Broncos return to playoffs for first time since winning Super Bowl 50, end historic drought

Fourteen starters at quarterback and five head coaches later, the Denver Broncos are headed back to the postseason.

The Broncos blew out the Kansas City Chiefs, who were resting a litany of starters, on Sunday, 38-0, to clinch their first playoff berth since winning Super Bowl 50 to end the 2015 season.

Denver, the No. 7 seed in the AFC, will now travel to face the second-seeded Buffalo Bills during Wild Card Weekend.

With the win, the Broncos ended the longest playoff drought following a Super Bowl victory in NFL history. Having improved to 10-7 this season, Denver also reached double-digit wins for the first time since that same campaign.

The clincher came after two previous failed attempts, as Denver had a chance to sew up a playoff berth in Weeks 16 and 17, but lost to the Los Angeles Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals, respectively. Denver will now join Kansas City and Los Angeles as the third AFC West postseason squad.

Peyton Manning, having long been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, started at quarterback for the Broncos’ defense-led Super Bowl 50 winners, who were coached by Gary Kubiak.

Sean Payton, in his second year at the Broncos reins, is the fifth head coach (including interim) since Kubiak to lead the team, while rookie first-rounder Bo Nix is the 14th player to start at QB for the club since Manning. That long list includes the likes of Trevor Siemian, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock and Russell Wilson.

Seventeen starts into his NFL career, Nix has helped the Broncos return to air that’s certainly become rarified for the Mile High club.

After nearly a decade away, the Broncos are back in the playoffs.

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