Broncos Tie Record by Reaching Super Bowl for 8th Time

The Denver Broncos matched an all-time record with Sunday's 20-18 win over the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, joining the Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys as the only franchises to reach the Super Bowl eight times, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Of course, while the Steelers (6-2), Cowboys (5-3) and Patriots (4-4) have all been somewhat successful in the big game, the Broncos own a measly 2-5 record in Super Bowls, having notably lost three within a span of four seasons from 1986 to 1989.

The franchise also came up short in the big game at the end of the 1977 and 2013 seasons, but all of the misery was largely overshadowed by back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998, the final two seasons of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway's playing career.

Now serving as the franchise's general manager and executive vice president of football operations, the 55-year-old Elway has been with the Broncos in some capacity for seven of the team's eight Super Bowl appearances.

Current quarterback Peyton Manning has been in Denver for just two of the trips, but he also made a couple of Super Bowl appearances for the Indianapolis Colts, making him the only signal-caller to reach the big game multiple times for two different teams.