Predominantly Orange
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Denver Broncos have not lost a season-opening home game in nearly a decade

By Travis Wakeman

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 12: Place kicker Sebastian Janikowski #11 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates his 63 yard field goal with five seconds remaining in the first half to give the Raiders a 16-3 lead over the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on September 12, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. Janikowski's kick of 63 yards tied the NFL field goal record. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 12: Place kicker Sebastian Janikowski #11 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates his 63 yard field goal with five seconds remaining in the first half to give the Raiders a 16-3 lead over the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on September 12, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. Janikowski's kick of 63 yards tied the NFL field goal record. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Broncos will kick off a season at home for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.

For the last 10 seasons, the schedule makers have liked to see the Broncos open up at home. Since 2011, the only time the Broncos have not kicked off a season in the Mile High City was last season, when they took on the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football.

The Broncos will start out on Monday night again this year, facing a solid Tennessee Titans team. Though the changes that have been made because of COVID-19, namely no fans being allowed in the stadium, a home-field advantage may not really be a home-field advantage.

But the Broncos still have the thin-air factor on their side along with the fact that for nearly the last 10 years, they have been quite tough to beat in Week 1 games played in Denver.

During this time, fans have been treated to such games as Peyton Manning’s debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Manning throwing seven touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens and a win over the Carolina Panthers in a Super Bowl 50 rematch.

This streak has also included big wins over good teams like the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks.

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You have to go all the way back to Week 1 of the 2011 season to find the last time the Broncos lost a season-opening game at home. Coincidentally, that was also a Monday night game and it was also against the Raiders.

That game included Sebastian Janikowski belting a 63-yard field goal just before halftime, a kick that tied the record at the time for the longest field goal in NFL history. That three points was also the difference in the final score as the Raiders won 23-20.

Kyle Orton was the quarterback on that night and since then, the Broncos have had seven different starting quarterbacks.

The Titans are one of the stronger teams the Broncos have faced in Week 1 in a long time, at least based on the previous season’s results. But the Broncos have a lot of good history on their side with this one and even though they can’t do it in front of the home crowd, could extend their season=opening home winning streak to eight games.

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