Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos TOUGH 2026 Schedule Will Prove Super Bowl CONTENDER Status

Episode Date: May 15, 2026

The Denver Broncos 2026 NFL schedule is tough, but it will prove whether or not they are true Super Bowl contenders.   Cody Roark and Sayre Bedinger react to the Broncos schedule, analyze the toughes...t stretches and most crucial stretches, and tell Broncos Country why they think the team will win 12 games this season. Plus, Bo Nix is a big reason the NFL wants the Broncos in the spotlight based on the nationally televised slate of games.   Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos.   WANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT? For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today --   Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-broncos/   Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, & More 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/nfl/   📲 Cody Roark Twitter / (https://twitter.com/codyroarknfl) 📲 Cody Roark Instagram / (https://instagram.com/codyroarknfl) 📲  Sayre Bedinger Twitter / (https://twitter.com/sayrebedinger)   Everydayer Club   If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. one 📲 https://lockedonbroncos.supercast.com/   TEXT LINE: Support the show and interact with us on Denver Broncos rumors, News, Game Previews, Q&A's, and more. 📲 https://joinsubtext.com/c/lockedonbroncos 📲 TEXT: (720) 580-5759   📢 Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Square If you’re starting a business, or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at https://square.com/go/LockedOnNFL.   FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game.   Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast.   Rocket Money Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at http://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDON   Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.   FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Ooh, we, the Denver Broncos 2026 NFL schedule is tough, but it will also prove if they are truly Super Bowl contenders. You are locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos country? I'm Cody Roar, joined as always by Sarah Bedinger, and we know the Denver Broncos' 2026 NFL schedule. We'll tell you why Bo Nix is proving that the NFL, they want the Denver Broncos in the United States. the spotlight and the schedule proves just that. Plus, the over under set on nine and a half wins this upcoming season. We'll tell you why we're taking the over in 2026. We're going to kick things off by talking about the Broncos having a tough schedule. They're facing several tough stretches and crucial stretches of the season. Sarah and I, we're going to share our thoughts as to what we think is the
Starting point is 00:00:56 toughest and the most crucial stretch for the season. So let's start things off here, Sarah, by just kind of like reacting here to the schedule initially. We already knew Denver coming into it was going to be facing McKin City Cheese Monday night football on the road. That's always a tough matchup, regardless if Mahomes is going to be fully healthy or not. But man, first glance at this whole schedule, it is tough sledding here for the Broncos. They face, at least on paper, some very, very tough stretches that will define their season. Absolutely. And it starts off with a gauntlet, right?
Starting point is 00:01:27 Over the first like month and a half or so, the Broncos have a number of matchups. And we see them kind of get these NFC matchups. it seems like out of the way pretty early in the season. I don't know if the Broncos are like asking for that or what it is, but obviously we know they play the NFC West this season and they're taking on the heavy hitters of that division early on this season. The Rams on Sunday night football, week three, San Francisco 49ers right after that.
Starting point is 00:01:53 And then a Thursday night affair against the Seattle Seahawks. And so there's a lot of intrigue in the first six weeks, Cody, beyond just, okay, you're opening up Monday night football against the Kansas City Chiefs. you turn around, you face off against the Jaguars right after that, and then you face this boom, boom, boom, this gauntlet of the NFC West. And so there's no rest for the weary for the Denver Broncos, right?
Starting point is 00:02:15 When you talk about, hey, you don't get to carry over any momentum from last season. You don't get to build on what you, you know, the AFC championship game. That's great. And obviously you hope to get back to that point and beyond, but it starts off by, all right, prove yourself. And we know, Sean Payton has kind of historically been average to maybe even below average in the month of September, maybe works in the Broncos favor a little bit
Starting point is 00:02:38 that the season starts a week or so later than I think it normally does. Cody, very interesting. I think it's mid-September, which it feels odd. So it's going to be a gauntlet to run the first month and a half of this season. But you know what? If I'm the Broncos, I like that because it gives you an opportunity to start fast, to start hot. And also give yourself a great litmus test early on and see,
Starting point is 00:03:02 hey, where do we stack up against some of the best teams in the NFL? Yeah, I agree. And it's nice to get some of those non-conference games out of the way because ultimately what matters, yes, you want to have a winning record, but what matters down the stretch is what your conference record is against AFC opponents. That is a reason why the Broncos actually had a good lead on the tiebreakers that they had last season that helped them secure the number one seat in the NFL playoffs.
