The Broncos enter 2026 in unfamiliar territory for the franchise over the past decade.
They are the hunted. The reigning AFC West division champions and last year’s No. 1 seed in the conference.
They carry heavy expectations after coming just one win short of the Super Bowl.
They also already know they will play a rugged schedule, though the sequencing will not be fully unveiled until 6 p.m. Thursday.
What fun is waiting, though?
We know the opponents and the locations. We know how the story begins now that ESPN has announced the Broncos will open the season at Kansas City on Monday Night Football, a Sept. 14 capper to Week 1 in the NFL.
We don’t know the rest, but we are here to guess. Itap time for The Postap most meaningless time-honored tradition where Broncos beat reporters Parker Gabriel and Luca Evans guess the schedule.
It says here that Gabriel nailed the Week 16-18 stretch last year of vs. Jacksonville, at Kansas City and vs. the L.A. Chargers — though the Chiefs date was announced ahead of time.
Good luck getting anything right beyond the opener this year, let alone three in a row.
Gabriel’s schedule prediction
Week 1: at Kansas City (Monday Night Football)
Mark it down. One for one. ESPN will hit a home run with this one as long as Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes is on the field after tearing his ACL and LCL in December. If not, itap a mega advantage for the Broncos.
Week 2: vs. Miami
We know this game won’t be Buffalo (opening its new stadium Thursday night of Week 2) or the Chiefs. So, guessing should be easy, right? Well, not so much. Non-division home game feels right after the Broncos open on the road against K.C. The Jaylen Waddle Bowl arrives early.
Week 3: vs. Las Vegas
This would represent a chance for a hot start. The Broncos have to take advantage, given their overall rugged schedule.
Week 4: at New England (Sunday Night Football)
The rematch of the AFC Championship game arrives early and in prime time. Bo Nix and Drake Maye were in the same draft class, are friends and hung out at The Masters together this spring. Now they get their first matchup.
Week 5: at Carolina
The NFL gives head coach Sean Payton what he wants, putting two of Denver’s four East Coast road games back-to-back. Now the only question: A week at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, or somewhere else? Just a free thought, Sean: How about IMG Academy on Florida’s Gulf Coast, instead?
Week 6: L.A. Rams (Thursday Night Football)
A short week into a matchup between Sean Payton and Sean McVay. It would be almost a shame to get a matchup this good on Thursday night, but, hey. Dollars for the billionaires.
Week 7: at Arizona
Week 8: Buffalo
A midseason rematch of January’s AFC Divisional round classic. This time, if things are going well for the Broncos, there is no lurking ankle issue for Nix.
Week 9: at San Francisco
Week 10: Bye
Week 11: at Las Vegas
Week 12: at L.A. Chargers (Black Friday)
The Broncos, somehow, someway, are going to end up part of the NFL’s holiday scheduling. It feels inevitable. So, why not try something novel and slot them at SoFi — home of a Valentine’s Day Super Bowl, come to think of it — on Black Friday.
Week 13: Seattle (Sunday Night Football)
What a year for the AFC West and NFC West to square off. The reigning Super Bowl champs come to town in early December for what should be a terrific matchup. And a big, ol’ what-if for apountry given how close Denver was last year.
Week 14: at New York Jets
Week 15: Jacksonville
Big matchup, small market.
Week 16: L.A. Chargers
Week 17: at Pittsburgh
The final of four East Coast road games for Denver and one with potential postseason implications — especially if Aaron Rodgers A) actually signs with the Steelers as expected and B) is still upright as we ring in 2027.
Week 18: Kansas City
Why not? The Chiefs get the opener and the Broncos get the closer. Let this happen and let it be heads up for the division. Please and thank you.
Evans’ schedule prediction
Week 1: at Kansas City Chiefs (Monday Night Football)
Starting off with a bang. This one was cemented on Tuesday, and on the surface, kicking off the season at Arrowhead sounds less-than-ideal. But Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes is still somewhat up in the air for the start of the season after a late-season ACL tear in 2025, giving Denver a chance to see Mahomes with some rust and avoid this matchup later in the year.
Week 2: Miami Dolphins
The Jaylen Waddle revenge game. Is it revenge if Miami’s entire regime is different, with new head coach Jeff Hafley and new general manager Jon Eric-Sullivan? Not really. Still, an exciting early-season matchup with some extra motivation for the Broncos’ newest offensive weapon.
Week 3: at Carolina Panthers
Week 4: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Letap just copy-paste the 2024 East Coast trip here for funsies, when the Broncos just stayed on the other side of the country in between a Week 3 trip to Tampa Bay and a Week 4 trip to New York. That was this Broncos’ regime’s first introduction to Sean Payton’s beloved Greenbrier Resort, and the schedule could align again to give this Denver team another week of practicing and bonding up in West Virginia. The Greenbrier lies almost exactly in the middle between Charlotte and Pittsburgh. Itap too perfect not to happen.
Week 5: Bye
Yes, this is early in the year. But Denver has learned its lesson from last season, when the Broncos didn’t call for a bye after an early-season gauntlet: a Week 5 trip to Philadelphia, an immediate trip to London to play the Jets, and no bye before a trip home to play the Giants. The Broncos started off brutally sluggish in that famous Week 7 game, before exploding for a franchise-record 33 fourth-quarter points. Here, they target an off week after the East Coast trip.
Week 6: Jacksonville Jaguars
Hop right out of a bye and right into a brutal matchup. Jacksonville played Denver as well as any team in the regular season last year, and snapped an 11-game win streak with a 34-20 win over the Broncos in December 2025.
Week 7: at Arizona Cardinals
A midseason reunion with Nathaniel Hackett, now Arizona’s offensive coordinator.
Week 8: Buffalo Bills (Sunday Night Football)
Of course, the league will want to platform the rematch of one of last year’s great playoff duels between Bo Nix and Josh Allen. How about a little late-October primetime action? This matchup becomes even more juicy in 2026, with former Broncos defensive staffer Jim Leonhard now in Buffalo as the Bills’ defensive coordinator and dueling with new Broncos play-caller Davis Webb, a former Bills backup quarterback.
Week 9: at New York Jets
Week 10: at San Francisco 49ers (Sunday Night Football)
This intra-conference clash seems primed for primetime treatment — and not on a Thursday night, when a short week of practice could stunt the potential offensive chess match between Sean Payton and Kyle Shanahan.
Week 11: Los Angeles Chargers
Week 12: Seattle Seahawks (Thanksgiving, Thursday Night Football)
Letap set up a sheer defensive slugfest on a holiday. No way either Denver’s or Seattle’s offenses are at full operating power here. That’ll set the stage for the No. 1 defense in 2025 (Seahawks) and No. 3 defense to muck it up.
Week 13: at Las Vegas Raiders
Week 14: Kansas City Chiefs
Back-to-back AFC West slate here, as the divisional standings get tight late in the season. The Chiefs’ home matchup later in the year is considerably more favorable than a November or December trip to Arrowhead.
Week 15: Los Angeles Rams
Week 16: at Los Angeles Chargers
Back-to-back Los Angeles matchups, in two different settings. Rams-Broncos should be a dynamic showcase of offensive weaponry, and this Chargers Week 16 showcase could shift the entire tide on divisional standings.
Week 17: at New England (Christmas)
The NFL will want this AFC Championship rematch on the grandest stage possible. What better than Christmas? Nix and Drake Maye finally square off in a matchup that could have massive conference-seeding implications, and could feature a blizzard in Foxborough instead of a blizzard in Denver this time around.
Week 18: Las Vegas Raiders
