Thirty years ago Tuesday, Springfield resident Homer Simpson was gifted ownership of the Denver Broncos by his former boss, Hank Scorpio. While they weren’t the Dallas Cowboys like Simpson wanted, acquiring the Broncos ended up being more beneficial in the long run.
Since Simpson’s NFL stake was revealed to viewers watching “The Simpsons” on Nov. 3, 1996, the Broncos have found their best success as a franchise, clearly under Simpson’s new leadership and his autographed Tom Landry hat, with 20 seasons at .500 or above, nine division titles and a 15-11 playoff record which includes three Super Bowl wins and four appearances. They are also 8-0 against Dallas, the only NFC team to not reach a conference championship, during this time.
Before Simpson, Denver only had seven division titles and four Super Bowl losses from 1960-95 alongside a 2-5 record against the Cowboys.
While Simpson maintained his loyalty to the Broncos in two later episodes, it was never explained what he did with his stake in the team during his timeline. In our timeline, the Broncos were bought by a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton in 2022 for $4.65B, which probably leant a pretty penny to Simpson in any universe.
Broncos are one of the strongest teams in the NFL
In all seriousness, though, no matter who owns the Broncos, the team is in prime position to reach the Super Bowl after falling short in the AFC Championship last season. They outscored the Kansas City Chiefs, 15-0, in the fourth quarter on Sunday to win, 28-24, their fourth straight, and took control of the AFC West. The victory was also Bo Nix’s 15th game-winning drive in his short three-year career.
Having a defense led by Alex Singleton, who already has a staggering 101 total tackles this season, that only surrenders 20.6 points per game and has 23 sacks is helpful too.
Denver will certainly be a buyer before the trade deadline on Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. ET, especially at the running back position. Fourth-round pick Jonah Coleman is becoming an emerging star in the backfield while the team is quickly losing faith in J.K. Dobbins. Those are the only two healthy backs it has right now, and it could use a veteran to help hold that position down.
It also remains hopeful for Nix to continue to return to his pre-injury form and for star WRs Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton to find more production, but the Broncos still discover ways to win regardless.
One thing’s for sure, though. Despite Homer claiming to Marge that she “doesn’t understand football,” owning the Broncos is “pretty good,” especially right now in the middle of a contending window.
