We will know in just a few days who the Denver Broncos wind up playing in the 2026 NFL Playoff Divisional Round. Their 2025 regular season was a banner campaign. By notching fourteen wins, the Broncos are
back to the top of the AFC West. Even better? They have the perks of a first-round playoff bye after securing the number one seed.
It wasn’t always pretty, but Denver showed a lot of toughness and tenacity this season. Embarking on multiple comeback wins, their penchant for fourth quarter comebacks coupled with a stellar defense propelled them to the best regular season record in the AFC in ‘25.
That’s something to be proud of. But now, everyone that made the postseason has a clean slate and an opportunity to etch their names into the NFL record books by winning Super Bowl 60. Everyone is back to square one.
In order for the Broncos to secure their fourth Lombardi Trophy, they will certainly need to work on the finer details. Over the course of the season, the Broncos struggled to be consistent—especially on the offensive side of the ball. Fixing that will be crucial in order for the Broncos to make a deep postseason push. Veteran right tackle Mike McGlinchey was vocal on what the team needed to address offensively to take care of business next weekend.
“First and foremost, the obvious thing is executing in the red zone. You have to turn field goals into touchdowns. That’s how you win games, especially this late in the year and especially as you go through the playoffs,” stated McGlinchey.
In addition to red zone performance, being better on a down-to-down basis was next up his list of things to address over the next week. I think all us fans can all agree slow starts were an issue for the Broncos this season. Their erratic and inconsistent performance across the board was one of the most frustrating aspects of an otherwise impeccable season.
“We have to be better on third down by being better on first and second down. It’s kind of a whole, as you go through these things, there are the ups and downs of the season. You just got to clean up the details, and we’ll be fine.”
One primary factor that has contributed to their lack of consistency has been penalties. Denver had plenty of during the regular season. On top of that, the Broncos were one of the teams that ranked highest in drops. It’s hard enough beating another team each and every weekend, but even more arduous by shooting yourself in the foot. By fixing those things, they should be able to hit their stride like McGlinchey is hoping for. If so, I’d be very optimistic about their chances next weekend—whoever they end up facing.
But it isn’t just cleaning up the finer details that the Broncos are working on. They’re also trying to learn from last year’s playoff experience as a tool to help put themselves in a better position this time around. Very few players on the roster last year had ever experienced the bright lights of the postseason.
With virtually most of their roster experiencing last season, Denver is certainly more experienced in 2026 and far more battle-tested to know what’s at stake next weekend. And the players know having a hometown crowd cheering them on will certainly be an advantage.
“That it’s a tournament for a reason. It’s do or die. I think last year, it was our first taste of it going into the playoffs as a Wild Card team, but now we have home-field advantage, which is different,” stated shutdown cornerback Patrick Surtain II.
Maybe I’m just bullish on Denver, but this year’s team just feels different. Better prepared, far more diligent, and a knack for gutting out close victories. That is something they hadn’t done in a very long time. They also seemed to play with a chip on their shoulder after all the preseason shade that was thrown their way.
The power of belief is a strong thing. For the most part, the Broncos had the right mindset and approach versus their opponents on a week-to-week basis. By harnessing this past years’ experience coupled with learning from last year’s early Wild Card Round exit, Denver should be better poised to weather whatever storm heads to Empower Field at Mile High next weekend.
“We have to definitely prep the right way and not take this thing for granted. Earlier on we talked about it, this is probably the last time that this whole team is going to be together, knowing how the league works. I feel like for this moment here, for all the marbles and stuff like that, we all have to buy in and understand that,” added Surtain.
