John Elway (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
John Elway knows better than anybody what it takes to win in a Denver Broncos uniform.
The winningest quarterback in franchise history won two Super Bowls and led the franchise to five total Super Bowl appearances during his 16 seasons with the franchise.
The Broncos are looking to recapture some of that glory with their new franchise quarterback, Bo Nix. The second-year quarterback led Denver to their first playoff appearance in nine years last season. He’s coming off the biggest win of his career, a 14-point comeback against the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in the fourth quarter.
It was just the second time in franchise history that the Broncos have overcome such a deficit on the road in the fourth quarter. Elway calls it a “signature” win for Denver after losing tight games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts.
Prior to their win over the Eagles, the Broncos had been 2-8 in one-possession games since the start of the 2024 season.
“That’s the thing, they lost those two previous games as they were ahead in both of those games, and then couldn’t close it out,” says Elway in a one-on-one interview with RG. “For them to be down by 14 going into the fourth quarter in Philly against the world champs and all that answers a lot of questions for them and everybody in the organization, as well as that team. To know that they got to learn how to close games, and they definitely learned how to close it yesterday. Now they know that they can do that.”
Elway doubles down on how “signature” a win it was for the Broncos to defeat the Eagles. Denver now has an easier path over the coming weeks with games against the New York Jets, New York Giants, and Dallas Cowboys.
“For teams that are good at closing football games, they do it, and they continue to do it, and they have the confidence they can do it,” says Elway. “When you lose two that you should have won, that you didn’t close out, now you’re going to Philly against the defending champs to prove yourself that, ‘Hey, listen, we can close out games, and we’re never out of a football game.”
Elway Gives Nix His Flowers
The 65-year-old Hall of Fame great gives major credit to Nix, calling him a “good young football player.” He also compliments the front office, including Broncos general manager George Paton, for putting together the defense and the 53-man roster.
“Bo Nix is a really good young football player,” says Elway of Nix. “The sky’s the limit for him. He’s just going to continue to get better and better. George Payton’s done a hell of a job with the personnel, putting good people on that on the field. He’s done a hell of a job with that defense.”
“People always say good wide receivers and running backs are always a quarterback’s best friend, but I would say that that defense is always the quarterback’s best friend,” Elway continues to say. “Because they always give you a chance. If they’re playing great defense — and they played well enough to keep the Broncos in the game — and they were able to offensively get that momentum, make the plays they needed to make and get that big key victory.”
Elway notes that it will be interesting to see if the Broncos can continue their momentum following their big win over the Eagles. That’s a key part of the “maturity process” in ensuring there is no letdown in the coming weeks.
“That’s all part of the maturity process,” says Elway. “They got to go over to London playing the Jets, they’re going to be out of their rhythm a little bit because it’s different time zones. They’re going over there now already. That’s a good thing to get adjusted to that time zone. With the youth that they have all these lessons, they can learn these lessons and come out with victories. It just adds to that base of things that they have confidence, that they have to where they could be set for a long time.”
Super Bowl in Denver?
The Hall of Fame quarterback believes the Broncos can potentially compete for a Super Bowl this season. He says injury-wise, they’re in the best shape of any team in the AFC West.
The Broncos are currently 3-2 and at the top of the division with the Chargers. The Kansas City Chiefs are currently 2-3.
“Injury-wise, they’re probably in the best shape of anybody,” says Elway. “I think the Chargers are banged up. The Chiefs are always going to be the Chiefs. They’ve had three, four long seasons in a row. They started really slow last year also. I think that you always have to be wary of the Chiefs, just because Patrick Mahomes is such a great player, they’ve got a lot of veterans on that team.”
“It’s hard to say five games into a season if they’re the best team at this point in time,” says Elway of the Broncos. “But they’ve got to be the best team at the end of the year. Time will tell, the ability is there, and they can do that. They’ve proven that and shown that. It’ll be interesting to watch how the season plays out. If they can continue to stay healthy and continue to grow like they grew yesterday by beating the Eagles, there’s no doubt that they can compete in the AFC, they can compete for the AFC title, and even get to the Super Bowl, in my opinion.”
Elway does warn that there’s a lot of season left, but says the ability is “there.”
“There’s obviously 12 more games left,” says Elway. “A lot of things can happen, but the ability is there, the want is there, and to continue to get the experience. If they can just continue to build on this, the sky’s the limit for them.”