Denver Broncos in Inglewood tickets

The Denver Broncos began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League, and they won the first AFL game ever contested, a 13-10 decision over the Boston Patriots on September 9, 1960. In 1967 they became the first AFL team to defeat an NFL club, topping the Detroit Lions 13-7 in a preseason game. The AFL years were lean overall, a 39-97-4 record across ten seasons, but the pieces came together once the decade turned: a first winning season in 1973, then a breakout 1977 campaign in which the Orange Crush defense fueled a 12-2 record, the franchise's first playoff berth, and an appearance in Super Bowl XII, where the Dallas Cowboys won 27-10.

Two signature runs define the modern franchise. John Elway arrived via trade in 1983, stabilizing a quarterback position the team had shuffled through more than two dozen starters in 23 seasons, and led Denver to three Super Bowls in the 1980s. He closed his career with back-to-back championships, a 31-24 win over the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII and a 34-19 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII. Peyton Manning's four seasons from 2012 to 2015 brought the next great stretch, a record-setting 2013 offense that reached Super Bowl XLVIII and a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 behind a defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL that season. The franchise has won eight AFC championships and 16 AFC West titles in all.

Home games unfold at Empower Field at Mile High, which replaced the old Mile High Stadium in 2001 and sits exactly 5,280 feet above sea level. The altitude and the crowd work as a package: the Broncos posted the best home record in professional football from 1974 to 2006, a 191-65-1 mark, they have never been shut out at home, and the stadium's home-field edge is regarded as one of the best in the NFL. Every home game since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger has sold out. When the Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, or Los Angeles Chargers come to town, the decades of AFC West history take the noise up another level, which is why Broncos tickets for division games are the ones locals plan around first.