The Denver Broncos defense might be licking its chops at the opportunity in front of it in Week 1.
According to a report from Fox Sports, the Broncos will open the 2025 regular season against the Tennessee Titans, who could be unveiling No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward as their starting quarterback.
Each of the last five quarterbacks taken with the top overall pick has started in Week 1. The last quarterback selected No. 1 overall who did not start his team’s opener was Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield in 2018.
The Broncos defense might give the Titans pause before making it six in a row.
Denver’s defense led the NFL last year with a franchise-record 63 sacks, paced by second-team All-Pro Nik Bonitto. Edge rusher Jonathon Cooper also had 10.5 sacks, while defensive end Zach Allen, also a second-team All-Pro, amassed a league-leading 40 quarterback hits.
On the back end, the Broncos have the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Pat Surtain II. To that stew, they added safety Talanoa Hufanga and linebacker Dre Greenlaw, with Alex Singleton returning from a torn ACL.
In other words, it’s a stew that bubbles over with danger for a rookie quarterback.
Throw in the hostile Empower Field at Mile High environment, and one wouldn’t blame Titans coach Brian Callahan — a former Broncos assistant coach (2010-15) who understands just how raucous the din can be — for opting to delay Ward’s maiden voyage for more benign conditions on a future Sunday.
Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said after the draft that the team would not install Ward as the starter immediately.
“We’re not gonna name any starters here, though, right now in the offseason,” Borgonzi said.
The Titans brought back Will Levis, a 2023 second-round pick who started nine games as a rookie and 12 games last year. Tennessee also added ex-Broncos reserve Brandon Allen and journeyman backup Tim Boyle in March. Allen started three games for Denver in November 2019 before giving way to Drew Lock.
BRONCOS BACK AT HOME FOR THE OPENER
Denver returns home for Week 1 after opening at Seattle last year. The Broncos have lost their last two Week 1 home games, to Las Vegas in 2023 by one point and Tennessee in 2020 in a game played in front of no fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, Denver is 30-9-1 in Week 1 home games.
Prior to 2020, the Broncos had won seven consecutive Week 1 home games, and 10 of 11.
But it’s also worth noting that in the nine seasons that the Broncos lost Week 1 home games, Denver failed to finish with a winning season eight times. Failure was usually a harbinger of frustration to come.
Fortunately for the Broncos, facing a team that is 9-32 in its last 41 games and is coming off a season in which it was the NFL’s worst offers a high potential of starting the campaign with a win in their back pocket.