© 2025 ALLCITY Network Inc.
All rights reserved.

Just happened to catch a Denver TV station sportscast earlier this week, and the anchor wrapped things up with a feature commentary on why your Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback for 2016 “doesn’t matter.”
In the least.
This sports anchor – I’ll spare the unsolicited plug, but (key hint here) he does employ certain props that rhyme with the word “hobbledeads” – made it a point to inform his viewers that he actually believes any QB from Mark Sanchez to rookie Paxton Lynch to John Elway (that’s the soon-to-be-56-year-old John Elway) could line up under center starting Sept. 8 and the Orange & Blue will wind up right back in the thick of the race for the Super Bowl LI crown thanks to their all-world defense.
Couldn’t have disagreed more – on the quarterback part, that is, as the Denver ‘D’ should be quite formidable again – and Broncos Country needs to take heed as well.
The Broncos’ 2016 starting QB – whether he’s veteran acquired in a trade, a first-round rookie or simply a bridge starter if the current circumstances don’t allow Elway and Co. to line up their man this offseason – does matter.
Quite a bit, as a matter of fact, if you’ve been paying even the slightest bit of attention to your NFL history.
Let’s start with that all-world Broncos’ defense, which led the league in sacks and fewest total and fewest passing yards allowed this past regular season and was much better during the team’s three-game postseason mark to the Lombardi Trophy platform in Santa Clara.
That dominating playoff stretch earned Von Miller’s crew well-deserved comparisons to the greatest defenses in Super Bowl history. But let’s take a quick look at five of the most recent defenses in that very conversation and extrapolate things beyond those special Super seasons:
1985 Chicago Bears
Regular-season record: 18-1
League ranks in points, total yards allowed: 1, 1
Following season record: 14-3 (lost in divisional round of playoffs)
League ranks in points, total yards allowed: 1, 1
Next Super Bowl won: Still waiting
2000 Baltimore Ravens
Final record: 16-4
League ranks in points, total yards allowed: 1, 2
Following season record: 11-7 (lost in divisional round)
League ranks in points, total yards allowed: 4, 2
Next Super Bowl won: 2012
2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Final record: 15-4
League ranks in points, total yards allowed: 1, 1
Following season record: 7-9 (missed playoffs)
League ranks in points, total yards allowed: 4, 5
Next Super Bowl won: Still waiting
2008 Pittsburgh Steelers
Final record: 15-4
League ranks in points, total yards allowed: 1, 1
Following season record: 9-7 (missed playoffs)
League ranks in points, total yards allowed: 12, 5
Next Super Bowl won: Still waiting
2013 Seattle Seahawks
Final record: 16-3
League ranks in points, total yards allowed: 1, 1
Following season record: 14-5 (lost Super Bowl)
League ranks in points, total yards allowed: 1, 1
Next Super Bowl won: Still waiting
Notice a trend here?
We can glean several from this nuts-and-bolts data, but I’ll sum things up this way: The defenses for these defending Super Bowl champs still were rather formidable those follow-up seasons, but that still wasn’t enough to snare a follow-up Lombardi. In other words, it was a one-trick, one-title pony.
And the quarterback play – ranging from Jim McMahon’s injury-shortened season with the ’86 Bears to Russell Wilson’s ill-timed, last-minute end zone interception in Super Bowl XLIX – typically wound up playing significant roles in the denied repeats.
So there’s that angle.
Now, here’s the complete list of the eight teams who have managed to win back-to-back Super Bowls:
- 1966-67 Green Bay Packers
- 1972-73 Miami Dolphins
- 1974-75 Steelers
- 1978-79 Steelers
- 1988-89 San Francisco 49ers
- 1992-93 Dallas Cowboys
- 1997-98 Broncos
- 2003-04 New England Patriots
If you can name each franchise’s starting QB, you’ll quickly notice a trend here as well. (Hint: It has something to do with an existing bust – or an eventual bust – in a certain building in Canton, Ohio).
Now, sure, some of these teams possessed strong – and even great – defenses, top-notch head coaches and impressive all-around rosters, but the common denominator is that all eight repeat champs had a Hall-of-Fame – or a future Hall-of-Famer – QB under center.
No exceptions.
So Broncos Country (including our smiling Mr. Nobbleschmead), still think the quarterback doesn’t matter?
Comments
Share your thoughts
Join the conversation

The Comment section is only for diehard members
Scroll to next article
