The Denver Broncos are now 30-12 in the regular season since the start of the 2024 campaign. Now sitting at 6-2, the Broncos are currently pacing for a 13-4 season. Riding a four-game winning streak, Denver's wins might be the most impressive in the NFL.
And with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8, the Broncos keep themselves very much alive in the AFC West race and have now beaten the Chiefs all four years at home in the Sean Payton era. Through eight games of 2026, Denver is also tracking to make the playoffs for the third season in a row.
With the team still having nine games left, there is a lot that can change, but the current AFC Playoff Picture would give the Broncos a key chance at some revenge.
Denver Broncos would host the New England Patriots in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs
Right now, here is how the AFC Playoff Picture looks:
(1) Buffalo Bills - BYE
(7) New England Patriots @ (2) Denver Broncos
(6) Cincinnati Bengals @ (3) Pittsburgh Steelers
(5) Kansas City Chiefs @ (4) Jacksonville Jaguars
The Buffalo Bills are the only one-loss team in the conference right now and would own the first-round bye and home-field advantage. However, the Broncos are right on the heels of the Bills and currently sit in the No. 2 seed, which would not give them a bye, but would allow them to host the lowest playoff seed.
Denver would host New England in the Wild Card Round, and I don't think I need to lecture Broncos fans about why that would be a key chance at some revenge. While this potential matchup would be two entire playoff rounds earlier in 2026 than 2025, it would still present the Broncos with a massive chance to show how much better they are than the Patriots.
The Broncos 'almost' beat the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game last year with Jarrett Stidham at quarterback, and if it wasn't for a shocking snowstorm that developed in the second half, the Broncos may very well have won that game and advanced to the Super Bowl.
And through eight games this year, the 2026 Broncos do feel quite similar to the 2025 version. With the team already having played their toughest stretch of the season and riding a four-game winning streak, it's not a reach to think that Denver could potentially flirt with an 11-game winning streak this year.
The Broncos still get to play Carolina, Las Vegas twice, the Miami Dolphins, the New York Jets, and the Los Angeles Chargers again. There are still some tougher matchups left in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and New England, but you could very easily argue that the Broncos are better than all three of those teams.
Yes, we might be getting a bit ahead of ourselves here, but it's very interesting to see how the playoff race is shaping up. The Broncos are not only in an exceptional spot to get into the playoffs for the third year in a row, but the team is also very much alive in the race for the top playoff seed.
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