Starting point is 00:03:26 I mean, I'm with you there. To start the season like that, I know the players had a nasty taste in their mouth from the Jaguars lost late at home in the season. Obviously, that game kind of got away from them. Maybe, I don't know, was it the pressure of winning 12 consecutive games? I'm not sure. That was the case. Denver just simply didn't play good in that game here.
Starting point is 00:03:44 But then you mentioned it as well. Rams, Matthew Stafford, Sunday night football, and what could be, Sarah? I know a lot of people early on say, hey, this could be a potential Super Bowl preview to the Broncos and the Rams, Bo Nicks versus Matthew Stafford. I like the hype around it or the potential little tags we can place on it. Could this be? But granted, this is going to come early on in the season. So it's hard to imagine what Denver's going to look like early versus what you hope they look like later on down the stretch when you have to play your most meaningful games of football.
Starting point is 00:04:14 I mean, you mentioned that part to open up the season, the gauntlets there. I also think coming out of the by week here for Denver, we know the biweek is officially week 10 for your Broncos. They're going to come up having a home game against the Las Vegas Raiders. But then they're going to go on the road and play the game. the Pittsburgh Steelers on a Black Friday, which in the NFL, they're trying to dominate every single day. And maybe next year, there's going to be Tuesday night football in the National Football League. We're going to have it essentially maybe seven days a week here going forward.
Starting point is 00:04:42 But I kid. But I really do think from week 14 to the end of the season, that in my opinion is going to be a very tough stretch here. And let me tell you why. You go at New York, the New York Jets, the Jets have always kind of given the Broncos a little bit of problems. like they've matched up well with Denver. I'm curious to see how it goes into Darren Mojee's second year's GM.
Starting point is 00:05:02 I think they've had a nice offseason. They've had a nice draft. I don't know if Gino Smith is certainly the guy that's going to lead that team to victory. But I think that they're a much more improved team on paper. Then you have a road game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Who knows what they're going to look like? Who knows who's going to be quarterback at that juncture, whether it be Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza? And then the final three games with the regular season, Sarah, my goodness.
Starting point is 00:05:26 A Christmas Day. Mary Knicks missed to all against the Buffalo Bills at home in Denver, which I'm excited about that. Christmas Day game in the Mile High City. Then you close out the final two games of the regular season at the New England Patriots and Home versus the Los Angeles Chargers. That to me seems like the toughest stretch of the schedule. And also, I might as well throw it in here, it ties into what I believe is the most crucial stretch of the schedule here for Denver. And who knows where they're going to be going into those weeks there. Absolutely. That's going to be massive. When you talk about finishing strong and you obviously want to go into the postseason with a full head of steam, not necessarily limping into it. But man, when you talk about those heavy hitters at the back end of the schedule, the bills on Christmas, the Patriots, the Chargers, those are games that could legitimately decide playoff seating, right? When you're talking about not such as tough opponents, those are the teams that we're looking at and we're saying, okay, hey, the Broncos, they were competing with the Patriots.
Starting point is 00:06:26 last year for the number one seed. The bills were fighting tooth and nail down the stretch last season for the division title with the Patriots. And obviously the Chargers are a team that was in the thick of it until just the last couple of weeks. So you really look at that stretch right there as, okay, yes, there's a gauntlet that you play at the start of the season, but not that NFC games are inconsequential, but they obviously don't count against your seating unless you're talking about overall win-loss
Starting point is 00:06:51 record. So you want to win those big-time AFC matchups against football. fellow playoff teams. That is going to be huge. And Cody, speaking of the NFC, do you know what's interesting to me? Since Sean Payton became the head coach of the Broncos,
Starting point is 00:07:05 get this, their record against NFC opponents is 12 and 3. Like, that's crazy. They lost two games, I believe, in the first year in 2023 against NFC opponents, and then they lost the season opener in 2024 to the Seattle Seahawks,
Starting point is 00:07:22 but they have not lost against NFC teams besides that. So pretty crazy to think. Remember, he dominated the NFC South a couple years ago. They dominated the NFC East and the Packers last year. And now you get a chance to maybe prove that against the NFC West again. So that's, and that's going to be the toughest. Honestly, that right there to me, the early going of this season is the toughest. As you talk about the most critical stretch, the toughest stretch to me is weeks three through six.
