ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — As Owner & CEO Greg Penner spoke following the Broncos' first playoff berth in nearly a decade, he acknowledged the strides the organization made over the last several months.
"On behalf of ownership, I want to thank the players, coaches and all the staff for an incredible season," Penner said. "[They put in] a ton of hard work, and [I] couldn't be more proud of what they accomplished this year and getting us back to the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons."
Penner also directed a clear message to Broncos Country that the standards and expectations for 2025 will be even higher.
"The results of this last Sunday were not what we were hoping for or expecting, but I think the experience that the young team got will be critical for the future," Penner said. "I will say that while we are incredibly pleased with the progress and number of accomplishments this year, we don't at all feel like we are satisfied with where we are. We know that this offseason will be a critical one for us to build for the future.
"Our main message to [the fans] is we have our sights set really high, and we are going to be doing everything we can to continue to build a great team and compete for championships."
Among the Broncos' goals for the upcoming season is to narrow the gap between where they stand and the conference's elite teams in the Bills, Ravens and Chiefs.
"You're going to play teams like the Bills, like the Ravens, like the Chiefs [in the playoffs]," General Manager George Paton said. "And so, how do we get there? And really, that's our goal this whole offseason is [to] try to find that secret sauce. We need to have another really good offseason, another really good plan. I know we will."
The Broncos faced all three teams during the season, and Buffalo, Baltimore and Kansas City now represent three of the AFC's four remaining teams in the postseason. Denver knocked off the Chiefs' reserve players in the final week of the regular season and had a game-winning field-goal attempt in Kansas City in Week 10, but Denver's only two multi-score losses were at the hands of Baltimore and Buffalo.
Denver, though, trailed by just three points at halftime of its Wild Card Weekend loss to Buffalo — and Head Coach Sean Payton believed there wasn't much of a difference between the Broncos and Bills until the late stages of the game.
"I didn't see a gap last weekend until the second half," Payton said. "Then you see a gap because you're losing, but I felt really confident we could go in there, and play well and win. We obviously didn't play well enough. Those lines are much finer than we think. I use that term, 'There's a fine line between a groove and a rut.' It's a player, it's two players, it's the line of scrimmage, it's the kicking game. We're not looking backwards; we're looking ahead, and it starts with the division."
Following the loss in Buffalo, Payton referenced the need to play postseason games in Denver, which will require dethroning the Chiefs in the AFC West. As Penner looked ahead to 2025, he said competing for a division championship will be among Denver's top priorities.
"Our absolute goal next year is to win our division," Penner said.
And while accomplishing that goal will require plenty of work — Payton noted each offseason you "rake everything back down to rubble and you start again" — the Broncos feel more confident and better prepared than they were a year ago.
"Obviously we're still not there yet, and yet we're a lot closer than we were at this time a year ago," Payton said.
