ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — On the heels of their return to the playoffs, the Broncos have earned a larger share of the spotlight.
Denver's 2025 schedule was announced on Wednesday, and the 17-game slate features four prime-time games.
The Broncos will be featured on "Monday Night Football" (Week 4 vs. Bengals), "Sunday Night Football" (Week 13 at Commanders) and twice on "Thursday Night Football" (Week 10 vs. Raiders, Week 17 vs. Chiefs). While the Broncos ultimately played four prime-time games in 2024, they were slated to play in just two such games when the schedule was initially announced.
Denver will also play in a standalone window when the team faces the Jets in London in Week 6.
In addition to the prime-time matchups, the schedule includes home games to bookend the season.
The Broncos will kick off their season against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 (Sunday, Sept. 7, 2:05 p.m. MT, FOX) and could face the first-overall pick from the 2025 NFL Draft in quarterback Cam Ward. The Broncos will play their second Week 1 game at home in the last three years, and they'll look to earn their first Week 1 win since 2021. Denver has won seven of its last 10 Week 1 home games and is tied with the Cowboys for the most wins in season openers since 1960.
Denver will then face off against a division foe in the Los Angeles Chargers (Saturday, Jan. 3 or Sunday, Jan. 4) at Empower Field at Mile High to conclude the regular season. The specific date and time for Denver's Week 18 game will be announced ahead of the final weekend of the season.
The matchup against the Chargers is the last of a stretch of home games that will see the Broncos aim to solidify their playoff positioning within the friendly confines of Empower Field at Mile High. The Broncos are slated to play three of their final four games at home, as they'll host the Packers in Week 15 (Sunday, Dec. 14, 2:25 p.m. MT, CBS) and Jaguars in Week 16 (Sunday, Dec. 21, 2:05 p.m. MT, FOX), in addition to their Week 18 game vs. Los Angeles. The lone road game in that window will come as the Broncos travel to face the Chiefs on Christmas Day (Thursday, Dec. 25, 6:15 p.m. MT, Prime Video).
The end-of-season stretch will mark the first time since 2015 that the Broncos will play three of their final four regular-season games at home. The opponents, though, will represent a challenge. The Packers, Chargers and Chiefs all qualified for the postseason in 2024, and the series of games is the only time the Broncos will play 2024 playoff teams in back-to-back weeks. It also represents the only stretch where Denver will play three of last year's playoff teams in a four-week span.
While the Broncos will finish the season at home, they'll travel often in the first several weeks of the season. Following Denver's Week 1 game at home, the team will play just one more home game before Oct. 19. Denver will play consecutive road games vs. the Colts in Week 2 (Sunday, Sept. 14, 2:05 p.m. MT, CBS) and the Chargers in Week 3 (Sunday, Sept. 21, 2:05 p.m. MT, CBS) before the team's lone home game in that 40-day stretch. The Week 4 meeting with the Bengals (Monday, Sept. 29, 6:15 p.m. MT, ABC) will represent the 33rd time in the last 34 years that the Broncos will play on "Monday Night Football." Denver will then travel to play at the Eagles (Sunday, Oct. 5, 11 a.m. MT, CBS) and in London against the Jets (Sunday, Oct. 12, 7:30 a.m. MT, NFLN).
Unlike in 2022, the Broncos will not have their bye week after their trip overseas. The bye week comes later — in Week 12 — and Denver will return from London to play four of its next five games at home.
After a Week 7 matchup with the New York Giants (Sunday, Oct. 19, 2:05 p.m., CBS) and Week 8 meeting with the Cowboys (Sunday, Oct. 26, 2:25 p.m., CBS), the Broncos will travel to face the Texans (Sunday, Nov. 2, 11 a.m. MT, FOX). They'll finish the home stretch before the bye with a Week 10 "Thursday Night Football" battle against the Raiders (Thursday, Nov. 6, 6:15 p.m. MT, Prime Video) and a Week 11 home meeting with the Chiefs (Sunday, Nov. 16, 2:25 p.m. MT, CBS). The Broncos have won 11 of their last 16 games before the bye.
Following the Week 12 bye, the Broncos will play back-to-back road games for the final time in the season. Denver is 26-11 all-time following its bye week, and Head Coach Sean Payton is 11-6 after the bye. The Broncos have won both of their games after the bye (at Buffalo, 2023; vs. Indianapolis, 2024) during Payton's tenure in Denver.
The first of those two road games will feature the top two rookie quarterbacks from 2024, as Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels will face off on "Sunday Night Football" at Northwest Stadium (Sunday, Nov. 30, 6:20 p.m. MT, NBC). The Broncos last played on "Sunday Night Football" on the road in 2021.
Denver then travels to Las Vegas to conclude the season series in Week 14 (Sunday, Dec. 7, 2:05 p.m. MT, CBS).
While Denver will not play three consecutive road games at any point, the schedule does feature back-to-back road games on three occasions (Weeks 2 & 3; Weeks 5 & 6; Weeks 13 & 14).
Denver's schedule includes games against each team in the AFC South and NFC East and against the 2024 third-place finishers in the AFC North, AFC East and NFC North.
The Broncos' preseason opponents were also announced on Wednesday. Denver will travel to play the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 of the preseason, host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 and visit the New Orleans Saints in the final preseason tune-up.
