Broncos' 4 most important games in 2026: One team makes list twice

The 2026 NFL schedule has now been available for a few weeks and fans have had a chance to dissect the games that will be played and try to project how their favorite teams will do. 

The Denver Broncos, having to face a first-place schedule this season for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50, will have a wide variety of stiff challenges. The six-game slate that the team has to start the season is far from enviable. However, an NFL regular season consists of 18 weeks and many teams still have a chance to contend all the way up until the final game of the season.

The Broncos have their sights set on SoFi Stadium and Super Bowl LXI. But to get there, they will have to overcome some difficult obstacles. 

We have already discussed the team's most difficult games as well as the must-win games, but what about the most important games? These are the games on the schedule that could make or break this season for the Broncos. Looking at the full 17-game slate, these are the team's four most important games. 

Broncos' most important games in 2026

Week 1 at Kansas City

Right out of the gate, the Broncos play what will be one of their most important games of the season. They aren't being given a tune-up against a lowly AFC team or a matchup with some team from the NFC that they hardly ever meet. No, they are getting thrown into Arrowhead Stadium in what will be billed as Patrick Mahomes' grand return and a game in which the Chiefs have a chance to announce to the entire league, right off the bat, that they haven't gone anywhere. 

Throw in the fact that this is the season opener of Monday Night Football and you have all the elements of an early-season showdown. The Broncos could deal their top rival a crushing loss or put themselves in an early hole in the division. 

Week 5 at Los Angeles Chargers

Considering how good the AFC West looks on paper, the divisional matchups are going to be massive this season, particularly the games on the road. 

The Broncos lost on the road to the Chargers last season and they have a meeting in October that could be an early indicator of how this season could go. If the Broncos dropped this game and the Week 1 battle against Kansas City, their odds of repeating as division champs would be greatly decreased. 

Week 8 vs. Kansas City

The Chiefs again? It just seems that with the positioning of the divisional games on the schedule this year, the two games against the Chiefs stand out as the most important. This game comes on the first day of November and it will either provide a chance for the Broncos to get revenge from Week 1 or sweep the Chiefs for the second year in a row. 

The Chargers are a solid team. The Raiders are still trying to build one. But it just seems that for the Broncos to remain kings of the division, that road still goes through Kansas City. 

Week 16 vs. Buffalo

The Bills are going to be hungry for a chance to get back at the Broncos for ending their season in dramatic fashion last year. Both teams have a chance to be the best team in the AFC this season and have an inside track to reaching the Super Bowl. With this game also taking place on Christmas Day, it could have incredibly huge implications on the rest of the season. 

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