Starting point is 00:07:50 That would be the Rams, the 49ers, and the Chargers on the road. and then the Seahawks at home on a short week Thursday night football, that right there is, it's really tough. Like to go on the road against the chargers and then even to come back home and play Seattle on a short week, like that's, that's going to be hard for the Broncos to do.
Starting point is 00:08:08 So, I mean, it's, look, you've got to make it through. You've got to make it through the tough stretches. You've got to endure and, and really show that you are the best team in the critical stretches. But I think you're right. I think that ending three games, that is that's just absolute the NFL schedule absolutely nailed the holiday games
Starting point is 00:08:28 Cody I feel like Roger Goodell is like you know sticking up the middle finger to the NBA and like remember LeBron James like Christmas is the NBA and Roger Goodell's like no here we go we're going to have probably the highest ratings of you know the couple of days surrounding so I just I absolutely love the way that this played out and yes it's tough it's the NFL right we don't expect the Broncos to have an easy stretch. But I think if you look at weeks seven through weeks 15, that is a stretch right there where, man,
Starting point is 00:09:00 you talk about the most pivotal stretch, the toughest stretch, the most crucial. That's kind of where the Broncos are probably going to be favored in a lot of games. They need to take advantage of that. They need to make sure, like we saw last year, they kind of struggled against bad teams,
Starting point is 00:09:14 didn't necessarily play their best football against bad teams. This year, they need to flip the script and dominate the teams that are on their schedule that they should beat. Well, it all starts with getting off to a hot start, as Sean Payton said. And we know that historically has always kind of been tough for Sean Payton-led team, certainly since he's taken over in his tenure, as a member of the Debra Broncos, I'd say last year was a little bit of a different start.
Starting point is 00:09:36 They started off one and two, and then they won 11 straight games, which was absolutely crazy. Do the Broncos have that up their sleeves here once again this upcoming season? Broncos country, let's know your thoughts here on Denver's 2026 schedule. Your thoughts on it. We think it is tough. But, man, if they are going to be super. Super Bowl contenders. This is a prove-it type of schedule for them going into the regular season. But coming up next, a lot of places out there, including our friends over there at Fandu,
Starting point is 00:10:00 have them at nine and a half wins this season. Sarah and I are going to tell you why we're taking the over. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by friends over there at Kaushi. The 2026 NFL schedule release is here. And now you can trade every game on Kaushi. Schedule release always sparks the baits. Who's overrated? Who's got a brutal stretch in the schedule in which teams are actually playoff contenders? Well, Kaushi lets you trade. on those predictions in a live market from total wins to playoff chances and championship futures. And on Cali, you can trade on real NFL questions like whether a team makes the playoffs or reaches a certain win total. As a season outlook changes, you can buy in or out of your position
Starting point is 00:10:37 live and it's available in all 50 states. So it's easy to jump in and follow along this season. For example, if you think a team's schedule is set up perfectly for a playoff run, you can actually trade on that prediction before the season even starts. On Cali, you're trading against peers in a live market, meaning there is no house. And as the probability, changes. You could buy in and out of your position. Trade the draft pick, the game, and more on Kauci. For a limited time, download the Kauci app and use code locked on to get $10 when you trade 10. KALS-H-I Kauci trade on anything. Cody and I are going to tell you why we think the Denver Broncos are absolutely going over nine and a half wins. Come on. I mean, don't insult this team that won 14
Starting point is 00:11:16 games last year, everybody. I know, hey, George Peyton even said the Broncos might be better team this year might not have as good of a record because winning 14 is tough, but we're going to tell you why over nine and a half is an easy one to predict. And Broncos Country, we appreciate you so much for rocking with us every single day throughout the offseason. And if you're an everyday listener of the show, man, we appreciate you so much. And we want to invite you to check out the everyday club. You're going to get ad-free episodes of the show and access to an exclusive Discord server to talk Broncos with other members of Broncos country. Cody, let's talk about nine and a half wins as the over under. I think that honestly, you know, that is, it's a little bit of a slap in the face,
Starting point is 00:11:58 to be honest with you. And I hope the Broncos use it as a bit of motivation going into this season because they won 14 games last year, even if you say, hey, man, they're one score games. Those could flip either way. I think it's also fair to say the Broncos were in a lot of one score games that they probably should have won by, you know, two at minimum scores. They just definitely let teams back in at the end. Garbage time. Some of those one score games ended up being. So to me, I'm easily smashing over on nine and a half wins. And you know me, I'm the guy who says 20 and O until we ain't. Yeah, no, I don't disagree. I always think that's, I'll wait for that every year. Like 20 and oh till we eight. That's Sarah's motto. And it's become a staple here of the show. I'm with you.
