ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The first prime-time battle of the season at Empower Field at Mile High is here.

The Broncos are set to host the Los Angeles Rams for "Sunday Night Football" in Week 3, and Denver will aim to secure its fourth consecutive home prime-time win. Both teams enter the matchup looking for more after earning their first wins of the 2026 season during Week 2.

"Night-time games at our stadium are awesome," quarterback Bo Nix said Wednesday. "We have a great electric atmosphere. It's always fun when you grow up, you watch these prime-time games. It's usually when everybody's watching, when all the TVs are on. You just know it's a big deal, you know it's a big game. You know two good teams are playing against each other. For us — we say it all the time — we know we'll play in bigger games. But right now, this is the next-biggest one."

This "next-biggest" game will bring together two teams that entered the 2026 season with renewed motivation and championship aspirations after falling short in their respective conference championship games a season ago.

In an early season matchup of aspiring contenders, here are three questions that could decide the outcome:

CAN DENVER START FAST?

In the second half of the Broncos' Week 2 game, Denver's offense came to life.

Facing a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter, the Broncos scored 17 unanswered points to secure a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Denver had its opportunities in the first half, but the team couldn't quite convert and entered halftime 0-of-2 in the red zone. Nix and the Broncos flipped the script during the second half, finding the end zone during both red-zone trips, excluding a late kneel-down scenario. As the Broncos now prepare to take on a potent Rams offense that ranked first in points per game a season ago, finding offensive rhythm and capitalizing on opportunities early could be critical.

"We talk about finishing," Head Coach Sean Payton said Wednesday. "One of the things especially at home is ­— and we talked about it at the start of the season — playing better early. I think the focus is more on the front end. I think if you're playing with a lead, obviously you have that balance. If you're playing within a touchdown, you still have to have that balance. Last week was a good example really. It becomes difficult if it's one-dimensional in this league."

Nix, who said he believes the second-half performance was indicative of "what we could look like as a team," also spoke about the importance of cashing in on early opportunities.

"We just have to find ways to finish the drive, score in the red zone, convert on a few more third downs so we can get to the red zone," Nix said Wednesday. "It's just complete football."

The Broncos will aim to execute against a Los Angeles defense that features former Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie, whom the Rams acquired from Kansas City in an offseason trade, as well as three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. The eight-time first-team All-Pro defensive end made his return to the field in Week 2 after two years of retirement, and Nix spoke about the importance of having a plan for the high-caliber veteran.

"It's exciting to play the greats; it always is," Nix said of facing Donald. "I know he's a really good football player, and he's going to provide a challenge that we haven't necessarily faced before. He's literally one of the best at his position of all time, so you don't play those many Sundays. … We just have to limit the time he's dominant."

Added tackle Mike McGlinchey: "I think he's probably the greatest defensive football player that I've ever played against. It's an all-hands-on-deck kind of situation with a guy like that. He looks great, he looked explosive. He looks like Aaron Donald. And so, we know what the task is at hand coming into this week. … It's not just him. They've got a really deep and talented group, and we've got to be ready for them on Sunday."

As the Broncos aim to put points on the board early, finding ways to execute against a highly disruptive defense will likely be important.

"I think it's just execution early," McGlinchey said. "Figuring that stuff out. I just think it's the toughness in the fourth quarter. Nobody believes we're ever out of the game. And it just shows the people that we have here and the people that Sean and [General Manager] George [Paton] have brought in. It's a good quality to have, but you don't want to need it every week. … It's just about executing those couple [of] plays here and there that get us off to that fast start."

CAN DENVER'S DEFENSE LIMIT EXPLOSIVE PLAYS?

Ahead of the 2026 season, the Broncos knew they would be tasked with slowing down a slew of explosive offenses throughout the first stretch of games. After facing a Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs team in Week 1, the Broncos battled quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who entered the Week 2 matchup after throwing for 245 yards and four touchdowns in Week 1.

In Week 3, the Broncos will face another significant challenge as the reigning NFL MVP, quarterback Matthew Stafford, takes the field at Empower Field at Mile High.

