The Denver Broncos failed to post a winning record in 2023 and they did not qualify for the playoffs, but there’s still reason to be optimistic about the club’s future.

During his end-of-season press conference, Broncos owner/CEO Greg Penner detailed several areas of improvement under head coach Sean Payton.

“I think there are a number of reasons to be optimistic,” Penner said last week. “[No.] 1, we improved our win total. I expect that to go up next year. We broke some key streaks. It was great to get the win against the Chiefs. We have some other humps to get over in the future. We had some young players emerge, and significant improvement in special teams.”

Denver won eight games this season, not enough to qualify for the postseason, but it marked the most wins in a single season for the Broncos since 2016. Denver also snapped a 16-game losing streak to KC.

After after bringing in a new medical staff, the Broncos were also healthier in 2023 than they were in previous seasons.

“On the medical side, we haven’t talked about that much, but last year [at] the end of the season, we were really clear that we had to improve that for next year,” Penner said. “We’ve been one of the most injured teams for the last five to six seasons, and this year, we’re in the top in a lot of the metrics. Significant improvement there.”

The final area is harder to measure, but it can be seen: Payton has changed Denver’s culture.

“The biggest thing is the culture that sets the floor for how we can go from here and on that front,” Penner said. “Again, I’m very encouraged. We know we have a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be. This offseason is going to be a busy one.”

After a busy offseason, the Broncos will aim to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 in 2024. Penner believes Payton is the right man to take them there.