ENGLEWOOD, Colo. \u2014 The Broncos are set to face elite quarterback competition in 2026.<\/p>\n
In Week 1, all eyes will be on Denver’s “Monday Night Football” matchup with Kansas City as quarterback Patrick Mahomes could take the field for the first time since his season-ending ACL injury in December of 2025.<\/p>\n
Following the season opener, the Broncos will spend the next five weeks lining up against starting quarterbacks that led their respective teams to the postseason last year, including the reigning NFL MVP in Matthew Stafford.<\/p>\n
Before the 2026 regular season slate wraps up, the Broncos could also face the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft \u2014 Las Vegas’ Fernando Mendoza \u2014 twice.<\/p>\n
With plenty of storylines to cover, here is a closer look at the quarterbacks Denver is scheduled to see during the 2026 season:<\/p>\n
Kansas City Chiefs, Week 1 & Week 8: Patrick Mahomes or Justin Fields<\/p>\n
Mahomes’ first opportunity to return to the field following his season-ending injury in 2025 will be against the Broncos in Week 1. If the three-time Super Bowl MVP cannot take the field for the prime-time opener, the Broncos will likely see Fields, whom the team has faced in each of the last three seasons. Denver is 2-1 against Fields \u2014 who has played for the Bears, Steelers and Jets \u2014 in those last three matchups.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville Jaguars, Week 2: Trevor Lawrence<\/p>\n
Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, led the Jaguars to a 13-4 record in 2025. He threw for over 4,000 yards for the third time in his career, adding a career-high 29 touchdown passes. When he faced the Broncos a year ago in Week 16, Lawrence was in the midst of a season-ending stretch in which he threw 15 touchdowns and just one interception.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Rams, Week 3: Matthew Stafford<\/p>\n
The Broncos will face the 2025 NFL MVP when the Rams visit Empower Field at Mile High in Week 3. Stafford led the league with 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdown passes in 2025. He averaged 276.9 passing yards per game, the most in the NFL, as he led Los Angeles to an NFC Championship Game appearance.<\/p>\n
San Francisco 49ers, Week 4: Brock Purdy<\/p>\n
Purdy spent the middle of the 2025 season sidelined as he navigated injuries, but he boasted a 7-2 record in his nine regular-season starts. Purdy, who averaged 240.8 passing yards per game and threw 20 touchdown passes, also guided the 49ers to a Wild Card victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Chargers, Week 5 & Week 18: Justin Herbert<\/p>\n
A Pro Bowler last season, Herbert played through a broken bone in his left hand and guided the Chargers to their second consecutive postseason appearance. His 26 touchdown passes were his most in a season since 2021.<\/p>\n
Seattle Seahawks, Week 6: Sam Darnold<\/p>\n
Darnold threw for over 4,000 yards for the second consecutive season during Seattle’s 2025 Super Bowl campaign. He has earned Pro Bowl honors in back-to-back years after leading both the Vikings and Seahawks to 14-3 records, respectively, during the regular season.<\/p>\n
Arizona Cardinals, Week 7: Jacoby Brissett or Gardner Minshew II or Carson Beck<\/p>\n
Brissett, who started 12 games for Arizona in 2025, is expected to be the Cardinals’ starter this upcoming season. The former third-round draft pick is entering his 11th season in the league after throwing for a career-high 3,366 yards and 23 touchdowns last year. Minshew, an eighth-year veteran, and Beck, a rookie draft selection out of Miami, are also on the roster.<\/p>\n
Carolina Panthers, Week 9: Bryce Young<\/p>\n
Young is coming off the most productive year of his career in Carolina. The former first-overall pick threw for 3,011 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2025, leading the Panthers to the team’s first NFC South title since 2015 and first postseason appearance since 2017.<\/p>\n
Las Vegas Raiders, Week 11 & Week 15: Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza<\/p>\n
The Broncos could either see four-time Pro Bowler Kirk Cousins or 2026 No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza (or both) this season. Cousins is entering his 15th season in the league with his fourth team, while Mendoza is entering his rookie season after a 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship title and Heisman Trophy win.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Steelers, Week 12: Aaron Rodgers<\/p>\n
Rodgers announced he will return to the Steelers for the final season of his NFL career in 2026. He is entering his 18th season in the league after throwing for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns during his 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n
Miami Dolphins, Week 13: Malik Willis<\/p>\n
Willis is expected to take on a full-time starting role for the first time in his pro career in Miami. Over four seasons \u2014 two in Tennessee and two in Green Bay \u2014 the 2022 third-round draft selection has appeared in 22 games with six starts. In two extended performances last year, he completed 27 of 32 passes for 409 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 139.6 passer rating.<\/p>\n
New York Jets, Week 14: Geno Smith<\/p>\n
Entering his 14th season in the league, Smith returns to the team that selected him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. The two-time Pro Bowler has thrown for over 4,000 yards twice in the past four years and will face the Broncos with a new team for the third consecutive season. Denver is 3-3 against Smith in his NFL career.<\/p>\n
Buffalo Bills, Week 16: Josh Allen<\/p>\n
Allen led the Bills to the postseason for the seventh consecutive year in 2025. The 2024 league MVP and four-time Pro Bowler is 2-1 against Denver during the regular season and 1-1 in postseason competition. The Broncos forced Allen into four giveaways during their Divisional Round overtime win in January.<\/p>\n
New England Patriots, Week 17: Drake Maye<\/p>\n
Maye, who has earned Pro Bowl honors in each of his first two seasons, led the Patriots back to the Super Bowl for the first time since Tom Brady led the team to a title during the 2018 season. Maye threw for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2025, and his 72.0 completion percentage led the league.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ENGLEWOOD, Colo. \u2014 The Broncos are set to face elite quarterback competition in 2026. In Week 1, all…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":903810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2062],"tags":[232,231,258,2426,7,6,120036,36630,1004],"class_list":["post-903809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-broncos","tag-broncos","tag-denver","tag-denver-broncos","tag-denverbroncos","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-schedule-2026","tag-susanna-weir","tag-top-stories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116654160227762023","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}