"I think that's the way the schedule kind of played out," Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday. "It's been three weeks of explosive offenses, very well-coached offenses, quarterbacks that are playing good football — and it's a good mix of run and pass."

The Rams were the league's top-ranked offense a season ago, and the team returns nearly all of its top contributors. Wide receiver Puka Nacua — who recorded 129 receptions for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns a season ago — was listed as doubtful for the matchup. But even if Nacua does not take the field, the Rams' offense features a stable of other dynamic playmakers with which the Broncos will have to contend.

Wide receiver Davante Adams, a three-time first-team All-Pro who is currently in his 13th NFL season, posted 195 receiving yards and two touchdowns in last week's win over the Giants. Four of Adams' eight receptions resulted in gains of at least 20 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 64-yard reception on the next possession.

"He's real instinctive, he's got exceptional hands," Payton said Friday of Adams. "He's in great shape. You point to all the things you're looking for in a receiver, and he has all those traits."

The matchup between cornerback Pat Surtain II and Adams will be one of many to keep an eye on during Sunday's game.

"It's good battles, good competition," Surtain said. "It's going to be another battle on Sunday. [I'm] looking forward to it."

The Broncos will also be tasked with limiting explosive runs. Rams running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum posted 85 and 75 rushing yards, respectively, last week. Williams' longest run of the day was 20 yards, while Corum's resulted in an 18-yard gain.

"Just playing honest, stopping the run, obviously not giving up the explosive plays, that's the key with these offenses," Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph said. "But for us, it's the norm. It's been our third week, so our approach is the same. It's to stop the run, and keep the big ones off of us, and win third downs, and win red zone, and rush the quarterback the right way and just play good ball. That's the sell this week."

CAN THE BRONCOS' PASS RUSH CREATE PROBLEMS FOR STAFFORD?

Denver has faced two mobile quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes and Trevor Lawrence to begin the 2026 season, but the Broncos will face a different challenge in Week 3 when they take on Stafford, a historically elite pocket passer.

Since the beginning of the 2025 season, Stafford has thrown 50 passing touchdowns, and he leads the NFL in passing yards (5,189) and passer rating (108.6) in that span.

"He gets the ball out so quick; he's such a fast processor," outside linebacker Nik Bonitto said Thursday. "He knows where he wants to go, he's seen every type of blitz. So, nothing is going to surprise him in that aspect. But as a D-line, it's kind of still our job to make life difficult for him."

Ahead of the 2026 season, Joseph said he expected offenses to utilize quick-game concepts to avoid long-yardage situations on second and third down in an effort to combat Denver's dominant pass rush. Early in the season, the Broncos have seen some of that come to fruition.

"We led the league in sacks the last two years, so no team is going to just drop back on us all game and let us rush the passer," Bonitto said. "We've just got to kind of stay patient and consistent in our rushes and not really get frustrated."

The Broncos have taken advantage of their limited opportunities, though, and the unit came up with two timely sacks in Week 2 against the Jaguars. The Broncos will face an additional challenge in Week 3 as they face a Los Angeles offense that frequently utilizes 13 personnel. Joseph, who spoke about the challenges that can create for a defense, said it will be essential to force the Rams into situations that allow the Broncos' pass rush to come to life. According to Joseph, that will start with stopping the run.

"This 13-personnel stuff, it forces you to play big and also play small on some passing downs, so it's kind of brilliant," Joseph said. "The three-tight-end sets with one receiver, it can look like 13 or 11 or 10. So, he has the ability to obviously make you play big, and if you do play big with extra linemen, extra 'backers, he can spread you out and play small. So, that's the first challenge for us, is stopping the 13 personnel run and pass game. Then obviously getting them in known passing downs, and rushing the right way, and covering their main guys, that's the key, but it starts with stopping the run game."

If the Broncos can find a way to win early downs, it could create more chances to make things difficult for the reigning NFL MVP.

"We just want to make life hard for the quarterback," Bonitto said. "I know the sacks will come. We're winning our rushes, we're really rushing well up front. And eventually, we're going to get the numbers we're looking for."