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NFL Analyst Floats Surprise AFC Team As Super Bowl Contenders

Could a team flying under the radar pull of a big shock?

Kyle Koster

The Denver Broncos have entered the Super Bowl conversation.
The Denver Broncos have entered the Super Bowl conversation. / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
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Every team's Super Bowl aspirations are very much alive and well as the NFL ramps up for the regular season, though there are a select group of franchises widely recognized as having far more opportunity to make it to the championship tilt than the others. The Denver Broncos are not among them, but ESPN's Mike Tannenbaum did his best to put them on the radar during Tuesday's First Take.

Asked what the ceiling is for Sean Payton's team led by second-year quarterback Bo Nix, Tannenbaum set the bar very high.

"Super Bowl," he said matter-of-factly.

Though his fellow panelists Marcus Spears and Stephen A. Smith seemed a bit taken aback by the take, Tannenaum was already rolling.

He pointed to his expectation that Nix, who was solid during his rookie year, would take another step and that the offense overall would be efficient. He also labeled the Broncos' defense as a championship-caliber unit.

Denver is coming off a 10–7 season and a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. This would be a tremendous jump considering the depth at the top of the AFC but there's a reason they play the games.

Of course, this may look a bit silly come December but if the Broncos really do emerge as one of the NFL's best teams, Tannenbaum gets to say he was first.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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