The Denver Broncos knew the who, what and the where — well, mostly — of their 2025 slate for a while. Wednesday they learned the when.
Here’s what you need to know about each matchup:
WEEK 1: TENNESSEE TITANS AT DENVER BRONCOS
Sunday, Sept. 7 – 2:05 P.M. MDT
Empower Field at Mile High – Denver
TV: FOX
The top storyline will revolve around whether the Titans install No. 1 pick Cam Ward as their starter right away. The last five quarterbacks selected with the No. 1 overall pick have started Week 1 for their teams; those teams went 1-3-1. But only one of those clubs — the 2021 Jaguars — opened on the road … In the common-draft era, teams that start rookie No. 1 overall picks at quarterback in Week 1 road openers are 1-9. The one win? The 1983 Broncos with John Elway, who was benched in favor of Steve DeBerg during a 14-10 victory at Pittsburgh … Denver is 30-9-1 when at home for Week 1 .. Sean Payton-led teams are 7-3 at home in Week 1 … The Broncos are 1-5 in Week 1 since 2019.
WEEK 2: DENVER BRONCOS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Sunday, Sept. 14 – 2:05 P.M. MDT
Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis
TV: CBS
Going back to the Combine, rumblings roared that the Broncos would be the opponent for the Indianapolis Colts for their “home” game in Berlin, Germany. But in the end, the Atlanta Falcons drew that nod. One couldn’t blame the Colts if they didn’t want to give up a home game with the Broncos; after all, from their perspective, they were a Jonathan Taylor gaffe away from being in the postseason, so they likely wanted what they would believe to be a crucial matchup to be in their home stadium rather than a neutral site … One couldn’t blame them for wanting true home cooking, as Indianapolis has rarely been kind to the Broncos; Denver is 2-8 in the last quarter-century in Indiana … Payton-led teams are 4-0 against the Colts … This starts a stretch of four games away from Denver in five weeks.
WEEK 3: DENVER BRONCOS AT LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Sunday, Sept. 21 – 2:05 P.M. MDT
SoFi Stadium – Inglewood, Calif.
TV: CBS
This will mark the earliest visit by the Broncos to the Chargers in a season since 2003, when they played at San Diego in Week 2 and won, 37-13. That game is notable for the Broncos packing the wrong color jerseys — blue instead of white — which led to the Chargers getting jersey-color choice for the rematch in Denver two months later, leading to the first time the Broncos wore white for a home game in 20 years …Last year, the Broncos absorbed their first series sweep at the hands of the Chargers since 2011 … Payton-coached teams are 1-4 versus teams helmed by Jim Harbaugh … The Broncos are 1-5 all-time at SoFi Stadium.
WEEK 4: CINCINNATI BENGALS AT DENVER BRONCOS
Monday, Sept. 29 – 6:15 P.M. MDT
Empower Field at Mile High – Denver
TV: ABC
The Broncos are 25-13-1 all-time at home on Monday Night Football, good for the eighth-best winning percentage in the NFL … Cincinnati is 5-20 on the road on MNF, tied with Jacksonville for the NFL’s worst away winning percentage on Mondays … The Bengals are 3-6 in prime-time games started by Burrow … Denver has lost its last two home games to the Bengals after winning 10 in a row; prior to 2017, Cincinnati hadn’t won in Denver since 1975.
WEEK 5: DENVER BRONCOS AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Sunday, Oct. 5 – 11 A.M. MDT
Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia
TV: CBS
Denver is 1-6 all-time in Philadelphia, with four of the losses coming by at least three scores, including 2017’s 51-23 humbling that truly demonstrated the club’s dominant years of the 2010s were over and that it was in a rebuilding phase, even though it couldn’t admit it … Payton-led teams are 6-4 against the Eagles … The Broncos lost their last previous game against a team with ex-head coach Vic Fangio on its staff; that was the 70-20 debacle in Miami two years ago … Facing defending world champions on the road has been a problem for the Broncos; Denver has lost seven consecutive games in this scenario, last winning a game like this in 2006, defeating Pittsburgh 31-20.
