Predicting every national TV game for the Denver Broncos in 2024 NFL Season

NFL teams can have up to six primetime games in a given season, and the Broncos had five primetime games during 2023. How many will they get in 2024? By my count, all of the following games were primetime for Denver in 2023:

Thursday, Oct. 12th, 8:15 pm @ Kansas City Chiefs - L
Monday, Nov. 13th, 8:15 pm @ Buffalo Bills - W
Sunday, Nov. 19th, 8:20 pm vs. Minnesota Vikings - W
Saturday, Dec. 16th, 8:15 pm @ Detroit Lions - L
Sunday, Dec. 24th, 8:15 pm vs. New England Patriots - L

I don't believe that the Denver Broncos will have five primetime games in 2024. It seems like less might be on the menu, but there are some enticing matchups that the NFL schedule-makers might want to have in the primetime slots. Let's try to predict the primetime games for the Denver Broncos in 2024.

Predicting every national TV game for the Denver Broncos in 2024 NFL Season
Denver Broncos vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

This might be the most slam-dunk primetime game that the NFL has this season. The Russell Wilson-led Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to Denver to face the likely Bo Nix-led Broncos. The Broncos are paying Russell Wilson nearly $40 million this year for him to not be on the team. The unceremonious ending surely did not sit well with Wilson, and it seems as if Wilson's side felt slighted when the Broncos approached him about reworking his contract during the 2023 season.

This will surely be a highly-talked-about game and most definitely will be on primetime, even if the teams are not true contenders.

Denver Broncos @ New Orleans Saints

It's another obvious game that should be in a primetime slot, the Denver Broncos will play the entire NFC South this year, so they get to travel to New Orleans to play the Saints, who Sean Payton coached from 2006-2021. Payton "retired" after the 2021 season, stepping away from coaching and returning in 2023. The Saints may end up having some sort of thank-you video for Payton, who helped restore the franchise to greatness, winning a Super Bowl in 2009.

And you have to bet that Payton does want to stick it to his old team, so the Denver Broncos should be ready to play. Both the Broncos and the Saints were in the same tier last year - both teams were hovering around .500 and finished the year as "average" if you will, so the game could be a good one.

Denver Broncos @ New York Jets

The Denver Broncos playing the New York Jets last year actually ended up being a fun game to watch for the average NFL fan, but Aaron Rodgers was not in the picture. And with the fiery USA Today interview that Sean Payton gave last offseason, it'd still be no surprise that the Broncos and Jets could meet in primetime.

Payton really tore into the Jets and did kind of take former head coach Nathaniel Hackett through the ringer. I don't believe that fire has worn off, and with Rodgers likely coming back, the NFL might want to plug this game into a primetime slot.

Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Considering the Denver Broncos walloped the Kansas City Chiefs in Denver last year, it would not surprise me to see the NFL put that game into a primetime slot. The Broncos and Chiefs did play in primetime in 2023, with KC winning. And with the Chiefs being the elite among the elite, they'll have the maximum amount of primetime games, so the NFL might want to have a divisional game or two within that.

The Broncos beat the Chiefs with a steady dose of their rushing attack and a pass rush that just demolished the KC offensive line. With four primetime games, it'd be a one-game drop-off from last year, and if the Broncos ended up having less than this, I would not be surprised.