Athletes are creatures of habit. Witness a Denver Broncos training camp practice if you don't believe it. Through the thick summer heat - with sweat dripping from players, coaches, and fans alike - the staff yell and lead players through drills and practices similar to the kind you would find on any football field in those early-August days; Pop Warner, high school, or college, the drills are remarkably similar.
Maniacal attention to building on the habits learned since players' early days playing football create winning teams.
For the Broncos in 2026, being creatures of habit will play to their benefit.
What does routine and habitual effort have to do with the NFL schedule? International games. Athletes of any level like routine. The same warm-up routine, same music, same food; a rigid schedule that is planned for them by coaches who obsess over details, as if the difference between starting practice at 2:16 p.m. versus 2:18 p.m. will decide their playoff fate. Those two minutes make a difference. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Denver Broncos' schedule offers a distinct advantage against 2025 playoff teams
In 2026, seven of last year's twelve playoff teams are travelling overseas. Denver is not one of them. Additionally, teams that are widely considered potential playoff contenders in 2026 but missed the playoffs last year - Cincinnati, Baltimore, Dallas, and Detroit - are making the long trip to Europe and beyond.
Why is this an advantage? Two reasons come to mind: 1) Players and coaches generally dislike overseas games, and 2) An overseas game has the potential to take away a home game from a team. Let's break them down, starting with the general sentiment for overseas games.
The logistics that go into taking an NFL franchise to another continent for a football game are... complex, to say the least. And it burdens the players as well. Routines are thrown out the window, as teams often travel well in advance to adjust to the time change.
Teams and players are reasonably upset, arguing that the travel alone is rugged. Plus, the benefit lies solely in the hands of the NFL and owners: giving their product more exposure, and therefore, more revenue. For players and coaches, they only gasp when they realize how long the flight to Munich is, or realize that they must return to play another game in six days.
Imagine being the San Francisco 49ers, for example. They are travelling over 38,000 miles in 2026 - second to none in NFL history. A team already pinned on the West Coast and prone to travel in the United States is adding a trip to Australia to begin the season.
And to think -- I'm tired after a two-hour flight; ready for a nap and a snack.
Making franchises jet across the globe for the benefit of exposure in other continents bodes well for the NFL, but not the teams and players. It only adds an unnecessary grind to an already-hectic four months from September-January.
Any fan of the NFL has heard the mental toll it takes for a player to prepare - emotionally and physically - for a single football game. It makes sense they'd rather avoid setting sail to new continents and time zones.
Secondly, and most practically for coaches and players, someone has to give up their home game. Unlike the NFL's colleagues in the major sports business - MLB, NBA, NHL - losing a home game is significant. Whereas a franchise in another major sports league can withstand a game or two lost to another country, for the NFL, 17 games is all you're guaranteed; only eight or nine of those games are at home.
In the NFL, one game is nearly 6% of your season. Compare that to the MLB (.62%), and you can reasonably assume every game matters in football.
With a stadium a mile high, and thin air adding to their advantage, it behooves Denver to keep as many games as possible in their advantageous climate - particularly with a dangerous NFC slate this season. Because in future iterations, they may have less control over the international schedule.
In 2026, the Denver Broncos need not worry about packing enough snacks or luggage for a jaunt overseas. They can sit at home, count their lucky stars, and not lose a precious home game to another continent.
As for fans of the Denver Broncos? Don't gloat. Just smile, look up, and wave as the playoff teams from last year are flying overhead, heading toward a distant location far from home.
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