Are the Broncos rebuilding or regrouping for a return to the top?

Dec 27, 2016, 10:06 PM Updated: 10:17 pm

It has been six seasons since the Denver Broncos last played a meaningless Week 17 game, at least in terms of a playoff berth.

For five consecutive seasons, Denver found its way into the playoffs, whether it be with an 8-8 team led by Tim Tebow or with double-digit wins and Peyton Manning under center.

But with a 33-10 loss at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, the Broncos failed to make the tournament for the first time since 2010, when the team finished 4-12.

After that season began a new era for Denver, one with John Elway as a top executive and Von Miller chasing down quarterbacks.

But, much like back in 2010, does the Broncos’ Christmas Day letdown signify the start of a rebuilding effort? Or does Denver need only to regroup to make a return to the top of the AFC West?

Charles Johnson, co-host of “C.J. and Stokley,” posed that question Tuesday, ahead of Denver’s season finale against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

Johnson said that fans in Denver have grown accustomed to a level of excellence coming out of Dove Valley, which is a “tip of the cap” to a well-oiled Broncos organization. However, Johnson said in 2017 Denver doesn’t have the “luxury” of saying they’re just a move or two away from a return to dominance.

“The point is expectations need to be set properly. I think this team is now entering a rebuilding phase,” Johnson said.

For 2016, Johnson said it was Denver riding a wave of a Super Bowl championship while forgetting expectations for a team that saw Peyton Manning retire, several key defensive players leave in free agency and an offensive line that failed to live up to expectations.

“Rebuilding this franchise is more the probability than stepping right back into supremacy in the AFC or in the division or in the NFL period,” Johnson said, adding the team will have to deal with the “growing pains” of trying to determine who its quarterback will be, how to restructure the offensive line, and a defense that likely won’t match the brilliance of 2015.

However, Chad Brown, guest hosting in place of Brandon Stokley on Tuesday, said though a championship may be a “once in a generation kind of thing,” the Broncos are “very close” to being perennially in contention for a division title and playoff berths.

“I understand after a Super Bowl-winning year, the fans expectations and the media expectations are elevated. And it should be because you’ve got essentially the same group, minus the Hall of Fame quarterback coming back, and you would expect similar types of results. But, this team is not far off. It does not require a complete rebuild,” Brown said.

With a health C.J. Anderson returning in 2017, Brown said Denver’s running game would instantly improve. Couple that with shoring up the offensive line, and the Broncos could return to the playoffs, he said.

“If you can get that group to play together well and develop a consistent running game — it doesn’t have to be elite, it doesn’t have to be top 5, it just needs to have some consistency to it — then that makes it easier for the play-action passes. It makes it easier for the bootlegs and rollouts. It makes easier for Gary Kubiak or Greg Knapp or Rick Dennison — hopefully, it’s just one of them — next year calling plays that operate this offense at a high level,” Brown said.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.