Broncos will have to wait nearly all season for revenge in 'most intriguing' game

The Denver Broncos and their fans are likely eagerly awaiting their matchup with the New England Patriots in the 2026 NFL season. It would have been nice to get that one out of the way right out of the gate. 

Instead, the game won't take place until 2027, right after the new year in Week 17. The Broncos will travel to Foxborough this time, looking for revenge against a Patriots team that came into Denver in the AFC Championship Game and thwarted the team's hopes of playing in the Super Bowl. 

Of course, some huge factors played a major part in that game. 

For starters, the Broncos were without starting quarterback Bo Nix, who suffered a broken ankle in the divisional round against the Buffalo Bills. That thrust Jarrett Stidham into the lineup and he had to make his first start in over two years. There aren't many people outside of the New England area who think the Patriots would have won that game if the Broncos had Nix. 

In addition, a blizzard that rolled in during the second half of that game made vision on the field treacherous and pretty much rendered offensive football useless. 

Patriots fans don't want to hear the excuses. Their team went to the Super Bowl. But Broncos Country is going to be hungry for revenge and by Week 17, will be more than ready for their chance to get it. 

Kay Adams dubs Broncos vs. Patriots in Week 17 the most intriguing game of 2026

NFL media personality Kay Adams counted down her five most intriguing games of the 2026 season before the schedule was released, and she has that Broncos vs. Patriots game at number one on her list. 

"I'm going to say, without question, it's Broncos at Pats. And this is without Jarrett Stidham this time, hopefully, no offense to him, former Patriot. But the AFC Championship Game last year, this was the biggest what if, this was the biggest unfinished business, but the biggest what if for sure. And we'll never know what would have happened had Bo Nix been out there, and a regular-season win wouldn't erase what did happen that day, the nightmare, at least if you're a Broncos fan", said Adams. 

She also talked about how she wouldn't mind that game being in Week 1, but obviously, that didn't happen. 

Still, regardless of the nearly four-month wait for this game after the start of the regular season, which will come nearly one year after the AFC Championship Game, that loss will still be on the minds of the Broncos, Sean Payton, and the team's fans.  

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A lot of things can happen during the season before this game takes place, but it would be nice for the Broncos to be able to put a final stamp on a terrific regular season by handing the Patriots a big defeat in this one. 

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