The Denver Broncos could win the Super Bowl this season.
That is something many fans inside Broncos Country feel could happen, but now a former NFL general manager is jumping on the potential bandwagon. Mike Tannenbaum, who served as general manager of the New York Jets from 2006-12 and Executive Vice president of football operations for the Miami Dolphins from 2015-2018, loves what the Broncos are doing. Here is what he had to say on First Take on ESPN on Tuesday.
.@RealTannenbaum believes the Super Bowl is the ceiling for the Broncos and Bo Nix 👀 pic.twitter.com/TLE2StiRG7
— First Take (@FirstTake) August 5, 2025
When asked by the show's host, Molly Qerim, what the Broncos' ceiling is this year, Tannenbaum quickly replied, "Super Bowl". This drew a funny look from Stephen A. Smith, but Tannenbaum went on to state his case.
"Bo Nix played really good football and he's gonna get better and take another step. That offense is gonna be really efficient. But you look at the other side of the ball, guys, that is a championship defense. We're talking about Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper and then they went out and added two guys from San Francisco, Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga; they took Jahdae Barron in the first round... that's a championship defense and I think, an efficient offense.
If coach Belichick was sitting here, guys, he would always talk about how teams lose games in the NFL before you ever have to win it... this offense is gonna be a lot like Buffalo's, where they're gonna be efficient, they may not be flashy, they have a smart quarterback who's an underrated athlete and I'll tell ya, this defense is outstanding. We're gonna be talking about Vance Joseph as a viable head coaching candidate coming down the stretch", said Tannebaum.
READ: Bill Belichick makes the case for former Broncos coach to be in Hall of Fame
Smith was given a chance for a rebuttal and he disagreed with Tannenbaum's take, mostly pointing out that Sean Payton has only been to the Super Bowl one time. Marcus Spears, another analyst on the show and a former NFL player himself, also chuckled at Tannenbaum's prediction, so it's clear that, by and large, the national media won't see the Broncos as a true Super Bowl contender.
But the fact that this debate can even take place, considering where the Broncos were just two years ago, is a victory in itself.
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