Starting point is 00:12:43 And look, I feel like it's, I feel like nine and a half where they placed that, right? I think that's kind of a fair spot just because it is up there. I mean, the teams, think about it as well, I'm trying to remember which teams who had, who was placed at 12 and a half wins in terms of the lines. Like that right there, there's more pressure. Nine and a half, I think is easy. Like for me, I think this is easy on hitting the over. You and I both agree. Where do you stand in terms of the number of wins you think is going to have? Because the last couple of years, going back to 24, I predicted they were going to win 10 games. They did. Luckily, and people were clowning on me when I said 10 games.
Starting point is 00:13:20 But, you know, I had the last laugh there. You know what to say? He who laughs last, laughs loudest. Last year, I predicted, I think, 11 games. Where were you last year? And then let's kind of get into the number of games we think they're going to win this year. This is a tough schedule on paper in terms of the opponents. But we believe that this team, and Sean Payton certainly believes that this team is a Super Bowl contender.
Starting point is 00:13:40 So let's see where we land. Where are you at on this? That's a really good question about last year. I'm sure I have receipts out there where I've said. something, but I feel like it was either 11 or 12 because obviously when they won 10 games in 24, I'm going to say, hey, they're going to improve on that. And I don't think necessarily you sit here and say, well, they won 14 games last year, so they're going to improve on that. I think that it's just, obviously, winning in the NFL is very hard. You could be the better team in a certain game.
Starting point is 00:14:10 And just like we saw against the Colts last year, not necessarily that the Broncos were the clear, obvious better team, but games can swing one way or the other, even with no time left on the clock. So, I mean, they could have won 15 games. They could have won 16 games. Yeah. The only game they got blown out was against Jacksonville. So I just think that, yes, the ball might not bounce your way every single week. I'm saying 12 wins this year. Okay. It's 12 or 13. I like that number because ultimately, I don't think there's going to be like this huge drop off for this team. I don't think that they're going to like struggle. I don't, I think that we're going to see fewer one score games, but I don't think that we're going to see more
Starting point is 00:14:49 losses. I think that we're going to see some more blowouts from the Broncos. We might see some tight losses. We might see some tough. I mean, we got tough opponents, everybody. There's, this is a tough schedule. And like, sometimes you get bested. And that just happens in the NFL, but it's about racking up the Ws. And I think that's, I think the Broncos are going to blow a lot of teams out. I think maybe whereas last year we saw, hey, they're, they're like plus minus in terms of points scored versus points allowed, wasn't necessarily indicative of a team that's just running the table every single week. But man, I think that's going to be what's improved this year, is that this team's going to be more balanced. They're going to be harder to beat. And I think
Starting point is 00:15:27 that their losses are going to feel like quality. I don't think we're going to see the Broncos get just absolutely trounced by any of these teams. And when they do go off, I mean, they're going to blow some teams out. That's the way that I perceive this team in 2026. I've got them at 12 wins as well. That's kind of where I'm feeling. I was pulsating between like, okay, you know, last year they won 14, back there and in the balancing out of the schedule, some of the tougher opponents, some of the circumstantial changes in the offseason for several teams. 12 wins, I think is great for this Broncos team, right? I think because they won 14 last year, there's going to be a portion of people like, well, they should win 14 again. They should win 15. Man, that would be fantastic.
