DENVER — The slate was daunting.
And the Broncos answered the challenge.
On "Thursday Night Football" against the Seattle Seahawks, the Broncos punctuated a difficult six-game opening stretch with a 17-14 overtime win over the defending Super Bowl champions.
The prime-time clash was simply the latest test. After opening the season in Kansas City, the Broncos played five consecutive games against 2025 playoff teams — and four times in the last five weeks, they've found ways to earn wins. Five of the Broncos' first six opponents — including teams they defeated in the Rams, Jaguars and Seahawks — rank in the top six of ESPN's Football Power Index metric. The Broncos' only two losses in the season-opening stretch came to a pair of teams in the Chiefs and 49ers that are a combined 9-0.
It hasn't always been easy across the first six weeks, but tackle Mike McGlinchey doesn't necessarily want it to be.
"You don't want to come into this league and pray for easy wins," McGlinchey said. "This is the NFL. This is greatest league in the world, and there's so many teams that are worthy of being successful. At the end of the day, you have to execute when you're on the football field. We've been finding enough ways to do that to get four wins on the board against really, really great teams — and certainly some great defenses. And [I'm] excited [about] where we're headed."
The Broncos have needed fourth-quarter comebacks in three of their opening wins, and all four wins have been one-score victories. As such, the Broncos know there's room to improve. But they also know what's important.
"You're just excited about the win," quarterback Bo Nix said. "That's the most important. Then, this week we'll figure out those ways to get better again. Just excited for our team right now to go through that six-game stretch and come out 4-2."
Head Coach Sean Payton acknowledged it is the record itself that stands out in regard to the team's 4-2 start. And yet, he knows that there's more room for growth.
"Those wins are hard to get," Payton said. "We just played a real good team, and I feel like we can continue to improve."
Payton said the "realist" in him knows the Broncos could be 2-4 if games unfolded differently, and he emphasized there are "a lot of things" Denver can improve upon.
Cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian believes the Broncos' start — while not perfect — is indicative of the type of team Denver fields.
"We're resilient," McMillian said. "The work we put in, it's not going unnoticed. We play together. We play hard. Obviously, it doesn't always look right, like how we want it. But we made an emphasis that we wanted to be the most physical team out there tonight, and I think that we did that."
Since the start of 2025, the Broncos are now 15-2 in one-score games in the regular season. Already in 2026, the Broncos have defeated both NFC Championship Game participants from a year ago in the Rams and the Seahawks — and they also beat the reigning AFC South champion Jaguars.
Those wins make the coming corrections — which will include becoming more effective and efficient offensively, according to Payton — more enjoyable to make. But they don't make them any less important.
"Obviously, it's easier to make these corrections when you get a win," Payton said. "... It was a good win, but there's a lot of work to do."
