Denver Broncos schedule: How is the 2022 season broken up?
The 2022 NFL schedules were officially released on Thursday, and the Denver Broncos are poised to have a very interesting 2022 season. Here’s why.
The schedules for the 2022 NFL season were released on Thursday, and all things considered, the Denver Broncos have a very fair and manageable one.
Looking at the schedule, there are a few observations that I want to hit on that could both benefit and hurt the team.
While the NFL definitely hypes up the schedule release a bit too much, the games, when they’ve played, and who they’ve played against all matter greatly.
The teams making various schedule release videos are also a nice touch.
With Russell Wilson, the Broncos are set to have a ton of primetime action.
By my count, there are six primetime games for the Denver Broncos.
They have two games on Monday night football, two games on Sunday night football, the Thursday night game, and a game on Christmas day against the Rams.
However, if you count the Denver Broncos London game as “primetime,” then the club has seven of those.
The NFL is clearly giving the Broncos a huge Russell Wilson bump, and for good reason. The Seattle Seahawks seemingly always had a ton of primetime games themselves.
Having these matchups will only put more pressure on the Denver Broncos to perform at a high level.
The second observation I made was the difference between the team’s first eight games and the last nine games.
The team’s first eight games, in order, are against the Seahawks, Texans, 49ers, Raiders, Colts, Chargers, Jets, and Jaguars.
The team is probably going to need to go 6-2 at the very least during this cakewalk first eight games.
Wins against the Seahawks, Texans, Jets, and Jaguars should be written in pen as W’s.
I think the games against the 49ers, Raiders, Colts, and Chargers can go either way, but I especially like their chances against the 49ers, who have a bit of a quarterback situation, and the Colts, who simply do not have the roster firepower that the Broncos do.
It’s also a pretty solid tradition in Broncos Country that the team takes at least one game per season against the Chargers.
Losses against the Raiders or Chargers wouldn’t surprise me, but we’ve seen how close Denver has played both of these clubs without Russell Wilson under center.
Their last nine games, especially the last six, are brutal. This stretch is going to be huge in seeing if Denver can qualify for the NFL playoffs.
Their last six are against the Ravens, Chiefs, Cardinals, Rams, Chiefs, and Chargers.
I think Denver is probably needing to win three of these games at the very least.
Of the three games I haven’t mentioned, Denver plays the Titans, Raiders, and Panthers in weeks 10-12.
None of these matchups should scare Denver. Both the Titans and Panthers should be on the easier side for Denver, and the matchups with the Raiders always seem to go one way or the other.
I think 11 wins is perfectly reasonable here.
One of the last observations I made that I think is extremely important.
Denver plays in London against the Jaguars during week eight.
After this game, Denver has a bye. I think this is perfect. Denver’s bye week is right in the middle of the season, which is the most ideal spot for it.
This will then not force Denver to play an absurd number of games in a row without a week off.
As I’ve mentioned in other pieces, too, Denver’s strength of schedule is the easiest in the AFC West, which should give them a slight advantage throughout the season.
In summation, three key observations I’ve made from the schedule release are:
- The six primetime games, not counting Christmas Day
- Easy first eight games, very tough last nine games
- Having a bye week right in the middle of the season
The Denver Broncos were done a couple of favors by the schedule makers for the 2022 season, and we should hope that they take advantage of it.