The Broncos are set to host a divisional showdown.
And while Denver (5-2) would move into first place in the AFC West with a Week 8 win over Kansas City (5-1), the Broncos' focus remains granular entering the matchup.
"It's the next one," wide receiver Courtland Sutton said Wednesday. "It's the most important one because it's the next one. … Everyone understands that the divisional games weigh a little bit heavier in terms of the overall standings when we get to the end of it. But it's the next one."
Head Coach Sean Payton reminded his team this week of the season-long goals that begin with winning the AFC West, and earning a victory at Empower Field at Mile High would certainly improve those chances.
"Obviously, we're playing a good team that has certainly been at the top of this division a long time," Payton said Wednesday. "… We're going to play in bigger games, but this is the next one."
The Broncos, though, know they can't let the stakes overshadow the effort that's needed as they look to even the season series against Kansas City.
"All that matters is what happens right in front of your face, not the great story of the playoff picture or anything that everybody [externally] want to draw up," tackle Mike McGlinchey said. "We've just got to focus on what we can control and go out and put our best foot forward this week."
With a victory, the Broncos would earn their fourth consecutive win and improve to 2-1 in the AFC West. They would also elevate their division title chances to 48 percent and their playoff odds to 82 percent, according to The Athletic’s playoff simulator.
"For us, it's about the next-game mentality," quarterback Bo Nix said. "We know it's a big one. That goes without being said. After falling to them already this year, this one is important to us. I expect a good game."
These are the questions that will help decide if the Broncos can earn a critical division win:
CAN THE BRONCOS SLOW KENNETH WALKER?
The Super Bowl LX MVP got the better of the Broncos in Week 1.
In his first game with the Chiefs, running back Kenneth Walker carried the ball 23 times for 173 yards and a touchdown in a win over Denver. Walker also added three catches for 18 yards and a score to total 191 scrimmage yards and a pair of touchdowns. Walker's biggest play came via a 60-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the third quarter to open up a two-score lead for Kansas City.
As Denver enters Week 8, the focus is on ensuring Walker does not find the same level of success.
"We need hats to the ball," Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph said on Thursday. "That's where the effort part comes in. He's going to make guys miss. … The effort to the ball to limit the big plays is key playing this back."
Throughout the week, the Broncos emphasized that their Week 1 defensive performance was not to their standard — and they'll aim to prove it on Sunday.
"When you lose games that way, it should bother you as a coach," Joseph said. "… When you watch the game and it wasn't our standard by any means, you feel sick about that. But we're past that point. We've gotten better and better each week. That's been the goal: to keep improving. Obviously, when you lose in the league, it hurts. But how you lose also makes a difference. That game wasn't close to our standard. … It's tough to watch, but you have to go back and watch it to fix the things that happened in that game."
In Week 7, the Seahawks became the first team to severely limit Walker, as they held him to 14 carries for 36 yards in Kansas City's first loss. In limiting Walker, the Seahawks held Kansas City to three points and did not allow the Chiefs to enter the red zone.
If the Broncos can replicate some of that success and slow Walker, it could help Denver find more success against Kansas City at home. The Broncos — who have won their last two meetings against Mahomes in Denver — held the Chiefs to 1-of-7 in the red zone in those two wins. Denver's seventh-ranked red-zone defense may need to play at a high level to earn another win in Week 8.
"I think the first thing is, you have to be able to stop the run," Payton said Friday of the key to Denver's red-zone defense. "Most teams that are playing well offensively in the red zone have a little bit more efficiency in the run game. I think what's really important is that four-point play. When you get to a third down in the red zone, understanding you can get off the field, that's a big deal."
CAN THE BRONCOS' OFFENSE BUILD ON WEEK 7 SUCCESS?
The Broncos' offense posted its best outing of the season by putting up 30 points in a win over the Cardinals, and the showing was keyed by a series of explosive plays. Denver had three plays of at least 40 yards, and Nix ripped three completions of at least 20 yards to Sutton, Jaylen Waddle and Marvin Mims Jr. Denver's run game also showed promise, with rookie Jonah Coleman averaging six yards per carry and J.K. Dobbins scoring a touchdown for a third consecutive game.
The Broncos, though, know there's more to unlock on the offensive side of the ball.
"There were more flashes of what we expect, I would say, in this past game," Sutton said Wednesday. "It wasn't perfect, and we did leave some meat on the bone out there.
"There were still some opportunities that we could've hit and had the game go in a different way. … When you do score 30 and then you do go watch the film and you see those opportunities out there, you're like, 'Man, when this thing fully clicks, it's going to be a lot of fun going out there playing offense.'"
Nix said "there's still a lot out there" and that the Broncos are "not satisfied" as they enter Week 8, and he said it starts with him as the Broncos look to find more success against a team that held them to a season-low 10 points in Week 1.
"I've watched it several times," Nix said of the Broncos' Week 1 loss. "I watched it after immediately and then watched it again this week to prepare. It definitely doesn't leave me excited with how that game ended. There are a lot of things we can focus on and correct. What I've learned [in] the past is you can't play the same game twice. That's going to be a completely different game than what Sunday's game is going to be, and you have to play it as such. You have to show up with a different mentality and just compete and just do what you can to have a different outcome than last time."
The Broncos have posted faster starts in the last three weeks, as the offense has scored at least 10 first-half points in its three consecutive wins. Against the Chiefs' second-ranked scoring defense, Nix and Co. will look to make the plays to continue their recent success.
CAN THE BRONCOS CAPITALIZE ON THE BENEFIT OF HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE?
There has been no place like home for the Broncos.
Since the start of 2025, the Broncos are 11-1 at Empower Field at Mile High in the regular season, which is the best mark in the NFL. Denver has also won 16 of its last 17 regular-season home games, dating back to midway through the 2024 season.
As the midway point of the 2026 season approaches, the Broncos are 3-0 at home this season — including a pair of wins over the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks and the 2025 NFC finalist Rams.
The crowd noise at Empower Field at Mile High has made life difficult for opposing offenses, forcing false start and delay of game penalties and requiring opposing quarterbacks to burn timeouts.
"Our home games have been amazing," Payton said Wednesday. "It's hard to measure the end results, but it's been significant. Our crowd noise, all of that just adds stress to the operation. … I think in a game like this, it's significant."
Patrick Mahomes has lost just three divisional road games in his career, but two of those losses have come in his last two starts in Denver. Across his career, Mahomes' passer rating against the Broncos is 12 points lower on the road than at home, and his completion percentage and average passing yards are also lower. At home, Mahomes has thrown 14 touchdowns and six interceptions in eight career games vs. Denver. On the road, though, Mahomes has thrown nine touchdowns to seven interceptions. And, in Mahomes' last two games in Denver, the Broncos have allowed just one touchdown pass to three interceptions while recording six sacks.
"I think it's a huge advantage," outside linebacker Nik Bonitto said. "Obviously, it's not easy to come play at [Empower Field at] Mile High, dealing with the altitude. You know how loud the fans get here, how crazy they can be. It's an advantage for us on defense, whether it's them struggling to get the calls in [or] up front, us being able to have an advantage getting off the rock."
Nix, meanwhile, is 18-3 in career home games and has 46 total touchdowns to 18 interceptions with a 92.4 passer rating. Through seven games in 2026, the Broncos average three more points in home games while allowing nearly five fewer points to their opponents. The Broncos' turnover differential is plus-four in home games — compared to an even margin on the road —and they are plus-eight in sack differential at Empower Field at Mile High.
If Denver can use the raucous crowd noise to its advantage on defense — and the absence of it while on offense — it could help Denver improve to 4-0 against the Chiefs at home under Payton.
