The 2022 NFL season is officially here and for fans of the Denver Broncos, the level of excitement is quite high.
Though the Broncos will have to wait until Monday night to put their new brand of football on the field for all to see, the consensus among most is that this team will be much improved this coming season.
Most of that can be attributed to having Russell Wilson at quarterback, a significant upgrade over every player who has played that position since the retirement of Peyton Manning following a victory in Super Bowl 50.
But the Broncos will have obstacles to overcome as well and though a playoff spot should be well within reach, fans may need to pump the brakes on those Super Bowl parties that they are already planning out.
The Broncos will open up against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football. Here, I will predict the outcome of that game and the rest of the 2022 regular-season schedule.
When the schedule was released, we put out game-by-game predictions at that time. How much will those differ from now?
Week 1 at Seattle Seahawks
The Broncos may get off to a slow, sluggish start in the opener after the starters rested most of the preseason, but Russell Wilson should be fired up to play against his former team and that will be a factor in this game.
The Denver defense will not be going against Drew Lock but instead, the Seahawks will start Geno Smith at quarterback.
Truthfully, Seattle may be one of the worst teams in the league so this should be a good tune-up for the Broncos.
Prediction: Win, 1-0
Week 2 vs. Houston Texans
The Broncos could not have hand-picked a better two-game start to this season than the one they got, which is similar to the way the 2021 season started. The Texans are a bad football team that won’t be all that competitive this year.
Prediction: Win, 2-0
Week 3 vs. San Francisco 49ers
This is going to be a stiff test for the Broncos, depending on how you view the San Francisco 49ers.
They are a solid team from top to bottom but their biggest question is at their most important position, quarterback. How will Trey Lance lead the Niners? How will he look in Week 3?
The Broncos, getting a young Lance early in the season at home in a primetime television slot should give the edge to the Broncos, who will win a close game.
Prediction: Win, 3-0
Week 4 at Las Vegas Raiders
Broncos fans are not going to want to hear this, but the Raiders are a good team and they could have one of the league’s most potent offenses this season.
The addition of Davante Adams and the hiring of Josh McDaniels were two of the most interesting moves made by any team this offseason, but the Raiders still have a highly underrated Derek Carr running the show and they have had the Broncos’ number lately.
They will hang the first ‘L’ on the Broncos for this season as well.
Prediction: Loss, 3-1
Week 5 vs. Indianapolis Colts
This could be a highly competitive game between two of the rising teams in the AFC. But the Thursday Night Football aspect of it changes things a bit, as it will be a short week for both teams. Traditionally, those short weeks favor the home team, heavily.
Prediction: Win, 4-1
Week 6 at Los Angeles Chargers
For the fourth time in the first six weeks, the Broncos are playing in primetime and it will be one of the tougher games on the schedule.
This is where we will start to learn just how good the AFC West is because the Chargers are a legitimate threat to beat everyone in the AFC this year.
The Broncos will still be four up and two down after this defeat, but both of those losses will be within the division.
Prediction: Loss, 4-2
Week 7 vs. New York Jets
This will be the perfect opponent for the Broncos to take some frustration out on following a tough loss to the Chargers, so long as they don’t overlook them.
There is some optimism surrounding the Jets following a good draft and a strong offseason, but they are still a team that is at least a couple of years away.
Prediction: Win, 5-2
Week 8 at Jacksonville Jaguars in London
The Broncos will have to make the trip overseas this year to battle the Jaguars inside Wembley Stadium. These international games can always bring out a surprise or two, but the Broncos are again blessed with one of the league’s inferior teams on their schedule.
Prediction: Win, 6-2
Week 9: BYE
Week 10 at Tennessee Titans
The Titans have been one of the strongest teams in the AFC in recent years and they are well-coached. But they could have a quarterback controversy if things start to go awry this season and they may not be as good as in years past as a result.
This is still a game I would likely take the Broncos to lose but coming off extra rest due to the bye week, I’ll give them the victory.
Prediction: Win, 7-2
Week 11 vs. Las Vegas Raiders
The Broncos are going to need to pick up a win inside their division, even if they actually are sitting at 8-2 at this point in the season.
The Raiders won’t go down easily but the Broncos are going to protect home field well this season and should be able to pull this one out.
Prediction: Win, 8-2
Week 12 at Carolina Panthers
It would be easy to just pencil in the Broncos for a victory in every game that they should win, but the truth is, the NFL is the most unpredictable league in professional sports and basically every week, there is at least one game that goes the way no one thought that it would.
This is a trip to the east coast for an early kickoff following a hard-fought game against the Raiders. It won’t make sense, but the Broncos will drop one here to the Panthers.
Prediction: Loss, 8-3
Week 13 at Baltimore Ravens
This could be a key game for playoff positioning in the AFC as most expect the Ravens to be contenders this season. It’s another tough road game for the Broncos and for the first time in 2022, they lose back-to-back games.
Prediction: Loss, 8-4
Week 14 vs. Kansas City Chiefs
This game will feature all sorts of different storylines, but of course, the biggest will be the Broncos trying to snap their 13-game losing streak to the Chiefs. And according to these predictions, they will be doing so while trying to simultaneously end a losing streak in the season.
The game will take place on Sunday Night Football and will feature the Broncos’ best chance to beat the Chiefs since this streak began in 2015. This has to be where it ends. This will be where it ends.
Prediction: Win, 9-4
Week 15 vs. Arizona Cardinals
This will be another tough test for the Broncos as the Cardinals could have one of the league’s more dynamic offenses. Their defense should keep them in games as well and they should be a contender on the NFC side.
But the Broncos will be flying high after defeating the Chiefs and they will build upon that momentum behind the leadership of Wilson as they prepare to hit the postseason in stride.
Prediction: Win, 10-4
Week 16 at Los Angeles Rams
The Broncos will face the defending champs on Christmas Day in what could be one of the marquee games of the season. Both teams should have plenty to play for on the holiday, but it will be the Rams who emerge victorious.
Prediction: Loss, 10-5
Week 17 at Kansas City Chiefs
This could be an extremely important game and these two teams could even be playing for the division title in this one. But the trip to Arrowhead is never an easy one and the Chiefs will be looking to get back the loss that the Broncos handed them three weeks prior.
Prediction: Loss, 10-6
Week 18 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Another tough divisional game to close out the season and there could be a lot on the line in this one. Expect to see both teams throw everything they can at the other in this one.
In many cases, these games in the season finale across the league feature two teams with nothing to play for. That almost certainly not be the case in this one and it could end up being one of the best games of the year.
The Broncos are at home and will find a way to get it done.
Prediction: Win, Final Record 11-6