Starting point is 00:16:06 We wouldn't gripe about that at all. That makes life for us so much better. 12 wins does seem like that is probably the sweet spot for them this upcoming season. And so much could obviously change due to injury from, you know, from Denver knock on wood, hopefully Bo Lowry has everything in place for the Broncos to be perfectly, you know, in shape and healthy down the stretch and at the beginning of the season. You know, to me,
Starting point is 00:16:29 I also factor into the schedule as well. Okay, Denver, we know this year, this is the nine away games, eight home games for them. Five of their first nine away games are really going to be in the first part of the schedule, 10 weeks there before week 10 by they're going to be having five of those
Starting point is 00:16:46 matchups on the road four games at home and to start the season at the beginning of the year so that is where things are going to be challenging now here's also another thing I wanted to bring up to you you get Kansas City week one on the road but you also get them what is it I believe week eight if I'm not mistaken yes week eight you're going to get them twice in the span of seven weeks and you kind of get that matchup out of the way versus is we're always waiting for the end of the year, Bo Nix versus Mahomes. Is it going to be a week 18 where someone could be wrestling their starters,
Starting point is 00:17:18 no, we're actually going to get Bo versus Mahomes twice in a span of seven weeks. I'm excited about that. I think that's going to be fun. It's going to change things up from what we've kind of been accustomed to seeing with the Broncos and Chiefs specifically. Yeah, it's whether they've ended or close to ended the season with the Chiefs, the last two seasons, right?
Starting point is 00:17:38 So it was the last game of the year in 2024. and then they played on Christmas last year, right? So now, yeah, you get those two games. I don't want to say out of the way, but you get an opportunity to get a huge leg up on them before you even hit the buy, right? That's what you want to do if you're the Denver Broncos is, okay, we have two matchups before we even hit our buy week,
Starting point is 00:17:57 and we might already have two games up on you just with our head-to-head matchups within the division. That would be huge. That would be massive. And I know you play the chargers before the buy as well, and then the rest of the division games will be played after. So it really does work out well. I mean, I feel like the Broncos had a disadvantage right away last year because the
Starting point is 00:18:19 Chargers started off. They played three straight games, I believe, in the division. And it was like three and no right away for them. And the Broncos were obviously part of that. So you control what you can control in the NFL, but winning in the division is critical. And we saw just how critical that was last year because the Broncos had things sealed up when they went into that week 18 matchup against the chargers. They didn't, they didn't even have to, you know, play the starters.
Starting point is 00:18:43 Ultimately, they needed to for the number one seed, but not for the division, right? So it's, it's such a luxury to have those wins earlier in the year because that's such like extra, you know, extra change in cash in your pocket. You know, hey, we've already got the division wins starting to pile up. Now we can focus on, okay, going through week to week, we're not worried about, it's that that you think about games. as like, hey, this is a negotiable game. But as you and I talk about this, you kind of think about it that way when it comes to
Starting point is 00:19:14 having already won those division matchups, just knowing, hey, we've got these in our back pocket and we feel good about the rest of the way, especially because those happen before the buy. Yeah, and after the buy week, eight straight AFC conference matchups, that is going to be the bread and butter here for Denver. And I think, as you mentioned, it's kind of like the meat and the potatoes of the schedule where Denver can kind of gain an advantage. And, you know, maybe there are some games that Denver's going to go into where they're not favor, where they go in and they win early on the season.
Starting point is 00:19:43 Man, that would be great. And then it sets Denver up to just control their own destiny, which ultimately you want to be in control of your circumstances in the postseason. You don't want to have to rely on Tom Dick or Harry to win week 17 just so you have a chance to get in the dance. Now make sure you punch your ticket, get there early. And that's what the Broncos need to do to take advantage of this tough schedule. Take care of business and prove a lot of people wrong.
Starting point is 00:20:06 you know what? With the hype comes to the spotlight, the Debra Broncos, they are in the prime time spotlight for five games, potentially more this upcoming season. And Bonix is proving why the NFL wants the Broncos in that spotlight. We'll highlight that more here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode of the show was brought to you by our friends over there at Fandu. The NBA playoffs are here. Plus the NHL playoffs are ongoing.
