The Broncos face a challenging 2026 season with a first-place schedule, playing top division winners and contending with a formidable home lineup.
DENVER — Capturing the AFC West Division and the No. 1 conference playoff seed once every decade is one thing. But do it two years in a row? The NFL parity plan makes it difficult.
The 2026 schedule has been set and the Denver Broncos, by virtue of finishing first in their division, will play a first-place schedule. That means they will play Division winning Jacksonville, Pittsburgh and Carolina.
The eight-game home schedule next season appears particularly rough as it includes five 11-win-plus opponents: The Rams, Seahawks, Chargers, Bills and Jaguars. (With an odd, 17-game schedule, the NFL rotates the 9th home game between AFC and NFC teams. The AFC had 9 home games in 2025; the NFC will get the 9th home game in 2026).
Next year’s Broncos’ schedule features games against the entire NFC West and AFC East. And of course, the Broncos will have home-and-home games against their three divisional rivals: Chiefs, Chargers and Raiders.
Here are the Broncos’ home-and-road opponents with the order, dates and times to be announced in May:
Home Opponents
Rams, NFC WestSeahawks, NFC WestChargers, AFC WestChiefs, AFC WestRaiders, AFC WestBills, AFC EastDolphins, AFC EastJaguars, AFC South
Road Opponents
Chargers, AFC WestChiefs, AFC WestRaiders, AFC WestPatriots, AFC EastJets, AFC EastCardinals, NFC West49ers, NFC WestSteelers, AFC NorthPanthers, NFC South
