DENVER — As the clock wound down toward the Broncos' first playoff berth in nearly a decade, Courtland Sutton and Garett Bolles shared a moment.

The last several years haven't been easy for the two longest-tenured Broncos, and they've endured a number of seasons that have ended too early for their liking.

Since Bolles got to Denver in 2017 — with Sutton arriving a year later — the Broncos haven't entered the final week of the season with a chance at a playoff berth. The two players have both cleaned out their lockers each year without a chance at postseason football.

"Through those dark times, through those seasons where we were playing the last three, four games of the season without playoff contention, those are those times where you have to lean on faith," Sutton said Sunday. "You have to understand that the picture is going to get bigger and better in the long haul.

"… We've been through the ugly. For us to be able to see this other side of it, and to be able to have this opportunity to continue this legacy of this season, man, this is really dope."

Both Sutton and Bolles said they always believed they'd reach the postseason during their careers, but the journey has been difficult. From seasons featuring long losing streaks to those with heart-wrenching, late-season defeats, the two elder statesmen of the Broncos' locker room have endured the tough moments.

And that made Sunday's victory even sweeter — and perhaps a little bit cathartic.

"Just through the ups and downs and hula hoops that we've had to jump through over the last couple years to get to this moment, it's very sweet," Bolles said. "I'm just grateful to be a part of it."

For the younger members of the Broncos' locker room, helping their veteran teammates make their first trip to the postseason was equally rewarding.

"Honestly, they deserve it, between them two," cornerback Pat Surtain II said. "I've seen in the locker room, the times where we've fallen short, the frustration, not being able to get it right, but now we're finally here embracing this mark, this opportunity. I'm proud for those guys, because they've been Broncos for a long time and they hadn't reached that moment or that point, but now seeing them being able to be successful and reaching this mark, it's a great opportunity for them. I'm very stoked for them, and I think it gives credit towards their loyalty towards the organization. Knowing things are going to get right. Knowing things are going to follow through. Before the season, we even said, 'This is the year where we reach that opportunity, where we reach that mark to reach the playoffs.' Without those guys in the locker room with their belief and leadership, there's no telling where this team would be, because their leadership has been very great for this team and very deserving."

Now, Sutton and Bolles — along with the rest of the locker room — will try to keep the journey going. And after a long stretch of postseason-free football, an opportunity is all Sutton wants.

"That's all you can ask for: to have a chance," Sutton said. "It's a really good feeling to just know that we have an opportunity to extend our season, to do something special and get this organization back on track to what it's known [for]. You look on the wall and you see all of the success that this organization has had. For the past nine years, we haven't held up our end of the bargain on the field. To be able to be in this spot where we get to continue this legacy of this season and to potentially do something special to get put up on this wall of past champions, it's a humbling experience."

Added Bolles: "We finally got what we needed to get … and now, let the games begin."