, became the greatest Denver Broncos player in franchise history and took them to five Super Bowls.
But even after his retirement in 1999, Elway wasn’t done.
In 2011, he rejoined the Broncos as executive vice president of football operations and has been responsible for the Broncos continued success.
He was a major factor in Peyton Manning signing with the team in 2012, and he has already taken the franchise to two Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl 50 last year.
Floyd Little
You may not know it, but the Broncos drafted a number of big name players back in the early days of the franchise. Merlin Olson, Kermit Alexander, Bob Brown and Dick Butkus were all drafted by the upstart Broncos, but none of them were actually crazy enough to sign with the fledgling team.
The franchise was struggling, and there was even talk of them moving to Birmingham.
But in 1967, the Broncos drafted a three-time All-American running back out of Syracuse that would change the franchise forever.
Unlike those previous picks, Little actually signed with the team, and fell in love with the city of Denver.
On the field he was a star; from 1968-1973 he had more yards from scrimmage than any back in the league, and was elected to the Pro Bowl three times.
Off the field, he was the ultimate spokesman, generating excitement and a loyal following from the Rocky Mountain region.
Without Floyd Little, the Denver Broncos look very different from the franchise we know and love today.
Peyton Manning
From the time John Elway retired in 1999, until Peyton Manning signed with the team in 2012, the Broncos had 13 different starting quarterbacks. And over those years, their record was 91-97.
Then, Manning ushered in a golden era in Denver.
In just four seasons, he threw for over 19,000 yards, 151 touchdowns and took the Broncos to the Super Bowl twice.
He set NFL single season records for most touchdown passes in a single season (55) and led the first offense to ever score 600 points in as season.
The Broncos dominated in those four years, with an incredible 55-17 record, including the postseason.
It may have been short lived, but the Peyton Manning era was an amazing run in Denver Broncos history.
Von Miller
At just 27 years of age, Von Miller has already accomplished quite a bit in his Denver Broncos career.
A four-time Pro Bowler, he has been named to the First-Team All-Pro team twice. And his postseason run last year is already legendary in Denver Broncos lore.
Miller was absolutely dominant, racking up 13 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception on his way to becoming just the eighth defensive player in history to be named Super Bowl MVP.
And after the Broncos made Miller the highest paid defensive player in history this offseason, there has been no letup from Von.
He already has 9.5 sacks through the first 10 games this year, and is looking to add to his list of accomplishments.
Pat Bowlen
It isn’t that the Broncos didn’t have any good owners.
But from Bob Howsam, who brought professional football to Denver, to Gerald Phipps, who kept the team from moving in the 60s, to Edgar Kaiser, who had a hand in bringing John Elway to the team, no one was as valuable as Pat Bowlen.
Bowlen purchased the team from Kaiser in 1984, and he completely changed the identity of the Denver franchise.
Pat Bowlen didn’t just want to have a team; he wanted to have the best team and he wanted to compete for a Super Bowl every single season.
Bowlen is the only owner in NFL history to win 300 games in his first 30 seasons as owner.
The Broncos are the only team in the NFL to win at least 90 games in each of the past three decades and they have won seven AFC Championships and three Super Bowls under the ownership of Bowlen.
Pat Bowlen has run an NFL team the way it should be run.