The Denver Broncos have won a total of 24 regular season games over the past two seasons, which is a 12-win pace. It wouldn't be a shock if the Broncos finished in that 11-14 win range for the 2026 season. In 2025, the Broncos burst onto the scene after a disappointing 1-2 start and finished with 14 wins.
Replicating that kind of success two years in a row is quite hard, but with how good this team is right now, it's far from impossible, and while some take note of how brutal the Broncos' first six games are, there are still some major advantages on the schedule that could lead to some obvious success.
Let's dive into the three biggest advantages on the Broncos' schedule for the 2026 NFL Season.
Denver Broncos' 2026 schedule features a few clear advantages
Week 10 bye
Having a bye in the middle of the season is ideal - the Broncos have a bye after playing nine games, so the bye is in Week 10. In my opinion, this is the best possible spot. With the NFL having 17 regular season games, there obviously isn't an even division here.
But this is as 'in the middle' as you can get. The Broncos won't have to endure playing 10+ games in a row without a bye. Some teams, like the Kansas City Chiefs for example, have a Week 5 bye. The team will play four games, take a break, and then proceed to play 13 games without having a week off.
Other teams have a similar scenario with a late-season bye. The Broncos got an ideal bye week spot, so the rest should be even and could help the team that much more.
Two of last three games are at home
The Broncos' final three games are at home against the Buffalo Bills, away against the New England Patriots, and home against the Los Angeles Chargers. Sure, that mini-stretch is tough, but having two of three at home to close out the season is a nice advantage.
Denver could be in a position to clinch the No. 1 playoff seed with one of those games, so there could be a legitimate scenario where the Broncos end up with two more home games in 2026, which would then give the team four of five games at home if you lump together this regular season stretch and two home playoff games.
The Patriots in Week 17 is going to be tough, but it's nice that of these three teams that the Broncos face, they're 'away' against the team that appears to be the most beatable.
Week 7-15 stretch is the easiest in the NFL
Sure, the first six games are tough, but the stretch from Week 7-15 is the easiest in the NFL:
the 4th easiest schedule from weeks 7-15 is closer to being the hardest schedule in the league than it is to being easier than the Broncos
— Normie 🐧 (@NixToWaddle) May 17, 2026
we have a cakewalk again and we’re winning 14 games again cry more https://t.co/AwNtcOb7hI pic.twitter.com/xUpVYVTh1a
This chart from Sharp Football Analysis really puts into perspective just how much easier things get for Denver after Week 6. This stretch occurs from October 25th through December 20th, as the Broncos will play the following teams:
Week 7 @ Arizona Cardinals
Week 8 vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week 9 @ Carolina Panthers
Week 10 BYE
Week 11 vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Week 12 @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 13 vs. Miami Dolphins
Week 14 @ New York Jets
Week 15 @ Las Vegas Raiders
The Broncos play just two playoff teams during this time, but Carolina and Pittsburgh were both arguably the worst playoff teams from 2025, and Carolina finished with a losing record. We can also take this one step further. Since the start of the 2024 NFL Season, the Broncos have gone a combined 18-6 in the months of October, November, and December.
That shakes out to a .750 winning percentage. So, of these eight games in 2025 from Weeks 7-15, the Broncos could project to win six of them. A 6-2 stretch here would be quite solid, especially if the team manages to go 4-2 or better across the first six games.
In that case, Denver would be 10-4 approaching the final three games of the season, which would surely give the team a legitimate shot at the AFC West title and the No. 1 overall playoff seed.
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