The Denver Broncos won 14 games last year, which was more than enough to capture the AFC West title, which was the team's first division title since the 2015 NFL Season. When the playoffs began, many in Broncos Country did begin to see the parallells between the 2015 season and the 2025 group, but the team got dealt a huge blow after the Divisional Round.
With the 2025 year behind us and 2026 rapidly approaching, the Broncos can fire this thing up again and capture the title for the second year in a row, which is very possible, despite many this offseason saying that Kansas City or Los Angeles will dethrone Denver.
Let's dive into five reasons why the Broncos will win the AFC West this year.
Denver Broncos have a lot of things going in their favor for 2026
League's best pass-rush
The Broncos have the league's best pass-rush, period. They have led the NFL in sacks in each of the last two seasons. In the Broncos six divisional games last year, the defense notched 23 sacks, which is nearly four sacks per game.
This suffocating pass rush has been the Broncos identity for two years now, and with the main contributors all slated to return, the pass rush could again lead the league in sacks. With how close divisional games typically are in the NFL, being able to get to the quarterback consistently is a must.
Best collection of trench play in the division
This kind of flows from the top reason, but the Broncos collection of trench talent is the best in the division. Not only is the Broncos offensive line continually ranked among the best in the NFL, but quarterback Bo Nix simply does not take sacks, which is partly because he's so good at avoiding them, and also partly because the offensive line is excellent in pass protection.
And the Broncos defense did not only excel with sacks in 2025. The defense allowed the second-fewest rushing yards in the NFL, and the second-lowest yards per carry. Both the offensive line and defensive line are top-3 in their respective duties, creating an elite trenches situation for the Broncos.
Games in the NFL are won and lost in the trenches.
Bo Nix's potential Year 3 leap
This might not necessarily seem like a valid reason, because it's largely based on an 'if' situation, but Nix does have the most untapped potential of any quarterback in the division. Patrick Mahomes is entering his age-31 season and coming off a major knee injury, Justin Herbert has truly been the same exact quarterback his entire career, and Kirk Cousins is slated to start for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Not only is Nix the youngest in the division, but the addition of Jaylen Waddle to the wide receiver room gives the Broncos the best overall supporting cast, as well. We've seen spurts of Nix playing excellent football, as he really began to heat up down the stretch in 2025, which was also a shame, as the run game was inefficient.
With Nix having the best overall chance to make a year three leap, the Broncos could become quite good if he has more to his game.
Roster concerns with the other three teams
The Broncos AFC West foes all have some notable roster concerns heading into 2026. The Raiders offensive line is still a mess, and the wide receiver room might be the worst in the league. With Cousins likely starting to kickoff 2026, the quarterback position is below-average.
The Chiefs are a mess at wide receiver, have a tight end in Travis Kelce who is declining, and might have one legitimate playmaker on defense in Chris Jones. The front office somehow morphed this roster into a worse spot this offseason.
The Chargers are an interesting bunch. They have a ton of average or good players, but not many truly game-changing pieces. Many thought the offensive line was going to be improved much more than it was in the offseason, but even that did not happen.
When you compare the Broncos roster with the other three teams in the division, it's clear which team has the best group.
Won the division with room to spare in 2025
Here is how the standings looked in 2025:
Broncos: 14-3, 5-1 in division
Chargers: 11-6, 5-1 in division
Chiefs: 6-11, 1-5 in division
Raiders: 3-14, 1-5 in division
The Broncos had multiple games to spare in 2025, winning eight more games than the Chiefs and 11 more games than the Raiders. It's going to be nearly impossible for the Raiders to make any progress, obviously. With the roster concerns that the Chiefs have, doubling their win total in 2026, which might be required, could be unlikely.
The Chargers have gone 11-6 in each of the last two seasons, so this team might be nothing more than that. The Broncos didn't just win the AFC West last year, they ran away with it.
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