Denver Broncos

3 reasons the Denver Broncos can win the Super Bowl

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:36 p.m. ET

Alex Marvez

Orange Crush redux

The dominance of Denver's 2015 defense should make members of the vaunted 1970s Orange Crush units proud. In his first year back as coordinator, Wade Phillips helped the Broncos finish as the NFL's top-ranked group by allowing an average of just 283.1 yards a game. That marked the first time the franchise had ever achieved such heights. One key was Denver leading the NFL in sacks with 52. The beauty in that was the variety of personnel who affected the quarterback. Fourteen different defenders registered at least a half-sack, paced by outside linebacker Von Miller with 11.

A mile-high edge

Whether it's the 5,280-foot altitude, deafening crowd noise, weather conditions or a combination of all three, Denver historically enjoys a distinct home-field advantage despite opening playoff losses in two of the previous three seasons. The Broncos have a 15-5 all-time mark in home postseason games and went 6-2 this season.

The AFC's No. 1 seed

Besides giving Denver an extra week of rest, the bye is especially important as Broncos coaches try to formulate offensive game plans for potential opponents. While no announcement was made last Monday by head coach Gary Kubiak, it would be surprising if Peyton Manning wasn't given the first-string nod at quarterback now that he has sufficiently recovered from a foot injury that sidelined him for seven starts. Manning hasn't performed at his previous Hall of Fame level in 2015, which stems largely from a combination of injury, age (39) and a bumpy transition to Kubiak's West Coast-style offense. Manning, though, could have better support in the playoffs than earlier in the season. The Broncos bumped up their rushing attack in his absence, averaging 135.1 yards over the final seven games compared to 86.0 in the first nine.