WEEK 6: DENVER BRONCOS VS. NEW YORK JETS
Sunday, Oct. 12 – 7:30 A.M. MDT
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – London
TV: NFL Network
Payton will face his former assistant, Aaron Glenn, while general manager George Paton bumps into his former assistant, Darren Mougey, who now guides the Jets as GM … The Broncos are 1-1 all-time in London … This will be the sixth consecutive year the Broncos and Jets have met; this will reach seven in 2026 when the teams meet at MetLife Stadium. A 2027 meeting will depend on whether they finish in the same position in their respective divisions … Payton-led teams are 2-0 in London.
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WEEK 7: NEW YORK GIANTS AT DENVER BRONCOS
Sunday, Oct. 19 – 2:05 P.M. MDT
Empower Field at Mile High – Denver
TV: CBS
Will it be Russell Wilson under center? He’s been handed the job for Week 1, but with Jameis Winston lurking and a first-round choice utilized on Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart, the clock could be ticking and the leash might be short on the former Broncos starter … perhaps not long enough to give him the potential revenge game. Big Blue’s six games before coming to Denver include trips to Washington and Dallas with home games against both of last year’s Super Bowl participants and a 2024 playoff team, the Chargers. Gooooooooood luck … Payton-led teams are 5-2 against the Giants and have averaged 35.1 points per game.
WEEK 8: DALLAS COWBOYS AT DENVER BRONCOS
Sunday, Oct. 26 – 2:25 P.M. MDT
Empower Field at Mile High – Denver
TV: CBS
The Broncos have dominated this series in recent decades, winning seven consecutive games over the Cowboys. Dallas’ last win over Denver came in 1995, Mike Shanahan’s first season as Broncos head coach — and the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl-winning season … This will mark Javonte Williams’ return to Denver; new Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer expressed confidence last month that the Cowboys could revive the 2021 second-round pick’s fortunes after two frustrating years following a devastating knee injury … Payton-led teams are 5-4 against the Cowboys, including a 24-17 loss on Dec. 19, 2009 that ended the eventual Super Bowl-winning Saints’ hopes of an undefeated season.
WEEK 9: DENVER BRONCOS AT HOUSTON TEXANS
Sunday, Nov. 2 – 11 A.M. MST
NRG Stadium – Houston
TV: FOX
Houston will try to do something it has never done in its 24-season history: win back-to-back games over the Broncos. The Texans eked out a 22-17 win with an end-zone interception in the final seconds two years ago, the third pick thrown by Russell Wilson that day … Denver has won four of the last six in the series, including two of the last three in Houston.
WEEK 10: LAS VEGAS RAIDERS AT DENVER BRONCOS
Thursday, Nov. 7 – 6:15 P.M. MST
Empower Field at Mile High – Denver
TV: Amazon Prime
Las Vegas did everything possible to make itself more relevant and its games within the division spicier; at the minimum, its moves — especially the hiring of Pete Carroll as head coach — elevate its floor … Payton-led teams are 5-3 against those coached by Carroll … The Raiders have lost six of their last seven Thursday night road games … Raiders-Broncos in Denver used to be a prime-time staple — and, of course, was famously the first prime-time game here in 1973 … but this is the first night game in the Mile High City between the clubs since 2013. They played a Sunday night game in Oakland in 2016 and Monday night games there in 2018 and 2019 … The Broncos have lost two of three games to Geno Smith-led teams; their only win came when he started for the Jets in 2014.
WEEK 11: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT DENVER BRONCOS
Sunday, Oct. 16 – 2:25 P.M. MST
Empower Field at Mile High – Denver
TV: CBS
The Broncos drew the short straw in getting Kansas City after its bye; Andy Reid-led teams are 22-4 after bye weeks. He has the best winning percentage of any coach in NFL history who has had at least 10 bye weeks … Two of the losses came when the other team also had a bye, so when the opponent played the previous week, Reid’s teams are 21-2 … The Broncos at least have a “mini-bye” with a Thursday night game the previous week, but still … Denver at least snapped the Chiefs’ winning streak in the series two years ago; thanks to the Week 18 win last year against Kansas City’s understudies, the Broncos are looking for their first three-game home winning streak in the series since 2012-14 … This will cap a stretch of four home games in five weeks for the Broncos.
WEEK 12: BYE
WEEK 13: DENVER BRONCOS AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
Sunday, Nov. 30 – 6:20 P.M. MST
Northwest Stadium – Landover, Md.
