The Denver Broncos have a brutal stretch to start the 2026 NFL season for the first six weeks, probably the most difficult of any team in the entire league.
The Broncos face off against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football to kick off the season, and the Chiefs are the only non-playoff team from last season among the first six games on Denver's schedule. They turn around and take on the AFC South champion Jaguars in Week 2, followed by another Super Bowl contender -- the Los Angeles Rams -- on Sunday Night Football in Week 3.
They have a West Coast road trip right after that, playing the 49ers in Week 4 followed by the Chargers in Los Angeles in Week 5. After taking on the Chargers, the Broncos come home for a quick turnaround and Thursday Night Football matchup against the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
If you think the NFL is punishing the Denver Broncos, you're not alone. Colin Cowherd, the host of The Herd on Fox Sports 1, recently came out and just blatantly called out the NFL for "punishing" Sean Payton for having a "mixed relationship" with the league. He thinks the schedule for the Broncos over the first six weeks is deliberate.
Colin Cowherd believes Denver Broncos' schedule is punishment for Sean Payton
"I'm not a conspiracy guy, but I believe this. I think Sean Payton has a mixed relationship with the league office…NFL does not like friendly fire. Zip it. Look at Denver's schedule, they're punishing them" – Colin Cowherd pic.twitter.com/m9GSIzRKb2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 15, 2026
"I believe this...I think Sean Payton has a mixed relationship with the league office. He's taken shots at quarterbacks -- Russell Wilson -- he's taken shots at coaches. (The) NFL does not like friendly fire. 'Zip it.' Look at Denver's schedule. They're punishing them. That's the toughest six-game schedule I have ever seen in my life, and I'm a geek on this stuff. I am a nerd on schedules. I've never seen anything like that."
- Colin Cowherd on the Broncos' schedule
If you view the NFL schedule through the lens of "who is being punished vs. who isn't" there is no question that it's going to look like the Broncos are being punished for something. And regardless of what feathers Payton has ruffled around the league, the Broncos had to play those teams at some point.
And if you're an eternal optimist (like me), you might view the early gauntlet as a bit of a gift from the league.
Yes, it's an incredibly difficult stretch to open the season, but from Week 7-Week 15, the Broncos' schedule tames down quite a bit. The Broncos have a very well-placed bye week in Week 10. They don't have as much travel as a lot of the rest of the league. They only play one team coming off of a bye (the Jets).
Getting this six-game stretch out of the way early will give the Broncos a great test, and because of the fact that so many of the matchups are against NFC teams, they'll have plenty of time to make sure they turn things around if they do end up struggling with the majority of their AFC games happening from Week 8 through the end of the season.
To Cowherd's point, however, running that kind of gauntlet at the beginning of the year with Bo Nix coming off of an ankle injury does feel like a little bit of a punishment. There was no thought given to the idea of giving the Broncos an "easier" opponent in there, and they'll play that entire six-game stretch by October 15.
And if the NFL is picking on Sean Payton and the Broncos, there will be no better way to stick it to them than to win the majority of those games.
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