Remember all that optimism in the spring of 2022, with a brand new, energetic head coach and the chance the Denver Broncos may reunite him with his QB from Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers? Sure was an exciting time.

Not long thereafter, Rodgers said 'nope' to Denver and Russell Wilson landed in the Mile High City instead. The new coach bombed in a big, big way and was fired before the end of his first season. That excitement was all pretty short lived.

Former Broncos head coach and current Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett has seen his share of ups and downs. In his first season since being fired by Denver, his Jets managed to defeat Wilson, his former QB and Sean Payton, his former team's new head coach. That was a low point for Broncos fans last year, to be sure.

Fast forward another year and it was not Hackett's day. Aaron Rodgers looked pretty mediocre - even if he did throw for more than 200 yards. Those yards didn't lead to many points, with the Broncos defense keeping them out of the end zone the entire game.

The Broncos offense continued to sputter - QB Bo Nix only threw for 60 yards, but did manage his first career touchdown pass, caught by Courtland Sutton.

In the end, the Broncos defense managed to do enough when it mattered most and the Broncos secured the win with a missed FG by Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein.

With the pretty uneventful 10-9 win, the Broncos climb to 2-2 on the year and the Jets fall to 2-2.

Elsewhere in the AFC West, the Chiefs beat the Chargers to stay undefeated on the year and the Raiders beat the Browns today, leaving Denver, Los Angeles and Las Vegas all tied for second place in the division at 2-2.

The Good, The Great, The Ugly — The 19 Head Coaches of the Denver Broncos

On February 6, 2023, Sean Payton became the 19th Head Coach of the Denver Broncos. Here's a look at all of those coaches, and how they did.

Gallery Credit: Dave Jensen

See the Denver Broncos Full 2024-25 Season Schedule

The 2024-2025 season is right around the corner, and it just might be the year the Denver Broncos finally rebound to become a competitive team. With a cupcake schedule like the one below, there's no reason the team can't make a run for the playoffs (finally)!

Gallery Credit: Wesley Adams

More From K99