Broncos

Both were charter members of the American Football League (AFL), and the rivalry dates from that first season. The Broncos have stayed in Denver under the same name. The Kansas City Chiefs are the other divisional opponent Denver measures itself against.

The club began when Bob Howsam was awarded an AFL charter franchise in 1959. Denver won its first-ever league game, 13–10 against the Boston Patriots on September 9, 1960. The Broncos then spent a decade in the AFL before the merger took them into the NFL in 1970.

The 1970s gave the club its first identity. The "Orange Crush" defence of the late 1970s coincided with the first AFC title in 1977 and a division title the year after, with Red Miller as coach.

The Super Bowl came in a run of two. John Elway's side beat the Green Bay Packers 31–24 in Super Bowl XXXII in January 1998, then the Atlanta Falcons 34–19 a year later. Peyton Manning and Von Miller were part of the third, Super Bowl 50 in February 2016, a 24–10 win over the Carolina Panthers. Terrell Davis and Floyd Little, along with Elway, are among those in the Ring of Fame that owner Pat Bowlen started in 1984.

Mile High Stadium was the club's home from 1960 to 2000. The Broncos then moved next door, to what is now Empower Field at Mile High, which holds 76,125 in orange, navy and white.