Four years ago, the Denver Broncos started their season on “Monday Night Football” with what’s referred to as the “Hackett game,” a sloppy 17-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks marked by 12 penalties and a puzzling coaching choice to attempt a 64-yard field goal at the end of the game. It remains the most infamous of the franchise’s nine Monday night openers since 2000.

Week 1 on a Monday won’t be unfamiliar to Broncos fans. But this year’s opener in Kansas City arrives under unusual circumstances. The 17-day gap between Denver’s third preseason game and the Sept. 14 contest in Kansas City is the longest duration between a preseason finale and a season opener in team history.

In response, coach Sean Payton has adjusted his team’s schedule. Under Payton, a Monday game week typically means the Broncos are off Tuesday and Wednesday, then practice on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. But Payton shifted the schedule slightly this week: Denver will practice Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday this week, with an added rest and recovery day for players on Friday. The team will fly to Kansas City on Sunday.

“Our work week is planned out accordingly because it’s not the first game of the season mechanics that all of us have somewhat grown accustomed to, it’s the first game being a Monday night game,” Payton said.

Payton, a detail aficionado, said he’s thought about how to craft the team’s schedule to prepare for Week 1. The Broncos are 3-0 on Monday Night Football and 10-2 when they have an extended week (more than six days between games) under Payton.

Most of the team’s starters will have gone more than three weeks without game action. Linebacker Alex Singleton said he’s tried to use the extra days between the end of the offseason and Week 1 to prepare for Kansas City.

Because the Chiefs are a divisional opponent, the game will be more chess than checkers, Singleton said. Coordinators could use the extra time to make slight tweaks to the game plan, while players could identify an opponent’s tendencies on tape, or a formation giveaway could emerge.

“What’s exciting about this matchup is five years in a row we’re getting the same matchup,” Singleton said. “They know what we’re going to do. We know what they’re going to do. And so it’s who is going to make those slight adjustments that they spent all offseason preparing for each other.”

Denver has also used the two weeks to prepare for the noise at Arrowhead Stadium. On Monday, Payton mentioned the crowd as one of the challenges of opening the season in Kansas City. Denver does have an experienced roster and ,perhaps most importantly for communication purposes in Week 1, returns all five starters on the offensive line

Meinerz said the Broncos’ non-verbal communication at the line of scrimmage will be key. He also said starting fast could help mitigate Arrowhead’s impact.

The Broncos have spent the past two weeks preparing for an abnormal season opener. Come Monday night, we’ll find out if the extra time was a hindrance or a help.

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