With the Broncos now tied atop the AFC West standings more than a quarter of the way into the season, it ins't unreasonable to begin looking at how Denver can win the division crown. The Broncos currently sit at 2-1 within the AFC, and have already faced multiple teams that were playoff teams from last year. Denver's first five games were not a favorable draw.
Their next 12, however, are fairly favorable for Sean Payton and his group. Denver's next two opponents have a combined one win on the season, and present a strong opportunity for the Broncos to move to 5-2 on the young season. Following Denver, the Chiefs and Texans are a few underperforming former playoff staples.
Overall, Denver's remaining schedule is weak. The injury to Joe Burrow helped them knock off the Bengals, but the Broncos' difficult stretch to start the season seems to be behind them. Denver's remaining strength of schedule appears to be fairly weak, and the scheduling data so far backs that up.
Denver's remaining strength of schedule is the second weakest in football
With twelve games remaining on Denver's 2025 schedule, the Broncos have the second softest remaining schedule in all of football, behind only the New England Patriots. For New England, much of this comes in the horrendous bottom half of their division. The Jets are currently winless, and the Dolphins have just one win, which naturally came over the Jets.
The Patriots' remaining strength of schedule is an absurd .305, while Denver's is a cool .407. For the Broncos, it helps to once again have a bottom-dwelling Raiders team. Las Vegas has just one win on the young season, and Geno Smith is averaging more than one interception a game. The Kansas City Chiefs are a surprising 2-3, and a matchup with a high-powered Lions offense could push their loss total to double their wins.
Outside of their own division, Denver benefits from playing the Giants, Texans, and this week's matchup with the Jets. The Giants and Jets are a combined 2-9 on the season, and neither seems to be getting much better week-over-week. Denver will have a strong chance to beef up their record within the conference through the autumn months. Denver's season does, however, end with a decent run of playoff contenders, including the Packers, Commanders, and Jaguars. Sean Payton and his group should take this chance to stack up the wins.