The Denver Broncos will kick off their 2025 regular season in just 86 days. Hopes are high for a team that has dug itself out of a nearly decade-long hole and jumped right back into contention.
Sean Payton will be entering year three as the team's head coach and it feels as though the Broncos will have a chance to assert themselves as a true contender in the AFC this season. Of course, that's just what it feels like. The team will have to show that it doesn't just look good on paper.
The Broncos will face an interesting mix of opponents in the coming season. Here are some things to look out for in each of those games.
Broncos 2025 schedule and one concern for each game on the slate
Week 1 vs. Tennessee Titans
This will likely be the NFL debut of Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. While the Broncos are getting the worst team in the league last year as their first opponent this year, C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels have shown that rookie QBs should not be taken lightly.
While Ward will come in with no experience, the Broncos will also have no pro tape on which could give the Titans a chance to catch Denver by surprise.
Week 2 at Indianapolis Colts
There may be a bit of a revenge factor in this one as the Colts met the Broncos in Denver late in the season last year in a game that one could argue that they should have won. A miscue by Jonathan Taylor, dropping the ball before he was in the end zone, triggered an avalanche of events that completely changed the game.
This one will be in Indianapolis, where the Broncos have lost seven of the last eight meetings dating back to 2004.
Week 3 at Los Angeles Chargers
The Broncos had a chance to draft running back Omarion Hampton in the first round, the player who was most mocked to them just ahead of the draft. When the Broncos chose Jahdae Barron instead, Hampton went to the Chargers two picks later.
Week 4 vs. Cincinnati Bengals
The Broncos lost to the Bengals in a huge game with playoff implications last December, and the Bengals still have the lethal combination of Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase.
Week 5 at Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champions and they have a defense that dismantled Kansas City in the big game last year. That alone is enough to deal with, but the Broncos have won just once in their history in Philly and that came back in 1986.
Week 6 at New York Jets (in London)
The games where teams have to fly overseas always lead to some concern about how they will respond to the trip.
Week 7 vs. New York Giants
If Russell Wilson is still the Giants' starting quarterback for this game, you know that he is going to try and go all out against the team that took a massive dead money salary cap hit just to get rid of him.
Week 8 vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have not beaten the Broncos since 1995, losing the last seven games between the two teams. That could help motivate this year's Cowboys team to put an end to that streak.
Week 9 at Houston Texans
The Texans are a team in a similar position to the Broncos in terms of AFC contention. Stroud and Bo Nix could be battling for years to come, and this will be the latest installment.
Week 10 vs. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders drafted Ashton Jeanty, one of the most explosive players in this year's class. This will be the Broncos' first look at him and by Week 10, he could be in a well-established groove.
Week 11 vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs, already fuming over their loss in Super Bowl LIX, have heard all offseason about how teams in the division like the Broncos are ready to overtake them in the AFC West. They could look at this game as a chance to send a message.
Week 13 at Washington Commanders
The good thing is that the Broncos get this game after their bye week, but after what may have been the best rookie season any quarterback has ever had, any team that plays the Commanders has to be wary of what Jayden Daniels can do.
Week 14 at Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders are not a team many expect to be good this season, but the hiring of Pete Carroll was one of the best moves any team made this offseason. If the Broncos win the first meeting between the two and are looking to sweep the Raiders for a second straight year, it won't be easy to do against Carroll's bunch.
Week 15 vs. Green Bay Packers
It's a December home game, but it will be against a team that figures to be fighting for playoff positioning, making this one of the more important games on the schedule. The Broncos will be in a battle in this game.
Week 16 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
As we sit in June, this looks like it might be the easiest game on this year's schedule. It's at home against a team that is rebuilding and that could set up a spot for a big win to help get ready for the postseason.
But the Jaguars do have Travis Hunter and fans of the Broncos, many of whom also closely follow the Colorado Buffaloes, know how dangerous he can be.
Week 17 at Kansas City Chiefs
This is the biggest game on this year's schedule, and it happens to take place on Christmas night. It will be a huge chance for the Broncos to make a statement, but after what happened in Kansas City last season, will the moment still be too big for this team?
Week 18 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Much like the argument in the second meeting with the Raiders, the Chargers have Jim Harbaugh. These two teams could be fighting for playoff positioning and perhaps even the division title in this game.
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