page_title: History of the Denver Broncos
section_title: The Orton era
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Denver Broncos / The post-John Elway years / The Orton era
caption_attribution_description: English: Player entrance tunnel at Sports Authority Field at Mile High (known as Invesco Field at Mile High at the time this was taken).
context_page_description: The history of the Denver Broncos American football club began when the team was chartered a member of the American Football League in 1960. The Broncos have played in the city of Denver, Colorado throughout their entire history. The Broncos did not win any titles as members of the AFL. Since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, the Broncos have won 15 division titles, and played in eight Super Bowls, following the 1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 1998, 2013, and 2015 seasons. They won Super Bowl XXXII, Super Bowl XXXIII and Super Bowl 50. Their most famous player is former quarterback John Elway, starting quarterback in five Super Bowls and holder of many NFL records. The Broncos currently play in the National Football League's AFC West division. Their current leadership includes owner Pat Bowlen, CEO Joe Ellis, VP John Elway, and head coach Vic Fangio.
  For much of their first 3 decades, excluding teams in Texas, they were the only major pro football team between Kansas City and California. This distinction ended in 1988, when the Cardinals moved from St. Louis to Phoenix. The Broncos remain the only current AFC West team to never relocate or change its name.
context_section_description: With their new quarterback, Denver began 2009 well by winning the first six games. The first three wins included a rally at the Bengals, 12–7, as well as relatively easy wins vs. the Browns, 27–6, and Raiders, 23–3. The next three wins came against a tougher stretch of opponents, vs. the Cowboys, 17–10, vs. the Patriots, 20–17 in overtime, and Chargers, 34–23. The Broncos' revamped defense played a huge role in each of the six wins.
  But after the bye week, the team suddenly collapsed, losing four in a row. They managed to break their losing streak, with back-to-back routs of the Giants and Chiefs. Those would be the Broncos' last wins, as they dropped their remaining four matches, including a one-point loss to the Raiders at home followed by a close 30–27 defeat at the Eagles. Denver's last hope of getting into the playoffs ended with a 44–24 home loss to Kansas City. Ending the season with an 8–8 team record, Kyle Orton had 21 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 3,802 yards and a quarterback rating of 86.8.
  While starting out with a 6–0 record, an ankle injury against the Washington Redskins and injuries to the offensive line caused Orton to struggle late in the season. Despite putting up 431 yards in the regular season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs, it was two interceptions from Orton that brought the Broncos' season to a close and ended Denver's chance of a playoff appearance.
  With a potentially uncapped 2010 NFL season, Orton became a restricted free agent, but later signed a tender on April 16, 2010.
  Notable offseason roster moves included the trades of fullback Peyton Hillis (to the Cleveland Browns for quarterback Brady Quinn), wide receiver Brandon Marshall (to the Miami Dolphins for draft picks) and tight end Tony Scheffler (three-team trade with the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles), as well as the draft selections of Georgia Tech wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and All-American Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. Tebow was a heavily hyped draft pick, partly because Denver traded three draft picks to select him.
  On August 4, shortly after the start of training camp, the Broncos suffered a devastating blow to their defense, when outside linebacker/defensive end Elvis Dumervil suffered a torn pectoral muscle in practice. Though there was speculation that Dumervil would be able to return as early as November, he was placed on Injured Reserve on September 3, and missed the entire 2010 season. Also on August 4, the Broncos added free-agent running back and Denver native LenDale White to their roster. However, on September 2, during the team's last preseason game (at the Vikings), White suffered a torn Achilles tendon, and missed the entire 2010 season. On September 4, wide receiver Brandon Stokley was placed on injured reserve, and later released.
  The Broncos opened the 2010 season with a 24–17 loss to the Jaguars, in which the teams alternated scores, but the Broncos never led in the game. On September 14, two days after the loss to the Jaguars, the Broncos acquired running back Laurence Maroney in a trade from the New England Patriots (for a 2011 fourth-round selection). In Week 2, the Broncos cruised to a relatively easy 31–14 win against the Seattle Seahawks, in the team's home opener. On September 20, just a day after the win over the Seahawks, tragedy struck the Broncos organization, when wide receiver Kenny McKinley was found dead in his Centennial, Colorado home of an apparent suicide, at the age of 23. In Week 3, the Broncos lost 27–13 at home to the Indianapolis Colts. Kyle Orton threw for a career-high 476 yards, but the Broncos were plagued by red-zone miscues. In Week 4, the Broncos rallied for a 26–20 win at the Tennessee Titans. In Week 5, the Broncos lost 31–17 to the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, a venue that has been none too kind to the Broncos. In Week 6, the Broncos suffered a heartbreaking 24–20 loss at home to the Jets, aided by a costly pass interference penalty on safety Renaldo Hill that enabled the Jets to rally for the win in the game's final two minutes. In Week 7, the Broncos w
caption: Denver Broncos entrance
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