Now that fans have had a couple of days to digest the schedule for the in 2026, how are ya feeling? At first glance, the schedule seems brutal right out of the gate for the defending AFC West champions. The Broncos are playing a first-place schedule while also dealing with the fact that they go against the strong NFC West this coming season. The first six games are rough. The team opens on the road against a team that will be loaded with motivation. They face the , who beat them last season in Denver, in Week 2, before hosting the . Following that, the Broncos have back-to-back road games against the and before returning home to host the defending champion on Thursday Night Football . Yikes. One would think that the Broncos have one of the most difficult schedules in the league. But, at least in terms of winning percentage from last season, they don't. Would it surprise you that the Broncos actually have one of the easiest schedules? While that may sound ridiculous, when considering winning percentage from last season, they have the league's in 2026. Broncos' 2026 schedule can be looked at in two different ways While that gauntlet to open the season is quite difficult, at least on paper, there could be a silver lining. After that Seattle game in Week 6, things lighten up considerably for Denver, giving the team a chance to go on a run and create a ton of steam heading Chuma Okeke Jersey into the postseason. Here is how Nick Shook of NFL.com sees it: "After opening the season with a prime-time date against the rival Chiefs in Kansas City, the Broncos will be happy to host most of their strongest non-division opponents in Denver. The Jaguars, Rams, Seahawks and are all due to visit the Mile High City. The Broncos schedule is remarkably balanced, with no more than two road games in consecutive weeks. If they can use their home-field advantage to score wins over 2025 playoff qualifiers in the Jaguars and Rams in September, they should make it out of the first month in a manageable spot, although things do get tougher with road contests against the 49ers and Chargers. Perhaps most importantly, Denver's two December road games come against the and . The Broncos close things out with a challenging trio of matchups that includes home games against the Bills and Chargers, but if any team is well positioned to finish strong, it's the reigning AFC West champs." Perhaps the league actually did the Broncos a favor by putting a bunch of the heavyweights on their schedule on the front end of the slate. The Broncos will have a good chance to be at full health for those games and, as mentioned by Shook, they will play several of those games in Denver. A positive to schedule is a Thursday night and 2 Friday games gives them three mini-byes plus full week 10 bye. MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) HOT READ: If the Broncos can navigate the first six weeks without losing three or four games, they will have a great chance to reach their ultimate goal this season. Those first six weeks are going to be hugely important. More Broncos Content Khem Birch Jersey