After a shaky 1-2 start in 2024, it felt like, at least early on, that not much was changing for the Denver Broncos, but historically, Sean Payton-coached teams actually struggle a bit in September and heat up as the season progresses.
That could not have been truer for Denver. The team won 11 games in a row and quickly became the best late-game team in the NFL, winning consistently thanks to fourth-quarter heroics. Sure, some people doubted the team and said that the way the Broncos won wasn't sustainable, but it's pretty clear to many that this team was making the Super Bowl had Bo Nix not gotten hurt.
Suddenly, many across the NFL landscape are now looking at the Broncos as a legitimate Super Bowl contender, and the 2026 Broncos are what a contender in today's NFL looks like. It's hard to believe just how far this team has come, but we're here. Some of the recent NFL power rankings double down on this and really prove what's at stake for the team in 2026.
Latest FOX Sports power rankings have the Denver Broncos atop the NFL
Ralph Vacchiano ranked the Broncos first in the league in his updated NFL power rankings for FOX Sports:
"Their first six games are just terrible. But assuming they survive that, there is a real soft middle of the schedule that could put them on a real run from Weeks 7 to 15. That should be enough for the class of the AFC, and a team that is motivated by the knowledge they should’ve been in the Super Bowl last year."
Behind the Broncos are the Los Angeles Rams at No. 2, and the Seattle Seahawks at No. 3. Denver, Los Angeles, and Seattle do feel like the three best teams in the NFL right now, as the New England Patriots' schedule in 2025 was insanely easy, so some have fairly wondered if this team isn't quite as good as they came off in 2025.
Vacchiano makes a great point here, too, citing likely motivation knowing that the Broncos should have advanced to the Super Bowl. What is neat about 2026 is that we'll get a legitimate reading on just how good this team can be.
With a brutal six-game start, getting out of that stretch 4-2 or better would 100 percent indicate that this team is capable of winning it all, but a stumble to open things up, perhaps going 3-3 or worse, would make use wonder if that 2025 season was an outlier.
With Payton-coached teams having a history of starting slow, these six games to open up the season could not be more important. There's also some increased motivation for Nix himself. Not only does he surely want to get back to the AFC Championship Game (and get there healthy), but there's also a financial motivation at play here.
Nix will be eligible for a contract extension following the season, so a strong campaign in 2026 would set him up nicely for a major payday. Payton himself turns 63 years old near the end of the regular season, and while that isn't necessarily old, he's not getting younger and may see the end of his time in the NFL.
It's clear that the Broncos have a few avenues of motivation for 2026, and now that the media is pumping the team up, all eyes will be on Denver going forward in what could end up being one of the most important years in the history of the franchise.
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