The Denver Broncos have some easy games on their schedule for 2026, but they also have some hard games that need to be talked about more.
The Broncos managed to win 14 games last year and simply took the league by storm, winning 11 games in a row at one point. While all of the one-score victories might not sit well with some, a ton of games in this league are decided by a touchdown or less, so what the Broncos did last year could very well be sustainable.
Let's talk about the toughest games for a second and rank those here.
Ranking the Denver Broncos hardest games for the 2026 NFL Season
5. @ Los Angeles Chargers, Week 5
For whatever reason, Sean Payton-coached teams just do not play well against Jim Harbaugh-coached teams. The Broncos are 0-2 visiting the Los Angeles Chargers in the Harbaugh era, and are 1-3 thus far in two seasons.
Even with Denver clearly being the better team, and having the better roster, this Chargers team just won't and will not go away easily. Denver was able to wrap up the No. 1 seed in the AFC last year by beating Los Angeles, but Justin Herbert wasn't playing in that game.
4. vs. Seattle Seahawks, Week 6
Hosting the defending Super Bowl champions in Week 6, the Broncos welcome the Seattle Seahawks to town. One huge thing that should go the Broncos way is the pass rush against a fine Seahawks offensive line, and Sam Darnold isn't exactly the toughest passer Denver will have seen up to this point.
With that said, the Seahawks defensive line is quite deep, and their defense overall is quite deep and incredibly well-coached thanks to Mike Macdonald. Seattle's overall roster construction also allowed them to still field an elite roster despite losing notable talent in the offseason.
3. @ Kansas City Chiefs, Week 1
In Week 1, the Broncos are in Arrowhead to face the Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos are almost riding a two-game winning streak against the Chiefs at their house, but a blocked field goal back in the 2024 matchup ended up tilting the game in the Chiefs favor.
As of now, there really isn't any reason to believe that Patrick Mahomes won't play in this one, and even with the Chiefs having some roster issues on both sides of the ball, they're always a handful, and this is a divisional game, which is a tougher game for many teams across the league.
Even when the Broncos went to Arrowhead last year and faced the Chiefs third-string quarterback, it ended up being a tight game. Denver will need to be at their absolute best in Week 1.
2. vs. Buffalo Bills, Week 16
The Buffalo Bills come to town in Week 16, and it'll obviously be a rematch of the AFC Divisional Round. While the Broncos won this game, they did get bullied on the ground by the Bills massive offensive line and punishing run game, and if it wasn't for a plethora of Josh Allen turnovers, the Broncos likely would have gotten blown out.
No matter what, Buffalo is going to be a handful - they've won double-digit games each season since 2019 and just continue to establish themselves as a top team in the league.
1. vs. Los Angeles Rams, Week 3
It's hard to see how this isn't the Broncos toughest game of the season. Sure, it's at home, but there isn't a more talented team in the league right now than the Los Angeles Rams. LA is coming off a 12-5 season which featured the top-ranked scoring offense in the NFL, and all they did in the offseason was add Myles Garrett, Jaylen Watson, and Trent McDuffie.
And Aaron Donald also came out of retirement. Not only will the Broncos have to deal with LA's high-flying offense, but the defensive line is suddenly incredibly deep and will make it tough for Denver to estabish the run.
Could this matchup be a Super Bowl LXI preview?
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