While offering an assessment of raucous home crowds the Broncos have had this season, longtime fans Jim Denning and Steve Merich both offered a confession Friday.

Both Denning, who has been a season-ticket holder since 1986, and Merich, who has been one since 1988, admitted they left early Denver’s game against the New York Giants on Oct. 19 at Empower Field at Mile High.

“I don’t like to admit it, but I was one of the probably 30 to 40 percent of the people that left early,’’ said Denning, 62, of Keenesburg.

Denning and Merich were sitting in different sections on the north side but are good f,riends and they communicated by phone. They and two others opted to leave when Denver fell behind 26-8 with 10 minutes left in the game. The Broncos, who had trailed 19-0 early in the fourth quarter, ended up scoring 33 points in the quarter for a stunning 33-32 win.

“We went to a bar and did a shot of tequila and made an oath that we would never leave again until the clock shows all zeroes,’’ said Merich, 58, of Brighton.

OK, there have been some bumps in the road this season for Broncos fans. There was plenty of booing in the game against the Giants before Denver made the late rally. And there was lots of booing when the Broncos barely beat the hapless Las Vegas Raiders 10-7 on Thursday Night Football on Nov. 6.

“But they’re not booing anymore, so that’s all that matters,’’ said Denver tackle Mike McGlinchey.

The fans sure aren’t. In their last two home games, the Broncos defeated Kansas City 22-19 on Nov. 19 and Green Bay 34-26 last Sunday before crowds McGlinchey called “deafening.” That extended the overall winning streak of the Broncos (12-2) to 11 games and their home winning streak to 12 games, both the longest current runs in the NFL.

“It felt like a playoff atmosphere the last couple home games,’’ said Denver cornerback Riley Moss.

The Broncos expect it to be another playoff-like game Sunday when they face Jacksonville at home. The Jaguars (10-4) still have a chance to overcome Denver to land the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed.

With that in mind, head coach Sean Payton talked Friday plenty about what the homefield advantage means to the Broncos in terms of crowd noise and the altitude of 5,280 feet.

“We’re gifted with the altitude,’’ Payton said. “That’s just where we’re located, so no one gets credit for that except whoever decided to move the team here. But the crowd noise when (the opposing quarterback) enters the huddle, it’s amazing. … That noise factor prior to the huddle beginning is a big thing. … That’s stressful. Creating that stress is a big advantage.”

Thanks to the altitude, Payton told the offense on the sideline during the fourth quarter last Sunday that the Packers were “gassed.” That helped Denver outscore Green Bay 20-3 to close the game after having fallen behind 23-14 in the third quarter.

Fans in the south stands honor former Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas at the start of the game against the New York Giants Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. Thomas was inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame at halftime. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)

“We feed off the energy (of the crowd) to keep us going late in a game,’’ McGlinchey said. “And we’re definitely more used to (the altitude) than everybody else. It’s definitely a huge advantage.”

While fans have learned well to stay quiet when the Broncos are on offense, they shout their lungs out when Denver is on defense. The Packers had three penalties for false starts, with crowd noise being a factor.

“You could see this past game with the false starts and the miscommunication that the fans have been incredible,’’ said Broncos defensive lineman Zach Allen, who had six quarterback hits on Jordan Love, with the crowd noise helping. “So, credit to them. …. It’s a really special place to play, and we’re really fortunate to be here.”

Allen, 28 and in his seventh NFL season, grew up watching plenty of football on television. He remembers seeing how dominant the Broncos were at home when Peyton Manning was their quarterback from 2012-15.

“During the Peyton days, you always kind of saw that people couldn’t really come to Mile High and win,’’ Allen said.

The Broncos haven’t lost at home for 14 months, having fallen 23-16 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 13, 2024. If they defeat the Jaguars, they would move into a tie with a Manning-led bunch for the second-longest regular-season home winning streak in team history.

The record is 24 straight from 1996-98. In second place for now is a 13-game streak from 2012-13 with Manning behind center and a 13-game run from 2004-06.

“I’ve really noticed it this year,’’ Denning said about how loud Empower Field has been. “In the last several years, it got really quiet and not very enthusiastic, but the Kansas City game felt like a playoff game. The Kansas City game felt like that for the first time since the Super Bowl 50 season (of 2015) and then the Green Bay game was just like it. You could feel the vibration (of the stadium).”

After that Super Bowl win, the Broncos didn’t make the playoffs again until last season. Since arriving in 2023, Peyton has steadily built Denver back to being a Super Bowl contender.

Denning said the noise level this season is similar to when the Broncos had the 24-game home winning streak during seasons that included winning two Super Bowls. Merich, though, said it’s hard to compare noise at Empower Field, which opened in 2001, to Mile High Stadium, which was closed the season before.

“It’s loud at this stadium, but at the old Mile High fans were closer to the field and with the crowd stomping on the bleachers at old Mile High, this stadium doesn’t shake like the old Mile High,’’ Merich said. “It’s a different kind of noise, but it’s as loud as you can get with (Empower Field).”

The noise level has been just fine this season for Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

“The fans help a lot,’’ Surtain said. “You can feel their energy throughout the game and it obviously has a big effect on our opponents. (The fans) all rally together for us. It gets louder each and every snap.”

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) points to the fans after defeating the Green Bay Packers 34-26 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Sunday, December 14, 2025. (The Gazette, Michael G. Seamans)

Cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian said it gets “especially loud on third down” when fans “come up big for us” with the hope of helping prevent a first down by a foe.

“They just make us want to play harder for them, the fan base,’’ McMillian said. “We love Broncos Country. We’re excited for another home game (Sunday). We just want to keep putting on a show for those guys. When they continue to show up for us, we’re going to continue to show up for them.”

And if the Broncos again don’t show up for a long time in a game, you better believe Denning and Merich won’t be leaving early.