Is it now or never for the Denver Broncos?

The Denver Broncos will play the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. As the underdog, is it now or never for the Broncos to win another Lombardi Trophy?

The Denver Broncos won a spectacular game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sunday over the rival New England Patriots, 20-18, to cement the Broncos’ eighth trip to the Super Bowl, the second in the Peyton Manning era (2012-present).

While the Broncos boast arguably the best defense in football, headlined by linebacker Von Miller and cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris, Jr., the offense of the Broncos has been suspect at best in 2015. Manning is 39 years old and has nowhere near the arm strength he once had when he arrived in Denver in 2012.

The running game of head coach Gary Kubiak doesn’t have the bite of a Mike Shanahan zone blocking rushing attack. Talented wide receivers like Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas have had a proclivity of dropping passes in 2015. Despite winning the 2015 AFC Championship, is the window of opportunity closing for the Broncos? Is Super Bowl 50 their last chance to win a Lombardi Trophy with this corps intact?

Simply put, this is Manning’s last chance to win a Super Bowl. However, the Broncos could again ride their defense in the next three seasons and hope that Manning’s eventual replacement in backup quarterback Brock Osweiler can progress in years five through seven in the league.

Denver will need to find an explosive running back in the middle rounds of the next NFL Draft or two, but with Kubiak’s ultra-conservative offensive game plan, the Broncos can continue to win at a high level for the foreseeable future.

However, the Broncos cannot afford to lose another offensive weapon this offseason like they did when Pro Bowl tight end Julius Thomas signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and that upstart offense built around quarterback Blake Bortles.

Losing defensive coordinator Wade Phillips may end up being the Broncos’ biggest concern. Phillips is 68 years old and though he is arguably the best defensive coordinator in the game, how much longer will he continue to coach in the NFL?

For now, the best way to try to understand if the Broncos can win a Super Bowl in 2016 and beyond is to have a better understanding on who could stand in the way in getting to one in major contenders in the AFC.

The New England Patriots stand as the Broncos’ biggest threat on returning to a Super Bowl next year and beyond. As long as New England has Tom Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick as head coach, the Patriots will remain the favorites to win the AFC East annually and contend for Super Bowls.

In the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs pose the biggest threat to the Broncos in the hopes to get back to another Super Bowl. Now that Kansas City proved that they can win an AFC Playoff Game under head coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs have the defense and the offensive game plan to win in January.

Don’t forget about the Oakland Raiders either, as they have an up-and-coming offense centered around quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Amari Cooper. Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio, a former linebacker himself, has a defensive stalwart in outside linebacker Khalil Mack that is about to be a star in the NFL if he isn’t already.

Other teams that could get in the way of the Broncos’ quest for Lombardi Trophy No. 3, assuming they are unable to beat the Panthers in Super Bowl 50, include the Cincinnati Bengals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Indianapolis Colts, and the New York Jets. Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis will all be better at quarterback once Manning retires and the Jets’ Ryan Fitzpatrick was a better playmaker than Osweiler in 2015.

To bring it all back home, it won’t be easy for the Broncos to win another Super Bowl in the next three seasons should they fail to for the sixth time on February 7th. However, with a certain first round bye, a down AFC, and most importantly a devastating prototypical Orange Crush defense, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that the Broncos can’t hoist a Lombardi Trophy after the Manning era comes to an end in Denver.

Until proven otherwise, Denver is an AFC Playoff team that has a chance to win a Super Bowl every year. However, this is Manning’s last opportunity so he better make the most of it in two weeks.