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Starting point is 00:21:17 Today's episode of the show was also brought to you by friends over there at Rocket Money. If you ever opened up your bank account and you've thought, where did all my money go? You were not alone. I've done the same plenty of times. Keeping track of subscriptions, spending and bills can get overwhelming fast. You can lose track. And that's where Rocket Money comes in. It helps take control of your finances.
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Starting point is 00:22:07 Join at RocketMoney.com slash locked on. That's rocketmoney.com slash locked on. You want the Broncos in the spotlight. Well, guess what? You get it. Whether there's chiefs fans, Chargers fans, the rest of the NFL world that's going to cry about it. Broncos country, your team is relevant here again because people are complaining about the Broncos being on TV. That's how you know. Things are in a good spot here. And the Bronco's schedule certainly showcases that. And Sarah, once again, I think you and I were talking here. looking at the schedule, just looking at all the narratives. When the Monday night football game was announced initially week one for the Kansas City Chiefs,
Starting point is 00:22:44 the marketing behind it, Joe Buck was saying, hey, this is Bo Nix. It's Bo Nix versus Patrick Mahomes. This is the type of game that we want. Well, now you look at the Broncos primetime schedule, Sarah, they have two early on, and they have three primetime games in the first half of the schedule. They get a Monday night game to start. They get a Sunday night football game in week three against the Rams. and then they get a Thursday night football against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Starting point is 00:23:09 This right here is the NFL saying, hey, we think the Broncos are on the up and up. This right here is them being in the spotlight. It is. And it's exactly what Broncos fans should want, right? Because with, you know, that pressure, that pressure comes from being a good team and exceeding expectations and having a franchise quarterback and being interesting to everybody else. And what's interesting to everybody else is when you. start winning games and you draw a lot of eyes and attention. And that's exactly what we've been hoping for. Like how many times did we sit here and wonder, are the Broncos even going to
Starting point is 00:23:44 get a prime time game? Remember that one season that wasn't too long ago that I don't think the Broncos even got a single Sunday night football game. They weren't included in the Sunday night slate. I can't remember if that was 22 or one of those years. The Broncos didn't get a single Sunday night game, which was crazy to me. But man, we've come a long way, right? We've come a long way from the Broncos being out of the spotlight entirely and sort of being a footnote in the NFL to now being back and and well, we want to see the Broncos. I mean, Monday night football. It's the first, it's going to be the most watched game of opening week, in my opinion.
Starting point is 00:24:19 Yeah. Monday night football, the return of Patrick Mahomes potentially. And then obviously, you know, you get those games against the NFC opponents that everybody's going to be, everybody's going to want to see. Hey, Broncos versus Rams. Are you kidding me? I mean, Broncos versus 49ers. in San Francisco, Broncos against Seahawks on Thursday night football.
Starting point is 00:24:38 It doesn't get better than those types of storylines when it comes to the NFL. And you have so much at stake early on and so many, so many interesting things going on with all these different teams. This is why the NFL is king. This is why the NFL is better when teams like the Broncos are good because it's not just the Mahomes and Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow and, you know, all these, Matthew Stafford, it's not just those guys anymore. There's teams coming up and the Broncos are one of them.
Starting point is 00:25:10 They're adding wrinkles into the predetermined storylines. And that's why I think the NFL loves it. Plus in the second half of the season, you get the Thanksgiving and the Black Friday game for the Broncos against Pittsburgh. And then you get obviously the Christmas game against Buffalo. I mean, it's must see TV no matter what. But like you said, anybody, I'm going to use a Codyism here. Anybody who doesn't like it, you just got a.
Starting point is 00:25:32 pound sand, man. Yeah, I love that. No, and here's the thing, too, right? They got five prime time games. And think about how many of those afternoon games, Denver's getting, they're going to be the America's game of the week in terms of like Fox or CBS. How many times you're going to get Tony Romo and Jim Nancy, Tracy Wolfson to come to town? I think it's going to be great.
