The Denver Broncos are once again one of the best teams in the AFC and will take a five-game winning streak into their Week 10 bye. The Broncos survived a gauntlet of a schedule to begin their season and now have their eyes fixed on a second straight division title in the AFC West, and once again claim the top overall seed in the conference.
It was a duel between the Broncos and the New England Patriots last year for the top seed, but the field is significantly more crowded so far this year. Six teams in the AFC are sitting at 6-2 or better through Week 9, making it a significantly tougher task for Denver to claim the top spot once again.
One of their best hopes would be teams in the conference beating up on each other, which is possible this week. Within the division, two of the Broncos' biggest rivals made significant moves before Tuesday's trade deadline, and their moves will directly impact the Broncos as they enter the final playoff push.
3 games for Broncos fans to pay close attention to in Week 10
3) Seattle Seahawks @ Las Vegas Raiders (Sunday, 4:05 PM ET)
The Broncos are set to face Fernando Mendoza for the first time when they hit the field again in Week 11, but Mendoza will make his first professional start this week against the Seattle Seahawks. With Kirk Cousins back in Minnesota with the Vikings, the rest of this season and the foreseeable future in Las Vegas belong to Mendoza.
The Broncos and the Seahawks are two of the most dangerous defensive units in all of football, and this might end up being the toughest first two games a rookie quarterback has ever faced. This will give Denver a good idea of what Mendoza can do at this level and how to best prepare for him next week.
2) Kansas City Chiefs @ Atlanta Falcons (Sunday, 1 PM ET)
The last remaining team between the Broncos and a second consecutive AFC West crown is the Kansas City Chiefs, who are set to face off with the NFL's Jekyll and Hyde: the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta looked awful to start the year, played a few incredible games in a row, and have looked awful since.
If the Chiefs catch the Falcons on one of their good days, it could be a brutal battle in Atlanta. If Kansas City were to drop this game, they would fall to 6-3, which would give the Broncos a full-game advantage on them in the AFC West standings. With a win, however, Kansas City moves into a tie with the Broncos atop the division. Kansas City is 3-1 within the division so far this year, and the Broncos are only 2-1, so the Chiefs would technically take over first place.
1) Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday, 8:20 PM ET)
In terms of sizing up the competition within the rest of the AFC, this matchup goes a long way in figuring out to what extent both of these teams are contenders this year. Aaron Rodgers seems to be in a resurgence in his final year, while the Bengals might finally be the complete team that many have been hoping for since their Super Bowl run in 2021. Also, it might be smart to mention that Ja'Marr Chase is fresh off 296 yards over his last two games.
Ja'Marr Chase showed out in Spain 🇪🇸 @gatorade pic.twitter.com/Myfyl7pHlv
— NFL (@NFL) November 10, 2026
If the Broncos have any hope of their 2026 season resulting in an AFC title game victory, they are going to want to see the top of the conference with fewer contenders than there currently are. Any situation in which two of those teams beat up on each other is a welcome sight, and this game very well could be that. Notably, the Broncos head to Pittsburgh on November 29th for a Black Friday matchup with the Steelers.
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