TV: NBC
This is the Broncos’ post-bye game, which usually means good things for Payton; his teams are 11-6 after bye weeks, including 2-0 in Denver. But Washington also enters this game coming off a bye, as well, robbing the Broncos of the type of advantage the Chiefs have a fortnight earlier … Denver is winless (0-4) on the road on Sunday Night Football since Peyton Manning’s retirement … The Broncos are 2-4 all-time at Washington; Payton’s teams are 2-2 there and 4-3 against Washington overall … Payton leads his coaching matchup with Washington’s Dan Quinn 6-4; the two dueled in the NFC South when Quinn helmed Atlanta.
WEEK 14: DENVER BRONCOS AT LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Sunday, Dec. 7 – 2:05 P.M. MST
Allegiant Stadium – Las Vegas, Nev.
TV: CBS
The Broncos look for their second consecutive win in Las Vegas; they are still just 1-4 there, as last year’s win was their first after eight consecutive road defeats to the Raiders … Payton-led teams are 2-1 against clubs with offenses guided by new Raiders playcaller Chip Kelly … This comes in the midst of perhaps the Raiders’ most difficult stretch, as it is the second of four consecutive games against teams that were in last year’s postseason; Las Vegas faces the Chargers one week before this game, then travels to Philadelphia and Houston in the two successive weeks.
WEEK 15: GREEN BAY PACKERS AT DENVER BRONCOS
Sunday, Dec. 14 – 2:25 P.M. MST
Empower Field at Mile High – Denver
TV: CBS
No Broncos series has been more tied to home-field advantage than the one with the Packers. Denver is 7-1 all-time against Green Bay in Denver — only dropping an overtime game in 2007 — but is 0-6-1 against the Packers in Wisconsin. Of course, the Broncos triumphed in the duel that counted most: Super Bowl XXXII … In a quirk of the schedule, the Broncos catch Green Bay in the middle of its series with its arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears. The Pack hosts Chicago seven days before traveling to Denver, then plays at Chicago in the following week. Whether that helps or hurts the Broncos will probably depend on how quickly Ben Johnson can get second-year Bears quarterback Caleb Williams up to speed … Former Broncos kicker Brandon McManus returns to Denver for the first time since the Broncos cut him in May 2024 … Payton-led teams are 6-2 against Green Bay.
WEEK 16: JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT DENVER BRONCOS
Sunday, Dec. 21 – 2:05 P.M. MST
Empower Field at Mile High – Denver
TV: FOX
This will mark 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter’s return to Colorado … Denver is 4-4 all-time against the Jaguars in Denver, but the most recent game was in 2019 … Payton has never lost to the Jaguars; his teams are 4-0 against them … The Broncos are 2-0 against the Jaguars since Trevor Lawrence became their starting quarterback, defeating them in 2021 and 2022 … The last quarterback to start two consecutive games for the Broncos in the series against Jacksonville was Jay Cutler (2007 and 2008).
WEEK 17: DENVER BRONCOS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Thursday, Dec. 25 – 6:15 P.M. MST
Arrowhead Stadium – Kansas City, Mo.
TV: Amazon Prime
The Broncos are 2-2 all-time on Christmas Day, including a 2016 game at Kansas City, which was a 33-10 loss punctuated by Dontari Poe’s “Fat Tebow” touchdown pass … All of the Broncos’ Christmas Day games were on the road; Denver defeated Detroit in 1999 and Tennessee in 2004, lost at KC in 2016 and fell in humiliating fashion to the Rams in 2022, leading to Nathaniel Hackett’s firing the next morning … Denver has lost nine consecutive games at Arrowhead Stadium … The Chiefs are 6-2 on Thursdays with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, including a 19-8 win over the Broncos in 2023.
WEEK 18: LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT DENVER BRONCOS
Saturday, Jan. 3 or Sunday, Jan. 4 – TBD
Empower Field at Mile High – Denver
TV: TBD
This is where the regular season ends — and quite often, Broncos seasons have ended against the Chargers. This is the 16th time these teams have met in the final game of the regular season, but the first time since 2022, as Denver closed with the Raiders and Chiefs the last two years … The 2023 regular-season finale at Las Vegas marked the only time the Broncos have closed on the road since Week 17 of the 2013 season.
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