2026 Week 1 Preview: Broncos, Chiefs Begin AFC West Race with High Stakes at Arrowhead Stadium
Every championship season in Denver Broncos history has started with a victory.
That may not mean much on its own. After all, plenty of teams have started 1-0 and failed to accomplish anything of significance by the end of the season. But there is something intriguing about the fact that all three Broncos teams to win the Super Bowl began their respective championship campaigns the same way.
Denver opened the 1997 season with a 19-3 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs en route to a 6-0 start. The 1998 Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 27-21 in Week 1 and went on to start 13-0. Then, in 2015, Denver edged the Baltimore Ravens 19-13 in the season-opener en route to a 7-0 start.
A Week 1 victory obviously does not guarantee a Super Bowl appearance, let alone a championship. But if the Broncos are looking for a reason to take their season-opener seriously, history provides one.
And this time, the first step comes against the Chiefs.
A Familiar Opponent Presents an Unfamiliar Challenge
Denver will open its 2026 campaign on Sept. 14 at Arrowhead Stadium, where the Broncos have yet to defeat three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes II.
That alone would make this a difficult assignment. Mahomes has dominated the AFC West for much of his career, and Kansas City has remained one of the NFL’s most difficult teams to beat at home.
But this year’s matchup comes with an additional layer of intrigue.
Mahomes is expected to return to the field after suffering a torn ACL in Week 15 last season. The injury came in the same game in which the Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention, ending Kansas City’s streak of three consecutive Super Bowl appearances.
Now, Mahomes is back – and Denver will be tasked with trying to spoil his return to Arrowhead Stadium.
The Broncos have come close to doing so before. Denver snapped the Chiefs’ 16-game winning streak in the series in 2023, but the Broncos have yet to beat Mahomes at Arrowhead Stadium. Denver nearly knocked off Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium in 2024, but the Broncos’ walk-off field goal attempt was blocked and the Chiefs escaped with a narrow 16-14 victory. That makes the upcoming Week 1 clash another opportunity to accomplish something Denver has been unable to do throughout the Mahomes era.
There is also some uncertainty surrounding exactly what Mahomes will look like in his first regular-season game back from a major knee injury.
That does not make Kansas City any less dangerous. If anything, it creates an interesting challenge for the Broncos’ defense: Can Denver capitalize on any rust from Mahomes while also preparing for the quarterback who has repeatedly given the Broncos problems over the years?
The Chiefs Added Another Problem for Denver’s Defense
Kansas City also enters the season with a new weapon in the backfield.
The Chiefs signed Kenneth Walker III this offseason after he helped lead the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship and earned Super Bowl LX MVP honors.
That gives Kansas City another way to attack a Broncos defense that already has plenty to worry about with Mahomes under center.
Denver would undoubtedly prefer to make Mahomes carry the burden of the Chiefs’ offense while forcing Kansas City into obvious passing situations. Walker makes that proposition considerably more difficult.
If the Chiefs can establish the run, they can control the tempo, keep the Broncos’ pass rush from teeing off on Mahomes and potentially ease the burden on a quarterback returning from a significant knee injury.
That makes stopping Walker one of Denver’s most important assignments of the night.
The Broncos Will Be Without One of Their Best Pass Rushers
Unfortunately for Denver, its defense will enter the matchup shorthanded.
Jonathan Cooper, who emerged as the Broncos’ second-best pass rusher behind Nik Bonitto, was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List shortly after the conclusion of the preseason. His absence leaves Denver without one of its most important pieces for generating pressure off the edge.
That is particularly significant against Kansas City.
The blueprint for slowing down Mahomes has never been particularly complicated: Make him uncomfortable.
Executing that blueprint is another matter entirely.
The Broncos’ defense will need Bonitto and the rest of its pass-rushing group to compensate for Cooper’s absence. Jonah Elliss, Que Robinson and Dondrea Tillman could all see increased opportunities as Denver adjusts its edge rotation.
The Broncos have enough defensive talent to make life difficult for Mahomes. But losing Cooper removes one of their most reliable weapons for doing exactly that.
Bo Nix Gives Denver a Chance to Win
While the Broncos’ defense has some questions to answer, Denver enters the season with its starting quarterback healthy.
Bo Nix returns for his third NFL season after an ankle injury ended his 2025 campaign in the playoffs. He will also have a significantly different supporting cast than he did a year ago, most notably with the addition of Jaylen Waddle.
The Broncos also enter the season with Davis Webb taking over the offensive play-calling duties, adding another element of intrigue to an offense that helped Denver win 14 games and earn the AFC’s No. 1 seed last season.
Week 1 of the 2026 campaign therefore represents something of a fresh start for Nix and the offense.
But there is also plenty of evidence to suggest Nix is capable of leading the Broncos through a difficult matchup like this one.
That was on full display in Denver’s thrilling 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills in the 2025 Divisional Round. Nix threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns in the win while making several key plays in clutch situations, helping the Broncos overcome one of the AFC’s top teams in a game that went down to the wire.
That performance offered a glimpse of the quarterback Denver believes it has in Nix – one capable of making plays when the stakes are highest.
The Broncos do not need to reinvent themselves. Denver already has an established identity on both sides of the ball. But starting the season on the road against the Chiefs will require the offense to execute at a high level against a defense that knows it will have to contend with Nix for years to come.
Nix will also have an opportunity to make an early statement in his third season.
A healthy Nix, a new offensive play-caller and the addition of Waddle give the Broncos plenty of reasons to believe their offense can take another step forward. Doing so against Kansas City would make that development even more meaningful.
History Shows What’s at Stake
There is no magic formula for winning a Super Bowl.
Starting 1-0 does not guarantee anything. Denver eventually lost four regular-season games in 1997. The 1998 Broncos went 13-0 before finishing the regular season 14-2. Denver lost four regular-season games in 2015 and entered the playoffs with questions surrounding its offense.
All three, however, had one thing in common from the very beginning: The Broncos won their season-opener.
Now, Denver has an opportunity to add another chapter to that history.
The opponent could hardly be more familiar. The setting could hardly be more difficult. And the circumstances could hardly be more intriguing, with Mahomes returning from a major knee injury, Walker joining the Chiefs’ backfield and Cooper unavailable for the Broncos.
A Week 1 loss would not end Denver’s season. A victory would not guarantee another Lombardi Trophy.
But if the Broncos are going to make another run at the Super Bowl, there is something poetic about beginning that journey the same way it began in 1997, 1998 and 2015.
With a win.