Starting point is 00:25:52 My wife's not going to be very excited about any time. She has to hear Tony Romo on the TV, but you know what? You got to just live and breathe of what happens in terms of that comes with the territory. But I will say this as well. I mean, Sarah, let's take a look at the final two games of the regular season as well. Week 17 and week 18 are always listed as a TBD, which means it could be a Saturday game. It could be a Sunday game. Right now, if we think the Bronco schedule is going to play out how we think,
Starting point is 00:26:18 and they're going to be a team that could win 12 games, maybe even more this season. They're a Super Bowl contender. You don't think that that Broncos at New England Patriots, Week 17 game is going to be flexed into the prime time. I don't think that there's any other game right now on paper going on that week that makes the most sense. Now, I know that I think that week, I think the Ravens and the Bengals are facing each other on a New Year's Eve game. So there's that right there. So for Denver at New England, Sunday night football, man, this is bringing back, bringing back, you know, kind of where we're at when Peyton Manning was on the team here. And then what if that Chargers game at home in week 18 has massive playoff implications?
Starting point is 00:26:55 Once again, we're talking about a potential another game that could get flexed to. to a Saturday prime time spot. Denver could be in the spotlight even more than just the five a lot of primetime games this upcoming season. A lot of opportunities for this team to even be further in the spotlight, right? And we know also the Broncos last year,
Starting point is 00:27:14 I believe they opted to do a second Thursday night game. If I remember correctly, I think that was, well, at least on the road, right? I don't remember the exact circumstances, but so there's flexible options for the NFL with a lot of different things. And man,
Starting point is 00:27:29 I think Broncos are set up so perfectly with a week 10 buy. Like that just, that gets me really excited about where these, okay, you have the primetime games, you have the spotlight, but then you have that buy right in the middle of the season and we know things kind of flex later on or you have the option to have things flex later on. I just think that's a huge advantage to you have that tough stretch at the beginning of the year.
Starting point is 00:27:51 You take a break right where we kind of wanted the team to have a break last year. And then you can come back and hit the ground running once again. but as far as, I mean, the reason why this is all happening, Cody, I mean, obviously the Broncos defense has been fantastic. Obviously, they have a really great roster. Obviously, Sean Payton is a high profile head coach, but let's just be real for a minute here. This is all about Bo Nix.
Starting point is 00:28:15 Like, Bo Nix has proven to the league that he plays in that he's a star. Like the Broncos have a star quarterback who he may not be perfect at this point, but we think he's going to be a lot better. And look at that. I mean, he looks good. He's already got himself an action figure. This dude is absolutely cooking. Bo Nix is the reason why the Broncos are getting this ultimate spotlight.
Starting point is 00:28:40 And man, it just feels good to know that, to know that you have a star at the quarterback position that everybody in the NFL is kind of circling these matchups because of. He's one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the league right now. And look, everyone's talking about the Mahomes, the Burroughs, the Lamar Jackson's, the Josh Allen's of the world. Now I think a lot more people are going to be talking a little bit more about Bo Nix.
Starting point is 00:29:03 We're going to be talking about Caleb Williams. They're going to be talking about Drake May. Like right now, from a product standpoint, quarterback play across the NFL in terms of names and potential, the NFL is in a spot that they haven't been in a long time, Sarah. And that to me is exciting. We might be going back in time a little bit in terms there's quantity. There's widespread marquee quarterbacks across the entire.
Starting point is 00:29:26 NFL versus what we saw, I'd say from the stretch of what, 2015 to about 2020, 2020, 2021, where it's just like you got the top heavy guys and then it's just, ah, they don't even have the answer to quarterback for a handful of different teams. The NFL's in a good spot right now and they're capitalizing on it. And the Broncos are a big reason why as well. But Broncos country, thanks for making us your first listen, tuning to us every single day. Make sure you let us know your thoughts here on the Bronco's schedule.
Starting point is 00:29:51 And also let us know how many Wednesday have the Broncos at this. upcoming season and we'll also continue to break things down as the entire offseason continues now that we know the matchups. We'll go through and we'll start previewing some of the bigger matchups where the Broncos roster stacks against some of the teams that they're going to be playing some of the early on storylines as well. Plus that's going to lead us directly into OTAs in the month of June where we'll be at practice and why be covered there. Football is almost here, Broncos country. Thanks for rocking with us. We got you covered here. Locked on Broncos.

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