NFL Schedule 2026: Broncos' predicted schedule includes major holiday rematch

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Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers
Carolina Panthers
Arizona Cardinals
San Francisco 49ers

As you can see, at least on paper, the Broncos will face an incredibly difficult road this coming season. After reaching the AFC Championship Game this past season and having what is believed to be one of the league's better teams, the league may want to see the Broncos in several marquee matchups on national television.

With that in mind, here are some predictions for the league's schedule release.

Broncos' 2026 schedule predictions

Week 1: Bills at Broncos- Sunday Night Football

The idea for this is discussed more in depth here, but it makes plenty of sense. The Broncos and Bills played in one of the most dramatic and exciting games last season, going to overtime in the divisional round of the playoffs. Throw in a controversial finish and the Broncos losing starting quarterback Bo Nix to a broken ankle at the end of that game and you have all the makings for an explosive start to the season.

Week 6: Broncos at Chargers- Thursday Night Football

Every team in the league gets its opportunity to play on Thursday Night Football and the league often prefers divisional matchups for those games. The Broncos and Chargers are both expected to compete for the AFC West title and the Chargers beat the Broncos at Sofi Stadium last year.

This would be a good early-season test for both squads.

Week 10: Broncos at Patriots- Monday Night Football

Another juicy matchup in primetime, this game would be a rematch of the AFC Championship Game. All of Broncos Country feels that Denver would have easily beaten the Patriots in that game and gone on to play in Super Bowl LX had Nix not been hurt, so this could be a chance to exact some revenge.

Week 16: Chiefs at Broncos- Christmas night

The NFL held a tripleheader on Christmas last season and that looks like it could become a tradition, as it has with Thanksgiving. Why not make it a tradition to have the Broncos and Chiefs meet on Christmas night? Or, at the very least, just do it again this year.

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Last year, a depleted Chiefs team without Patrick Mahomes still gave the Broncos some trouble at Arrowhead Stadium. This year, a rematch after all the presents have been opened at Empower Field sounds good.

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