ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos' 2026 schedule was released Thursday along with the rest of the NFL slate.
With nine road games this season, including four in the Eastern time zone, coach Sean Payton's recovery strategies for the players will be put to the test. Payton has used a variety of sleep studies and other information to chart how to best navigate the practice and meeting schedules after those multi-time zone road trips. The Broncos do get their bye, in Week 10, after a trip to Carolina in Week 9.
The Broncos have five standalone games, including a "Monday Night Football" matchup with the Chiefs in Week 1 and games on Black Friday and Christmas Day. And with 10 games against teams that made the playoffs last season, including both Super Bowl participants and the NFC runner-up Rams, it is a far more rugged slate than what the Broncos faced last season en route to a 14-3 record and the AFC's No. 1 seed.
The first six weeks alone feature games against teams that finished a combined 68-34 last season, including the Super Bowl champion Seahawks in Week 6 in Empower Field at Mile High on "Thursday Night Football."
Here's what's in store for the Broncos:
Broncos 2026 regular-season schedule
Week 1: Sept. 14 at Kansas City Chiefs (MNF) Week 2: Sept. 20 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Week 3: Sept. 27 vs. Los Angeles Rams (SNF) Week 4: Oct. 4 at San Francisco 49ers Week 5: Oct. 11 at Los Angeles Chargers Week 6: Oct. 15 vs. Seattle Seahawks (TNF) Week 7: Oct. 25 at Arizona Cardinals Week 8: Nov. 1 vs. Chiefs Week 9: Nov. 8 at Carolina Panthers Week 10: Bye Week 11: Nov. 22 vs. Las Vegas Raiders Week 12: Nov. 27 at Pittsburgh Steelers (Black Friday) Week 13: Dec. 6 vs. Miami Dolphins Week 14: Dec. 13 at New York Jets Week 15: Dec. 20 at Raiders Week 16: Dec. 25 vs. Buffalo Bills (Christmas) Week 17: Jan. 2 or 3 at New England Patriots Week 18: Jan. 9 or 10 vs. Chargers
Strength of schedule: The Broncos have the 18th-easiest schedule in the league (opponents had a.512 winning percentage in 2025). DraftKings over/under win total: 9.5 ESPN analyst Mike Clay's projected win total: 10.9
Biggest takeaway
The Broncos will have to do the bulk of their work in the AFC West early. Last season, the Broncos had three of their six division games over the last five weeks of the season, including the Chiefs and the Chargers in the final two games. This time around, the Broncos will have played four of their division games before Thanksgiving and have only two division games over the final seven weeks of the season.