The Denver Broncos have added to its win total each year since Sean Payton arrived back in 2023. The team had gone from five wins that previous season, to eight in Payton's first year, and then to 10 and 14 in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
It's abundantly clear that Denver is going in the right direction, but that doesn't always happen. The NFL is the most competitive professional sports league in the world, frankly, so another 14-win season just might not be in the cards in 2026, but it also might be in the cards.
There's simply a lot we do not know yet, and we've also got about four months until the start of the 2026 season. If things go poorly, the Broncos could find themselves right in the middle of a nightmare scenario, and this projected nightmare scenario for Denver is way off the mark.
Denver Broncos nightmare scenario for the 2026 season would not even be accurate
For Bleacher Report, Brad Gagnon identified the Broncos nightmare scenario for the 2026 campaign:
"Denver Broncos: Following a ho-hum sophomore campaign, Bo Nix follows the path of Stroud and regresses further in Year 3 as the Broncos are surpassed by the rising Chargers and overshadowed by the exciting Raiders in the AFC West. "
There's a lot to unpack here. It's a bit interesting to call Bo Nix's sophomore season 'ho-hum.' What is so ho-hum about helping lead your team to 14 wins and also leading the NFL with seven game-winning drives? Is five fourth-quarter comebacks ho-hum? The answer is no.
Sure, if you looked at Nix's raw stats in 2025, you might say that he regressed, but there's a lot more context to talk about here. Nix threw for more yards, averaged more yards per game, got sacked less, and had a lower interception rate.
All of those improvements lean way more toward a progression than a regression. Furthermore, the Broncos dealt with a ton of drops. Nix's numbers just weren't that eye-popping on paper partly due to the Broncos pass-catchers simply being below-average.
It's a huge reason why this team traded for Jaylen Waddle - the front office knew another addition was needed. The Broncos didn't have a legitimate WR1 all year, and starting running back J.K. Dobbins went down in Week 10, which put more on Nix's plate than expected.
I'm also struggling to see how the Los Angeles Chargers are 'rising,' as well. This team lost, arguably, the best defensive coordinator in the league, Jesse Minter, to the Baltimore Ravens head coaching job. The offensive line didn't get as much help in the offseason as necessary, and the Chargers weapons on offense are solid, but nothing special.
It's not clear how this franchise would be 'rising' - if nothing else, they've stayed the same, at best. Part of me wonders if people out there in the NFL landscape are trying to convince themselves that the Broncos are going to lose the AFC West, when the team is so clearly a tier above the rest.
Denver is an improved team this offseason, and all of Los Angeles, Kansas City, and Las Vegas added talent - that can't be denied. What also can't be denied, though, is how much better the Broncos are than their AFC West foes at the moment.
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