List of Denver Broncos seasons The Denver Broncos are an American football franchise . They are members of the American Football Conference West Division ( AFC West ) of the American Football Conference ( AFC ) of the National Football League ( NFL ) . The list documents their season - by - season records from 1960 to the present day , including post - season records , and league awards for individual players and head coach es . As of the end of the 2008 season , the team has completed 49 seasons and will be entering their 50th at the start of the 2009 season . The Broncos franchise was founded on August 14 , 1959 by Bob Howsam and played their first season in 1960 , in Denver , Colorado as part of the original American Football League ( AFL ) . They became part of the NFL in 1970 after the AFL - NFL merger . The franchise has experienced two major periods of success . The first was from 1976 to 1981 , when the Broncos did not have a losing season ( a season when the team has more losses than wins ) , and won two AFC West division titles , and one AFC championship . The second began in 1983 and ended in 1998 . During this period , the Broncos had just two losing seasons , were AFC champions five times and Super Bowl champions for two consecutive years . This second period of success is best remembered for John Elway being the team ' s quarterback . The Broncos have also experienced one notable period of deterioration . From their inaugural season in 1960 until 1975 , they did not make the playoffs and had just two winning seasons . They also experienced their two seasons with the most losses ever , winning just two of fourteen games in both 1963 and 1964 . The Broncos have been AFC West champions ten times , and have also earned wild card berths into the playoffs six times . They have been conference champions six times and Super Bowl champions twice . However , the Broncos did not make the AFL playoffs prior to the merger in 1970 . As of the end of the 2007 season , the Broncos have played over 800 regular and post - season games in 51 seasons , and have appeared in the post - season sixteen times . Seasons . " Note : The Finish , Wins , Losses , and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any post - season play . " Official NFL records as of December 28 , 2008 ! rowspan = " 2 " style = " width : 5 % ; " | AFL / NFL Season ! rowspan = " 2 " style = " width : 5 % ; " | Team ' s season ! rowspan = " 2 " style = " width : 5 % ; " | League ! rowspan = " 2 " style = " width : 5 % ; " | Conference ! rowspan = " 2 " | Division ! colspan = " 4 " | Regular season ! rowspan = " 2 " | Post - season results ! rowspan = " 2 " | Awards ! Finish ! Wins ! Losses ! Ties ! align = " center " | 1960 ! align = " center " | 1961 ! align = " center " | 1962 ! align = " center " | 1963 ! align = " center " | 1964 ! align = " center " | 1965 ! align = " center " | 1966 ! align = " center " | 1967 ! align = " center " | 1968 ! align = " center " | 1969 ! align = " center " | 1970 ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | Craig Morton ( Comeback Player of the Year ) ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | Mike Croel ( Defensive Rookie of the Year ) ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | John Elway ( Super Bowl MVP ) ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | 2007 ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " | ! align = " center " rowSpan = " 3 " colSpan = " 6 " | Total ! align = " center " | 398 ! align = " center " | 363 ! align = " center " | 10 ! colSpan = " 2 " | " ( 1960 – 2010 , includes only regular season ) " ! align = " center " | 17 ! align = " center " | 15 ! align = " center " | - - ! colSpan = " 2 " | " ( 1960 – 2010 , includes only playoffs ) " ! align = " center " | 415 ! align = " center " | 378 ! align = " center " | 10 ! colSpan = " 2 " | " ( 1960 – 2010 , includes both regular season and playoffs ; 2 NFL Championships ) " As a result of the AFL - NFL Merger , the league was broken into two conferences , with the AFL teams moving into the American Football Conference . Due to the 1982 strike - shortened season , the league was broken up into two conferences instead of its normal divisional alignment . This game included The Drive , where Elway led the Broncos on a 98 yard drive to tie the game with less than a minute left . The strike of 1987 reduced the regular season schedule from sixteen to fifteen games . This game included The Fumble where Browns running back Earnest Byner fumbled at the Broncos 3 - yard line , enabling the Broncos to win the game .