D-I-S-R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Like Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin, the Denver Broncos and the Jacksonville Jaguars have been askin’ for a little respect. Both teams continued to claim they’ve been disparaged, disregarded, disdained, dissed like they’re in the back of the line at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Well, guess what? The Broncos or the Jaguars will get their proper respect Sunday. One or the other could be a conference No. 1 Seed. The leaders of the AFC West and South Divisions confront each other at Mile High 2. Jacksonville once won a Very Big Game at Mile High 1, and Denver won VBG a year later. Now it’s another era and century at Mile High 2.

The Broncos have been victorious in 11 straight games this season and 12 home games since last season. The Jaguars are on a five-game winning streak – as they were in the 1996 when they defeated the Broncos in the No. 6 ranked all-time upset in the NFL postseason.

The Jaguars could, or should, be the Broncos’ toughest, trickiest team test this term.

The grand Duke of Denver John Elway once said: “I’ve lost three Super Bowls, but my worst loss ever was to Jacksonville.’’ And Mike Shanahan said the most devastating defeat of his coaching career was the startling upset against Jacksonville.

The 12-2 Broncos confront the 10-4 Jagwarriors with quarterbacks Bo Nix and Trevor Lawrence. They weren’t alive yet for Jan. 4, 1997, when the upstart Jaguars burst the Broncos bubble.

The Broncos are only 2 ½-point favorites (the equivalent of the home field supposed difference) vs. the Jax Jags,  who already have beaten the rest of the AFC West teams – the Chiefs 31-28, the Raiders 30-29 and the Chargers 35-8 (who won the game with the Broncos). The Jaguars also have prevailed against three other teams the Broncos also defeated – the Titans, the Texans and the Jets – and another against the Colts, who won by one over the Broncos.

In their franchise history the Jaguars have vanquished the Broncos four times in eight games in Denver, including “the worst loss’ and most devastating defeat.”

Expert eyewitnesses to events 28 years ago believe the 1996 Broncos roster was superior to the 1997 and 1998 back-to-back Super Bowl championship teams and the two Super Bowl teams of the Peyton Manning era. The 1996 Broncos included five eventual Hall of Famers, nine Pro Bowl selections and eight Ring of Fame honorees. Shanahan was in his second year as head coach.

The ’96 Broncos had a 13-3 record and were 12-1 before losing two of their last three. They were the No. 1 seed and earned a bye, then a home game against the Jagwads, who began the season with seven losses in 11 games before winning their final five and getting one of the three wild-card spots. Jacksonville slipped past the Bills 30-27 and came to Denver, which hadn’t lost a home game, as serious underdogs.

On a 46-degree sunny Saturday at the original Mile High Stadium the Broncos scored a touchdown 8:38 into the opening quarter. The extra point kick was blocked. Elway passed for an 18-yard touchdown to Shannon Sharpe with 33 seconds to go in the period. The two-point attempt failed. The Jaguars responded with two field goals around a touchdown to take a 13-12 lead just before halftime. The Jaguars would score on five straight possessions to be up 23-12 with under 11 minutes remaining in the game. Terrell Davis scored on a two-yard burst and added the two-point conversion, but the Jaguars went back up by 10 with 3:37 showing. Elway threw a 15-yard touchdown to Ed McCaffrey in an 80-yard, 90-second drive with 1:49 remaining, but Jacksonville held onto the ball to win 30-27.

Jacksonville coach Tom Coughlin proclaimed on the national broadcast afterward his team won because a Denver newspaper sports columnist disrespected the Jaguars. He should have praised his players.

The Broncos were denied a chance to play in the AFC Championship or their fourth Super Bowl, but they would have a playoff rematch a year later and a 42-17 blowout of the Jaguars before winning consecutive titles.

The Broncos could have been the only NFL franchise in history to win three straight Super Bowls. Jacksonville never has played in the Super Bowl. Both are eager Sunday.

This time the Jaguars or the Broncos again will be R-E-S-P-E-C-T-E-D and maybe become S-U-P-E-R.